Ambiguity and Clear Expectations

The last blog post discussed power, including Henry Kissinger’s slightly blue quote: power is the greatest aphrodisiac. This led me to explore more about Kissinger; his career, and the interpretations of it, are quite mixed.

But for my purposes, there's a story about Kissinger asking a staff member for a report. The staffer spent days on it, but Kissinger sent it back with a note, “Is this the best you can do?” After more revisions, the staffer received the same comment again. Finally, and clearly frustrated, the staffer exclaimed, “Yes! It is the best I can do!” To which Kissinger replied, “Okay, I’ll read it then.”

This anecdote is a little funny, but highlights the importance of clear expectations. Kissinger’s vague question suggests he wasn’t satisfied with the report, but that he did in fact read it. The staffer assumed that and surmised his boss was disappointed with the result. Kissinger’s question also raised uncertainty about what improvements he wants. If clear expectations had been set, there would be no doubt about the staffer’s product or effort. The moral is that ambiguity and uncertainty can be removed if we have clear expectations. It’s not that hard to do.