When was the last time you heard someone say ‘at this juncture’? Beware the juncture. Why? Chances are, when you last hear it used, it went a little like this:

“At this juncture,”

Sounds good so far….

“we’ll do it this <non-awesome way>”

At some point, during the meeting, or afterwards, you’ll feel glad the decision was so agreeable. Everyone leaves the meeting without having to do any additional work!

Don’t fall for it. “At this juncture” is almost always a cop out, an excuse for everyone to be agreeable, an excuse for not thinking about it a little deeper; an excuse for the person saying it, to deliver a half baked solution when the full bake was required.

Listen for it. And whilst your doing that, watch out for

“We’re just doing this <lame solution> to put things in context.”

“Then we will look at <being awesome> afterwards.”

It’s another excuse. So beware the juncture. Don’t let yourself, or the group be wooed by such smart sounding, palatable words of mediocrity.

Beware the juncture, and be awesome instead.