Don’t Waffle

Don’t Waffle

First things first: my article’s title does not refer to the breakfast treat.  When I say Don’t Waffle, I mean don’t vacillate, don’t equivocate—don’t jerk people around.  Don’t keep others guessing about whether you will or will not go through with a proposal.  Don’t avoid commitment.

 

This all may seem obvious, but Waffling is a tendency which almost everyone is guilty of, and which can be very difficult to overcome.  And you must overcome this tendency if you hope to become a true success in whichever field you work.  It can slow down the progress of your career, strain otherwise friendly business and personal relationships, and ruin potential opportunities.

 

But before I go further, I’d like to clarify what I mean by Waffling.  Essentially, Waffling is stringing someone along, refusing to make a commitment.  Let’s say, for example, that a business acquaintance of yours informs you that he has a real estate project that he is working on, and he is looking for investors.  After hearing the details of the project, the amount of capital he is requesting for investment and what he expects the returns to be, you think that this is a fairly promising opportunity—but you have doubts.  You could afford to make this investment, but it would set you back if it didn’t work out.  All of the facts and figures indicate that there is a high chance of success, but it’s far from a guarantee.

 

It would be unreasonable for your acquaintance to expect you to make a financial commitment right then and there.  Any responsible investor will carefully consider a proposal prior to committing.  But let’s say that he asks you to make a decision within two weeks.  The time passes and he asks you whether you’re in or out.

 

The responsible, proper way to respond is either Yes or No.  You either want to go through with the investment or you don’t.  But maybe you still aren’t sure.  Maybe you think you want to invest, but you just want some more time to think it over.  And so you say you’ll let him know with certainty in a week.  The week goes by, he calls again, but you’re still not sure.  You ask for another week.  And so on.

 

This is Waffling.  Never deciding with certainty one way or the other, stringing along the other party.  This behavior is bad, and not just because it is rude and disrespectful towards whoever the other person is.  It is also bad for yourself, both in the short term and the long term.  In the short term, Waffling will result in many missed opportunities.  Oftentimes, we Waffle because we know that a proposal is worthwhile, but we are nervous about committing the time, money, or effort needed.  Usually, if a deal is really not advisable, we will be willing to dismiss it fairly readily.  It is the good deals, the valuable deals, that we Waffle over, because we are nervous about the risks even though the rewards are much greater and more likely.

 

But beyond these immediate opportunities that you lose out on when you Waffle, Waffling can also hurt you in the long term if you develop a reputation as a Waffler.  Potential business partners will not want to do business with you if they hear that you are never willing to commit to a project, but instead string along your potential partners.  Now, not only are you missing specific opportunities—you are also losing the possibility of opportunities.

 

Overcoming Waffling can be difficult.  Everyone likes to have options, and making a strong decision takes away your possibilities.  But Waffling does not really allow you to have more options—rather, it takes away future options, while alienating you from your business partners.  It is unprofessional, and it can be costly.  Whenever you find yourself Waffling, unable to decide one way or another, stop and ask yourself: why am I so afraid to commit?  If the answer is that you have legitimate worries over the risks involved, than you should probably forgo the proposal.  But if the only reason you are Waffling is because you are afraid of commitment itself, you need to shrug off your anxiety and pursue the deal.  You’ll thank yourself later.