Options, on the existential level, are a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, they’re the key to success and the classic strategy to maximizing upsides while minimizing downsides. On the other hand, options decrease commitment and create instability. Life is a balance, or perhaps a ping-pong game, between these two.
But there is at least one context in which it makes sense to go with the options, options, options all the way side of the ping-pong table: when proposing ideas to your boss or client. (Or potential boss or potential client, for that matter.) When giving a proposal, demo, strategic documents, or any sort of creative output to your boss or client, options only help.
Think about it this way. If you give someone whose feedback you need (your manager, or even a potential client) only one version of your concept, then, you’re just giving him two possibilities: he likes it, or he doesn’t. A yes or a no.
Yes, yes, I know he could propose a variation of the “yes,” a variation on your theme, but that requires a lot of creativity on the spot, plus it puts the creative onus on him. It’s more work for your boss.
Forcing a yes or no onto anyone is hard. Let’s look at an example from another type of relationship that’s a lot like working closely together: dating. Imagine you’re dating someone and it’s going “okay” but not “amazing.” Now imagine asking that person, “Will you marry me?” That question forces the other person into a situation with no victories: a marriage they’re not ready/excited for, or the heartbreak of saying no. There’s the Big Win, The Big Lose, but nothing in-between, in case the other person just isn’t ready for one of those two extremes yet.
So—continuing that same metaphor—isn’t it more powerful, in the context where you suspect the other person may not be ready for the full proposal, to give options? “I’d like to marry you. But if you’re not ready, we could move in together. And if you’re not ready for that either, perhaps we could up the intensity slightly and you could leave one toothbrush in my apartment?” Compare that to “will you marry me, yes-or-no?” and which one is more likely to achieve your desired outcome, in the situation when the other isn’t quite ready for the full commitment yet? Options, my friends, options!
This is how your manager feels when you give him almost anything. Intense excitement at your work will be rare, and so will complete disappointment. (At least hopefully.) But usually presenting your work or your proposal puts him in the marry-or-break-up position.
The solution here is to present options, whenever possible and reasonable. For example, if you’re designing something, you can design multiple versions even if only one was requested. If you’re making a strategic suggestion, hopefully in a strategy doc, you can provide a few strategies to choose between. If you’re planning an ad campaign, create a few different concepts for them to choose between.
Options are one of the most underrated ways to make your boss or client’s life much easier. No one, not even your boss, likes to be forced into a binary yes or no choice, and options give him a greyscale that makes giving you feedback much more useful.
