This is the Business English Podcast, episode 495.
Don't kick the can down the road.
Address it in English now.
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Hey there, Michelle.
How are you?
How's it going?
Hi, Lindsay.
I am doing well.
How are you today?
Excellent.
Excellent.
Michelle, I have a question for you.
You ready?
Okay.
Yes.
All right.
So when you have an issue, do you tend to tackle it right away or do you like to kick the can down the road and kind of procrastinate?
I think it depends.
I think if it involves maybe a confrontation, maybe I'll kick the can down the road a little bit.
I think that's when it gets into these interpersonal types of things.
If something like that is going on, I try to avoid it, I think.
That's understandable.
That's totally human.
That's totally human.
I think most human beings don't necessarily want to get into a confrontation with someone because like, we want to get along, we want to connect.
We're wired that way, right?
Yes exactly, so sometimes I can kick the can down the road, um.
So yeah Lindsay, today we're going to talk about this unique and kind of fun expression.
Yeah um, I actually just heard someone use this the other day regarding a problem at work, saying there was an issue.
Oh, I know.
I think they said like, oh, I know this might just be kicking the can down the road.
Yeah.
So, but have you used this or would you use this in your, in your practice, business life or personal life?
Yeah yeah, absolutely both.
I would say both um, and i'd say there is a case to kick the can, kick the can down the road for certain things at certain times in business.
You know what i mean.
We have to be strategic about how we spend our money in companies, and certain things aren't on fire like i feel like i spent a lot of time putting out fires, sort of.
You know, what do we fix?
First, things seem to break at the same time.
Sometimes we have problems with our app.
Sometimes the website goes down, like usually on the same day.
So it's like certain things are urgent and certain things we can kick the can down the road and fix next quarter.
You know, neither of those two are an example of that, but certain things just don't need to be fixed right away.
So that's a good example.
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah.
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All right.
So Lindsay, so we've been kind of hinting at the meaning already.
But what does this mean?
To kick the can down the road.
So it really means to avoid some sort of problem because you'll just do something about it in the future if it's necessary.
So it means like, again, it's not on fire, like it's not urgent.
It's not going to be a deal breaker for your business.
And it can wait, right?
It's something that can wait.
Right.
So, I mean, it's about postponing some sort of action.
So it could be totally fine, right?
In one scenario you're kicking the can down the road because you've made a strategic decision, but also it can be out of fear, out of indecision, avoiding confrontation.
Yeah.
Maybe something needs to get done and you keep kicking the can down the road.
So it really, it really depends.
Here's an example.
You know, you have to talk to your boss about your pay.
Oh, sorry.
Okay.
No, no, no.
This is not, I'm just giving an example of how it might be.
Sorry.
Yeah.
Like, let's say, you want to talk to your boss about your pay rate, but you're avoiding confrontation.
So you kick the can down the road until the next year.
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
So that's an example where it might not be the best thing.
Right.
So some of these interpersonal conversations, you know, maybe they need to happen, or maybe they need to happen sometime sooner than next year.
Right.
Yeah.
Or your team made a mistake in a presentation or you know, for example, you know that you should address it.
But instead of addressing it directly, you decide to kick the can down the road and until you have to start the next one.
So yeah, so certain things need to be said in business, right?
And usually it's better to make the correction when it happens instead of when it happens the second time, right?
Right, right.
So definitely you have to think about okay, is this a strategic move to kick the can down the road, and this is good?
Or am I avoiding something because I'm kind of feeling uneasy or a little bit scared of of something?
Yeah.
Have a little introspection, right?
Have a little conversation with ourselves there.
Yeah.
All right.
So this is how it sounds in a sentence.
We've been kicking the can down the road on this situation for too long.
We just need to get it over with and call them today.
Or we should give her a warning, but it's so, but I'm so unconfrontational.
I just want to kick the can down the road until maybe she stops on her own.
Hmm.
Yeah, but she probably won't, right?
Probably not.
Yeah.
Let's not kick the can down the road.
We know we need to make a second hire.
We are so busy.
These are all good examples.
So again, sometimes it's the right thing.
Sometimes it's not.
But this is a good way to say delay something, right?
Just push it to the next week or the next year or the next month, right?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
So you're about to make a trade based on a friend's text.
But which you do you listen to?
Is it, we could buy a house in Tulum.
Get optioning those options.
We could lose everything.
Or let's do a little research.
Get your head in the trade and make the investment decision that's right for you.
Learn more at FINRA.org slash trade smart.
Okay.
There are other ways to say it, Michelle.
Like I said, put it off, right?
Put something off.
Put it off.
Yeah.
This one is very natural to put something off.
So let's put this purchase off for another year.
We don't have the budget for it right now.
Yeah.
Nice phrasal verb right there, right?
Also just as common, right?
If you feel that kick the can down the road, it's a little casual.
It's appropriate for work, of course, but If you want to say something a little less casual, you could say put it off.
