“If the words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame.
But if the orders are clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.”
– Sun Tzu
How many times have you hired someone to do a job, partnered with someone to form a venture, or gave someone instructions within your organization only to find out that the job never got done properly?
I’m guilty of sometimes being too vague in my instructions unto others. Aren’t we all at times? Whether it’s because we’re super busy, have a lot on our minds, or simply don’t know how to give clear instructions, we all have our reasons for making the grave mistake when dealing with people.
Someone recently told me: “When I give directions to people, I try to respectfully speak to them as if they were a child. I speak to them in such a way that they understand every little detail – and the only way I can do that is to speak to them as if they were a child who was just learning something for the first time. Though I may come off sounding disrespectful, we both leave the conversation with complete understanding.”
To a large degree, I agree with my friend on how to go about speaking to people when giving instructions or cementing a deal. You need to find that happy medium of speaking to someone in a manner that they will understand every little detail, without being disrespectful or come off sounding condescending.
Lately, I’ve had much more success with managing people by taking the extra step by not painting broad strokes, but going into the exact details straight from the beginning. It’s so easy to throw around general commands to people, but it’s not so easy to make sure that someone fully understands all the nuances and subtleties of those instructions – that’s what separates the good leaders from the great.
When we aren’t clear with out instructions and things go wrong, who is to blame? We are. But when the instructions are fully understood and they aren’t implemented competently, then your problem lies in your partner, employee, whoever it may be.
As an entrepreneur, it’s you job to do everything in your power to make sure everyone fully understands what you need done; the room for guessing and wondering should be completely eliminated altogether. Otherwise, time, money, and energy will be wasted. And frustration within your organization will arise. Not cool.
What’s your method for giving clear instructions?
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