It depends

I knew I was going to be a successful consultant when I realised that I no longer felt shame when I answered a client question with "It depends"....

It turns out other professions do it too... who'd have guessed?!

Brad DeLong has a great list of "Twelve Things Economists Need to Remember to Be Helpful Journalistic Sources"

Number four is the best:

4. Never say, "on the one hand, on the other hand." Always say, "I think X because I believe Y is most important; other economists will tell you Z because they think Q is most important. They're probably wrong because of R."

I'm going to remember that.... it works just as well in consulting.