3 Words I Hate - "Maybe", "Probably", "Hopefully"

When I check in with folks on my team about what they're working on and when stuff will get done, I've noticed there are three words that often slip in - maybe, probably and hopefully.

"Maybe I'll do that next."

"I'll probably get that done tomorrow" 

"Hopefully I'll get to that this week"

I've come to hate these words. These seemingly innocuous qualifiers, which on the surface seem to merely soften the sentence, are actually much more significant. They give people an easy out. If they don't deliver as promised, it's somehow more OK because they didn't guarantee anything.

So at our company stand-up on Friday, I challenged team members (and myself!) to take the next week to observe how often they say these three words. I asked them to try saying the same thing without using one of three qualifiers. It's amazing what a difference it makes!

Without these words, sentences take on a much more declarative tone.

"Hopefully I'll have it done by Friday"

becomes

"I'll have it done by Friday" 

And

"That will probably get deployed tomorrow" 

becomes

"That will get deployed tomorrow"

Because the tenor of the sentence changes so dramatically, folks (myself included) need to be particularly thoughtful when promising a date. You'd better be sure it's within your grasp. That aside, the omission of these three words makes updates so much more exact - so much more of a commitment.

It's a simple change. Hopefully, it will make a big impact. Correction: it will make a big impact.