“A stupid question deserves no answer”, that’s the surprising. ill-tempered rejection I got from a staff member.
She was a “top hand,” as they say out in cowboy land. She not only did her job but inspired colleagues. And, besides being a doer, she was a thinker., so her response was doubly disappointing.
The question that upset my star research library colleague was simple, “Why does kitchen wrap cling?”
Why am I reflecting? Well, because among some 10 serendipitous moments in American innovation, as reportedby the WSJ there is “Saran Wrap”. It was discovered in 1933 by a young scientist who wondered why some accumulated material on the outside of a flask was difficult to scrape off due to its “cling”. And, from there came America’s ubiquitous kitchen wrap to help keep food fresh longer. Thankfully for most of us, his boss did not dismiss him as a stupid fool.
What does this have to do with me, a former library administrator? I ran a sort of a “back channel”- paper based – where I got direct, uncensored input from customers; there were no limits to what we called the Suggestion/Answer Book, in some ways an off-line pre-cursor to social media.
The SAB was a back door for me to what our clients were thinking. It was out in a public area for all to see. Many stopped to peruse its pages filled with handwritten notes and my typed responses.
All anonymous. I cultivated the image of a mysterious Answer Person.
I only “censored” those questions that named a staff member, all the while providing an answer and showing the question to the identified staff member. That usually was sufficient for some corrective action, if needed, on their part.
Over the decades, I received and answered thousands of questions and comments. I valued the input and if some of it was regarded as “stupid” by a few, that was their problem. (Why my star employee rejected the question might be something to explore at a later time.)
Many comments were useful and brought about changes.
Some were comical which inspired whimsical responses – my English major served me well –which were “liked” by numerous readers of the SAB including alums when visiting the campus. If I could not answer the question, I’d forward it to someone who could.
Most saw this as an opportunity to teach, never looking down their noses, but always providing a matter of fact answer with details (sources) and the steps they took to get to that answer. Think of the best AI robot responses and you get the idea.
A very few colleagues saw the SAB’s commentary as an insult upon their rock-firm belief that they, not the clients, knew best.
You may know who I mean.
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My book, Fables for Leaders, all about how ancient stories apply to today’s workplace, can be purchased here. The link will take you to BookBaby, the company that prints and fills orders for Fables for Leaders.
My other book, Leading from the Middle, with essays on team building, followers, leaders, innovation and several case studies of exceptional leaders and organizations, can be purchased here at Amazon.
N.B. For other essays on numerous topics on leadership and literature and fables go to my Nucleus archive from 2010-early 2025.
© Copyright all text by John Lubans 2026