If you want a team to spend an inordinate amount of time on something, tell them Maybe to a suggestion. Maybe is the most dangerous word in any language. It carries with it the implication of “Yes, this is almost close enough to move forward” but also “There are things you need to fix but I’m not sure what.” It causes a team to split focus in multiple directions while guessing about what they should actually be doing.
No is a word that many are scared of saying, while Yes is something that most people love to say. Maybe is the word that is used more often than anyone realizes. It is not definitive and therefore does not stick in the memory as well as a definite Yes or No.
Communication is one of the most important aspects of any job. The downside of Maybe is that it fails at communicating without a whole lot of additional clarification. It implies the message that was given was not enough to earn a yes or no, while also leaving enough ambiguity as to the future direction.
Instead, look into the classics of “Yes, but” or “No, unless.” Both provide a conditional definitive answer with a clear action that is needed to close the conditional out.
Your teams will thank you for the additional clarity!