A while back I took part in a conference call regarding something or other, the topic of the call is not important for this blog post. About five or ten minutes into the call one of the participants, who had been somewhat quiet to that point, chimed in with the following statement:
“I would like to tell you more about what Microsoft has planned but I can’t because of NDA.”
If you want the truth, and who among the both of you reading this doesn’t want the truth, the statement pissed me off then and it still does today. My initial reaction was “who the hell does he think he is that he has to mention his NDA?” That was followed by thoughts such as “why did he bother joining the call if he cannot contribute?”, and “it makes no sense to ever mention you have an NDA, because that is the whole point of an NDA.”
I have several NDA’s right now, too many to know if I can or cannot open my mouth at any given moment, but I would never drop the N-word in a meeting. To what purpose? Would it not be more helpful to pose hypotheticals rather than blurting out you have an NDA? And doesn’t mentioning the NDA violate the NDA? Here is the Wiki entry for NDA. It says that in rare cases it may be specified that you cannot mention the NDA. Okay, quick show of hands, how many people read those NDA’s thoroughly enough to know if that clause was in the agreement they signed?
Yeah, I thought so.
If nothing else, by mentioning you have an NDA then at least the spirit of the NDA has been violated because you have disclosed the fact that you have material knowledge about the subject at hand. If SQLJackBauer is in that meeting you better believe that whatever knowledge you have as a result of your NDA is about to become known. And what if someone decides to blog about how during the meeting you mentioned the NDA? Better to keep your mouth shut than to either (1) inadvertently violate the NDA or (2) have people think you are showing off how important you are.
Do these people do this in other areas of their life as well? “Kids, I know what Santa is getting you for Christmas, but I can’t tell you.” It’s like you are five and have a want/need/desire to whine “I know something you don’t know”.
What if your buddy is dating two girls at once? Would you go to one of the girls and say “hey, about Paul, there is something you should know about him, but I can’t say because he is my roommate and he trusts me.” Of course not! That puts you in a bad spot with all interested parties. Well, it is the same if you drop the N-word in a meeting, it does not help the purpose of the meeting. In fact, it is more of a hindrance than anything else. Because now people will start to wonder why they are even bothering with the subject.
So, from now on, if you have an NDA, you don’t need to tell me, or anyone else, about it. Try to speak in hypothetical or general terms if you must speak at all. Try to help guide the group to different place than where they were headed such that you felt the need to mention your NDA. Do something positive, or constructive. Make a meaningful contribution instead of telling people that you cannot participate further.
Please. Before SQLJackBauer jumps over the table and chokes you with some CAT-5 while screaming “YOU WILL TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IN THE NEXT FIVE SECONDS OR I WILL CUT OFF YOUR FINGERS AND FEED THEM TO YOU UNTIL YOU CHOKE AND DIE”.
Seriously.
There have been only a handful of times when I’ve disclosed that I was under NDA and those all were during my USAF career. In every single case I was pressed about a subject by folks who knew I knew information about the topic at hand and that was the only way to stop the line of questioning.
But given the scenario you described, yeah, there was no point bringing up an NDA. It didn’t serve to advance the discussion at hand by doing so, so why do it?
You nailed it! Saying you’re under NDA doesn’t help the meeting at all. Keep quiet. Unless, of course you have a cool interpretative dance that skirts the NDA (dance is an area most NDA miss) and delivers your special, unique, insider’s insight. Otherwise don’t bother.
Yeah, that’s just a techie way of saying “nah nah nah nah nah, I know something that you don’t. ”
About the only time it’s necessary to invoke an NDA is if you’re pressed on a topic. Even then there are usually more tactful ways to handle it.
I guess I can’t say if I’m under NDA or not, but good points and I agree. If you can’t say anything and we didn’t ask you if you knew anything, shut the insert four letter word of choice up.
I agree with Joe, the person was just showing off and/or is an idiot! There is almost always a better way to deal with it. As a last resort tactfully excuse yourself from the call, DUH!
In other words, he wanted impress that he was *important* and had access to *privileged information*
If I’m pressed on a topic I’ll usually just say “I can’t tell you” and leave it at that.
lol… By mentioning NDA, he opened up the door to all participants… Now, those participants will reach across their network and ask around to find people who’lll spill the beans on that NDA… Isn’t there a saying, “The best way to keep a secret between 3 man is to shoot the other 2…” ?