Heck if I know ...

This is not an answer that is normally acceptable outside of personal relationships. You can "heck if know" a mate or a friend all you want and you are probably more tolerated than someone who says he or see does know. In fact, I feel safe in assuming that we all have friends and relatives who would be offended if we "knew" because then they couldn't tell us. And some people just have to tell us...

But it's not the same in corporate America. Although I can see how it might be a very liberating phrase to use when it is in fact the truth, I am probably not going to be a leader in trying to gain its acceptance. Mostly because I don't trust in the ability of upper management types to fully comprehend how the phrase ultimately liberates communications between disparate groups and even with different levels of the same group.

I'm writing this to both educate and encourage: Understand that "Heck if I know" is an expression of ultimate truth. (And the Truth shall set you free!) And please consider liberating yourself, every once in a while, by using this phrase. I don't expect you to endanger your employment situation, as when a boss-type asks you how the group you're working with is doing in preparing the Vanderhousen proposal, because I can see where admitting ignorance is counter-productive, but I do want you to have the phrase ready for use in a corporate situation that is both safe, and mutually beneficial. Such as when you're talking to your boss's wife over the phone, right after seeing your boss escort the about to go back to school hot Summer intern into a storage closet. She may not appreciate "Heck if I know" but you know who will...

But seriously, "Heck if I know," just like the Truth, can set you free.