not speaking up usually pays off in the short-term. not voicing your disagreement with a decision, not adding your ideas into the conversation, and not defending others’ will more than likely keep you safe.

for now.

it’s easy to not voice your opinion because there’s no risk involved. not many people have been fired for something they didn’t say. except there is actually a ton of risk involved in staying silent. you’ve merely deferred that risk to the long game instead. some future version of you is going to have a problem to deal with and—knowing how bad news doesn’t age well—it will probably be worse than the problem you’re facing right now.

choose instead to direct the discussion. choose instead to be a part of the initial planning. choose instead to support and defend what you believe in.

it’s hard work now, but future you will thank you for it.