A manager chairing a team meeting will never actually give on a suggestion made by a worker, despite suggesting that he will by saying ‘hold that thought’, it has been confirmed.
Mike McBride, Senior Product Manager at a professional services firm, has admitted that he used the earnest sounding, but ultimately empty, phrase as a means of neatly sidelining a suggestion by Mitch, an enthusiastic new starter to the company in the middle of a presentation McBride was giving.
‘Following up on what Mitch said in the meeting might actually involve some effort or thinking on my part’, explained McBride. ‘His intervention also showed incredible naivety, in that it assumed I actually gave a damn about his or anyone else's views'.
'I've asked my PA to explore the feasibility of scheduling some focus groups to potentially stress-test your excellent idea', explained McBride after a polite email from Mitch two weeks after the meeting to see if his suggestion had been followed through on.
'The Location of the meeting?’, continued McBride. ‘To be confirmed once the issue stops moving in the very long grass I've just kicked it into'.