WEBVTT - You don't have to pick up the ball

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that you don't have to pick up every

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<v Speaker 1>dropped ball. I know that the people who listen to

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast are conscientious and productive, and it can be

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<v Speaker 1>utterly maddening to watch other people drop the ball. A

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<v Speaker 1>colleague has offered to plan a baby shower for a

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<v Speaker 1>team member, and the due date keeps getting closer with

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<v Speaker 1>no indication that anything has been planned. Or maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>have a high schooler who doesn't want you to register

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<v Speaker 1>him for the SAT, but has not taken any steps

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<v Speaker 1>to do that himself. Maybe a local nonprofit board chair

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<v Speaker 1>has insisted you need a summer meeting, but she has

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<v Speaker 1>not scheduled it and it is almost Labor Day. Your

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<v Speaker 1>neighbor asked about borrowing your powerwasher. You said yes, you

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<v Speaker 1>moved it to your porch and there it sits. In

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<v Speaker 1>moments like these, conscientious people often feel tempted to swoop

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<v Speaker 1>in to pick up the drop ball and save the day.

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<v Speaker 1>You scramble to plan a baby shower last minute, you

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<v Speaker 1>write to the board chair to suggest dates. You walk

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<v Speaker 1>your powerwasher over to your neighbors, and sometimes picking up

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<v Speaker 1>a dropped ball is the right thing to do. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>you probably don't want to let your kid delay taking

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<v Speaker 1>the SAT too long if you're pretty sure he does

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<v Speaker 1>hope to go to college. You want your team member

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<v Speaker 1>to have a baby shower, and so you might decide

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<v Speaker 1>to plan the shower as your colleague, who you know

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<v Speaker 1>is less busy than you, makes noises about how everything

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<v Speaker 1>has just been so busy. And sometimes you pick up

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<v Speaker 1>the ball because it's going to land back in your

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<v Speaker 1>court anyway, and the later it does, the more frantic

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<v Speaker 1>everything will be. If your boss wants you to create

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<v Speaker 1>some charts for his presentation and he hasn't gotten you

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<v Speaker 1>the data, sadly, you probably do need to follow up

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<v Speaker 1>so he doesn't drop this in your lap the night

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<v Speaker 1>before his presentation when you have a million other things

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<v Speaker 1>going on. But you don't always have to pick up

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<v Speaker 1>the ball. If it is not going to be much

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<v Speaker 1>bothered to you one way or another, you can just

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<v Speaker 1>let it ride. If your neighbor hasn't come by in

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<v Speaker 1>a week, just put the powerwasher back in the garage.

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<v Speaker 1>Your neighbor can knock on your door or text you

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<v Speaker 1>when they're on the way, and you will deal with

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<v Speaker 1>it then if it is convenient. In some cases, you

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<v Speaker 1>can float a test balloon. A friend who hasn't responded

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<v Speaker 1>to dates you suggested for getting together can be nudged

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<v Speaker 1>with a message sking if she had other dates in mind.

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<v Speaker 1>But eventually you have to let the other person decide

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<v Speaker 1>to deal with it or not. Indeed, sometimes you can

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<v Speaker 1>deliberately put the ball back in someone's court to decide

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<v Speaker 1>if they are serious or not. If you have this

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<v Speaker 1>sort of job where a lot of people want to

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<v Speaker 1>pick your brain or do informational interviews about your industry,

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<v Speaker 1>you can ask the person requesting a meeting to first

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<v Speaker 1>send you a list of questions so you can prepare.

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<v Speaker 1>If the person does, great, you could schedule a meeting.

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<v Speaker 1>But if they drop the ball, well good you found

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<v Speaker 1>out before you spent thirty minutes with them or tried

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<v Speaker 1>to do a professional favor for someone who wasn't actually

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<v Speaker 1>that excited about it in the first place, especially when

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<v Speaker 1>the other person made the request or initiated planning. If

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<v Speaker 1>they drop the ball, you may not need to pick

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<v Speaker 1>it up. You can assume that when it's a priority

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<v Speaker 1>for them, they will get back to it, and you

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<v Speaker 1>don't need to take responsibility for it in the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.