Business Lessons

Title: On Giving Precise Instructions

If you are going to be a busy person, accomplishing much,

you will need to learn to Give Precise Instructions so that:

1. You don’t have to divert valuable time that could be devoted to PRODUCTIVE work by being forced to tell people things a second time; and

2. the person you tell them to, will have confidence in you when the inevitable situation arises that causes him to be forced to doubt your instructions, and they rely on the thought

“Well, he was always right in the past.”

To obtain this confidence, you must speak very precisely so that you seldom err in communication and your instructee gets “trained” to the condition that you seldom err,

and you must train your instructee that you will “back him up” if he gets to a situation where he must question your instructions and then make a guess at doing what he thinks you want.

’cause if you don’t back him up,
then he will be afraid that you will “jump him”

and then he is less likely to try to guess and accomplish what he thinks you want.
SUMMARY:

You never want anyone to guess at your meaning unless it is absolutely necessary, but when the situation arises that necessitates their guessing for you,

you want them to feel comfortable about doing so

because if they don’t know you will back them up when they guess,

they will do nothing

and sometimes “doing nothing” is worse.