OMG! I Didn’t Sign on for This!
Many decades ago, when I was as younger, but not shorter, I was executive editor for a newly appointed Vice President of Product Development in a publishing company. Shortly before the yearly sales conference, she called me into her office to ask my advice about our editorial team.
“This is the first time we’re taking the entire editorial department to sales conference. I have certain expectations of what I think they should be doing there. Do you think I should tell them what my expectations are?”
What?
I felt transported back to conversation of the kind that my younger older brother used to use to tease me as a kid and I was so tempted to say what he used to say to me.
“I can’t tell you because then you’ll know.”
Instead I answered with an emphatic YES! and I followed it with a few words on how much easier it is to get the behavior we expect if we simply explain what it is and why we value it.
Sounds like a crazy conversation – eh? But it really happened.
Expectations and Drama
Think about the last “high drama” business situation you observed or were pulled into. Someone was seriously complaining about something that didn’t go the way he or she thought it should.
What he or she expected out of the situation is not what actually happened.
Consider this scenario …
You and I are asked to move a cart of apples down a dirt road to neighboring farm in a limited amount of time.
We expect our apple carts to go down the road smoothly to our destination and suddenly one tips over. Apples everywhere. It’s a bad surprise, extra work, and unplanned stress. It’s almost a crisis.
Now suppose that someone said before you started that about halfway through the assigned apple cart trip, you’ll hit a rut, tip the cart, and have to collect the apples again right the cart to continue. It happens to everyone. Now there’s no surprise, no extra work, and the stress is planned. It’s not a crisis. It’s part of the quest.
Knowing what’s going on makes a difference, doesn’t it?
Herein lies the moral of the story. Plan the work and share the plan. Let everyone know what to expect and the drama in your event, project or business will be a whole lot less.
Have you seen any situations lately where lack of planning or communication turned into drama instead of great business?
PS If you want less drama in your business, stop being dramatic yourself.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!
