# What is Not Said By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2022-11-17 Whenever a leader has a town hall or all-hands meeting, be prepared for significant amounts of vague-specific statements and performance art. Examples of vague-specific statements are "we must be more efficient" or "we need to go faster in the right direction." Here the initial feeling is one of purposeful clarity, but upon further analysis, you quickly realize the statement means nothing of consequence. It's like gum that loses its flavor within a few minutes. It tastes great initially, but you'll quickly spit it out when it turns into nothing. It's a common tactic in management speak to say something and nothing at the same time. As an analyst, the key is to hone in on what is not said. Most leaders do not want to outright lie, so they reveal the truth in the silence between statements. It's hard to know what exactly is in the dark silence, so you must be aware of your cognitive biases here. However, given enough data and context clues, you can often see at least the outline of truth that is weighing on the leader's mind. The better the leader's performance, the harder it is to uncover the truth, and some leaders are excellent performers. Nevertheless, it's only a matter of time before all is revealed. Uncovering the truth beforehand is one the secret to a successful business career. #### Related Items [[Meetings]] [[Leadership]] [[Management]] [[Rhetoric]] [[Organizational Analytics]] [[Vague-Specific]] [[Cognitive Biases]]