I knew it was going to be tough.  I had four major problems and several small ones tagging along.  I had no idea where to start.  I had a view, but nobody seemed to understand what it was.  I did not understand.  I had given them a draft.  I had shared my thoughts.  What I had in my head was in their hand.

Two things unraveled the puzzle.

First, I went back to examine my emails and notes to see if I could see how they heard what I was trying to say.  Initially I was dumbfounded.  My emails were simple and to the point.  The first yellow flag appeared when I opened my draft.  It was a draft, only it was not mine, it was another that had come in at a similar time.  As I raced back and forth between the emails, it became clear.  Not one person in my group had seen what I had spent hours preparing.

Second, as I started fresh, the pick-up with the senior staff in the office was immediate.  “Our analysis should provide the answers Bill is looking for.”

“How could they know?  What had I done or said that had given them the insight?”

“Let’s work on the analysis more this afternoon before we share it.”

Since I had a full calendar it was easy to let go of the issue.  I still wondered what I would get.  Around five, I walked into the office.  “Show me what you have.”

The white board held a clear, logical, roadmap.  As they talked me through their approach, I could see that they had captured everything I had not said and more!  It was a big step in the right direction.  Who knew?

We thrashed through how to take it to a more refined state.  My confidence in their analysis grew with each idea.  They were focused and on target.  It was a model I had been searching for but could not quite see or find.  My darkness had been pointless.  They understood what I had forgotten.  Together they knew.