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Alright, I promise:  no more 1,000 word blogs.  Pardon my indulgence.  My topic today is about the new professional mantra.  It used to be that, when a professional colleague asked one how he/she was doing, the answer was some variation of “good/fine/great/ok, how are you?”  Now, without fail, it’s “I’m so busy.”

Ok.  What do I do with that?  “I’m sorry?”  “That’s great?”  “I’m so glad you could make it to the Happy Hour, being as busy as you are?”

I’ll admit that this is a pet peeve.  I don’t question that people are busy these days.  Those of us that are working are being asked to do 3 jobs, and to use technology to do even more.  Our Blackberries go off all day and night (thanks for that memo, HR!), and the Internet is growing to follow us into every nook and cranny in which we might seek refuge.  I don’t want to see Internet kiosks on the beach.   So, yeah, I get that you’re busy.

But if it’s unprofessional or unacceptable to be “tired” at work, if it’s a bit gauche to share stories about your gall bladder surgery with your distant professional peers, then why is it ok to, in essence, complain about being busy?

Or, rather, is it a veiled effort to brag?  “Hey world, I’m relevant too!  I have real work coming my way, and I’m so good at what I do, that I’m really busy!”

Admittedly, not everyone who replies that he/she is very busy is insecure, irrelevant, whatever.  And I’ll be the first to admit that I have too many pet peeves.  I even tell people how busy I am sometimes.  But I guess my marketing lesson for today is one of my biggest rules:  be real.  Your message needs to have value for the recipient, not just be a big trumpet blast for you. 

So the next time someone asks you how you’re doing, tell ‘em you’re good.  Ask how they are.  Wait until you’re asked how business is before you explain that you’re busy.   Or better yet, skip the third hour of the luncheon and get back to work.  After all—you’re busy!