Put something off.
That's interesting.
I don't feel kick the can down the road is necessarily casual.
I feel it's more wordy and that you may not – you're not going to use that all the time.
Put it off.
You might hear that – I mean, you're going to hear that just a lot more, in my opinion instead of – kick the can down the road.
That's kind of reserved for a special occasion.
Yeah yeah, but to me i don't.
Maybe it is less formal and but i would say that that's more the difference in my mind.
Yeah, I have to ask you Michelle, did you play kick the can when you were a kid?
I feel like this is one of the things that tells people how old we are.
Okay.
Tell us about this.
So have you heard of the game kick the can?
I've heard of it, but I don't even know.
It's just a very simple game.
I feel like it was popular in the eighties.
That's why I say it's like, it's a dater thing.
Like you can date someone real quick.
Um, when you ask them that question, we used to play it in our neighborhood.
So it was like kids would hot.
I think what it was was like, there was a can and, And like we all knew where it was.
And like if you try to kick the can, come into the center and try to kick it.
But then like you could intercept people.
And like if you got tagged, you'd be out or something.
Anyways, it's a game we used to play like a neighborhood game.
You know, when kids used to go out and play in the neighborhood.
I'm sure that was fun.
I'm sure that was fun.
Yeah.
So side point.
So you can also say put something on the back burner.
I think we've talked about this before, probably.
But these are, again, have a little bit of a different feeling.
This, to me, is generally more strategic, rather than kick the can down the road, which can be also just about emotions, right?
So I know it's important to go to this gala.
I don't know.
Let's put this on the back burner until next quarter.
Yeah, next quarter.
When you're cooking, you might put something that can simmer on the back burner, right?
I don't know.
I'm not a cook.
I don't cook at all.
But I suppose that's probably true.
And put your attention on something you're sauteing, let's say, right?
That needs more attention.
So that's the same thing in business or life.
Right.
So I agree.
It is a little more strategic.
Or what's one more, Lindsay?
Postpone.
Postpone something.
So we should postpone our decision.
We don't have all the information yet.
And also events can get postponed, right?
Because of rain or something.
If there's a barbecue, let's postpone the barbecue until next weekend.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, that's always stressful.
Have you ever, you know, been planning a outdoor party?
And then you're checking the weather uh, all the time to see if it's gonna be okay.
Yeah, especially if the party's contingent on just being outdoors.
You know yeah, we used to have birthday parties for me at my parents place, which was on the harbor.
Like it's really a bad place to be if it's rainy and cold, but it's a great place to be if it's a beautiful sunny afternoon in the summer.
So I was always obsessed with the weather.
I'd wake up if I was going to have a party and be like, Oh my God, it has to be nice, you know?
Yeah.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah.
Some people, they'll plan a beach wedding or something like that.
And those things are great.
But yeah, definitely.
It's always good to have a contingency plan.
Yeah, for sure.
For sure.
All right, Michelle, let's break into a role play, shall we?
Let's do it.
Here we are meeting about a coworker who has not been pulling her weight.
Okay, here we go.
So I don't know.
I think we should just forget it for now.
Yeah, but how long are we going to be okay with kicking the can down the road?
You know it will happen again.
You're right.
We shouldn't put it off any longer.
We've been putting it on the back burner.
We shouldn't be afraid of the confrontation.
It will be fine.
Let's just not postpone this again.
Sounds good.
Yeah, so with these things, we always do make a decision, whether we're explicit about it or not of whether we're going to address it right away or just deal with it later, right?
Yep.
So this time we decided to go after it now.
So you're saying, yeah, but how long?
I was like saying, let's forget about it for now.
And you're saying yeah, but how long are we going to be OK with that, with kicking the can down the road?
Right.
And then you said, you're right.
We shouldn't put it off any longer.
So put this conversation.
Exactly.
And then you're highlighting we've been putting it on the back burner.
So we've already been doing this right for a while.
Mm hmm.
And then I said, let's not postpone this again.
Okay.
So it sounds like we're going to have that conversation with that coworker.
It's not easy, but then it's important and you just feel better after as long as you approach it the right way.
Yep.
Yep.
Yep.
Yeah, exactly.
So yeah, all of these are really, really useful to talk about things that happen all the time.
At work, you're always making decisions on what you're going to conquer.
Now, what are you going to tackle?
And what are you going to have to put off for many different reasons?
Guys, listen to episode 493 from the other day.
We did reserve, preserve, conserve.
What's the difference?
That was a good one.
So check that one out as well.
Yeah.
And I think, for the takeaway today.
In an ideal world we could do everything right away, but that's just not reality.
So you are going to have these conversations about prioritizing what matters most and what can be kicked down the road with your coworkers.
So now you have the vocabulary to do it.
Right?
Exactly.
Yeah.
All right.
Well, this was fun.
And guys, we will see you on the next episode.
All right, Michelle, you have a good day.
Talk soon.
You too.
Bye.
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