|
|
|
|
|
|
|
that the meeting planner took your "watch-the-meal expenses" to mean a box lunch on the beach. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6. Worry factors. Mention things the follower may encounter during the task that may create confusion and worry. With your advance warning, you'll lessen their apprehension when obstacles surface, when some steps take longer than anticipated, when negotiations or changes in plans may be appropriate. End your recital of the worry factors with a clear definition of failure. What is inappropriate for the sales meeting? At what points/decisions/problems should the person report back to you for help? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 876: Give followers a context. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Make yourself comfortable when you plan to give visitors a tour of the building." Does this mean jeans, t-shirt, halter topor walking shoes rather than high heels, and lightweight fabrics rather than wools? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A manager asked his secretary to find out the middle initial of the former chairman of the board. He intended for her to check an old annual report on the shelf in the file room and supply the missing initial so he could use it on a gag birthday card. Not knowing the low priority of finding the correct initial when she discovered the annual report missing from the shelf, she spent two hours going to the downtown library looking for the information. Whenever you're giving employees instructions to do a task, also give them the goal and context of the task so they can make intelligent decisions along the way for things you can't anticipate. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 877: Use both words and pictures for best results. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If your instructions need to be repeated often, consider whether they should be in words (better for precision) or in pictures (better for speed). For best results, use both. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 878: Give all the pieces to the puzzle. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I just returned from a 10-minute trip to a client's office that took 35 minutes. Why? Here were the directions: "As you exit the rental car parking lot, you'll be on 1272. At the second signal light, turn left onto Magrauder Avenue. Then take the first left from Magrauder onto Bennet Street. Drive until the street dead-ends into the dock. Our plant is the building adjacent to the dock." |
|
|
|
|
|