Being a romantic, I sought to treat my beloved to a special meal at our nearby restaurant. We had been there on another occasion, and although they didn't know us too well , they would recognise us by sight.
I called up for an twilight booking (since we like to move on to other things) and was greeted by a charming lady who, by her voice, may have been of Italian extraction. I asked for 7:00 p.m. on the next Friday, and she said 'No problem', but didn't take my name.
I enquired if she needed my name and a telephone number to reserve the table, but she assured me that it wasn’t necessary, telling me that at they don't take reservations that early in the evening because it wouldn't be hectic.
As is happens, when we turned up, you guessed it, they had a large booking and while the evening wasn't spoilt it definitely took a downturn. It was sad to have to be firmly insistent, and after a wait and a drink at the bar we did make that dinner date, although it wasn't what either of us desired.
What went amiss? Well I went wrong when I didn't make sure that I got the booking before I ended the call. I didn't get commitment.
Chatting to a client, the other day, it became evident to me that he was suffering the same outcome. He had grown used to asking his development team 'How's it going' in a casual way, because he felt that it conveyed accord and trust.
In fact he generally got the answer 'fine, its going o.k.', which he assumed to be just that. Of course it wasn't really o.k., and in fact he suffered from interruptions and technology problems that he hadn't expected, giving him sleepless nights and financial pressure as the development resources got eaten up.
If developers and their supervisors aren't asked directly explicitly what the position is, then human behaviour decrees an answer that aligns with the question (read unclear).
So instead of stopping at the phrase 'how's it going', why not press on until you get a firm commitment.
‘how are things?'
'When will it be completed?'
'That's the 20th August?'
'And you will have completed production testing?'
'All the bugs will be dealt with?'
'You are committed to that date?'
Even if part of the replies you get are not exactly what you want, you will be in a much better situation to handle the situation than if you just consented to their imprecise answers.
To get commitment plan to ask for it. Ensure that you don't accept an woolly answer and keep asking until you have entire confirmation.
If you fail to get commitment at every phase of your effort you leave everything to fortune. By asking politely but constantly for a clear and unequivocal reply to your request you will avoid the disaster that bunches into a concertina at the end of the project.
For the last 20 years Rob Wendes has been providing stress free business technology solutions to Business owners and professionals. http://www.tactips.com
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