Be accurate with your requests; be effective

I had to raise a support ticket on behalf of a consulting client today.

I typed in the issue that was being faced. My client seemed happy.

Then, I carried on typing and put in what I wanted from the person at the other end. I didn't tell them how to do their job but I told them the result I was seeking.

"Why are you telling them that?" my client asked.

"I want them to give me what I want" I replied.

"We don't normally do that" I was informed.

"How does that work out for you?" I enquired.

Blank look.

The IT support company phoned us, surprised at the ticket they received.

"That's the best ticket we've had in ages" they gushed.

Long story short, the IT improvement was made shortly thereafter, with no further changes required.

It was only a small thing, to add the extra couple of details, but it made big difference to the outcome.

This is the precise reason that I wrote the book What Does Good Look Like?

I saw the same issue time and time again. People asking their teams for results when they weren't entirely sure themselves of what they wanted.

I wanted people to stop focusing on telling people off for things they couldn't possibly get right in the first place. Telepathy isn't effective with most people.

If you ever find yourself frustrated with your teams and their results, you might find it worth reading What Does Good Look Like?

Available from Amazon and Apple Books

Enjoy,

Giles

About the author:

Giles Johnston is a Chartered Engineer who specialises in helping businesses to grow and improve through better business processes and embracing Kaizen.

Giles is also the author of Effective Root Cause Analysis and 'What Does Good Look Like?'.

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