The Power of a Good Brief
Have you ever been disappointed with the results after you have trusted someone to do something on your behalf? How often has the end product not been what you’d hoped for?
Sometimes it’s the fault of the person tasked with the job. But sometimes there is more to it.
While those executing an assignment have the responsibility to deliver a professional product, those instructing them also need to ensure that the brief is as clear ‘as a mountain crick’.
And there is a familiar root to the problem. Clarity. (Or lack thereof.)
Here are four typical areas where clarity can go astray.
1. Precision
Let’s look at an imaginary example:
The boss (likely distracted, edgy, harassed and time starved) calls and says;
“Hi Pug I need a quick competitive analysis of Barking Dogs of America. The board’s expressed an interest in it and so has Schnauzer (the CEO). High priority. Gotta run to a meeting now, but I want you and Beagle to handle this. I know I can count on you both – trust me, there’s a lot of interest in this one!”
(FYI, Barking Dogs is a key competitor that has been gaining market share at an alarming rate.)
How will Pug and Beagle respond to this phone call and assignment?
Probably, taken off-guard and slightly disturbed by the urgency and impatience in the boss’s voice, Pug’s instinctive answer will be something along the lines of;
“Sure, no problem – you can count on us. Beagle and I are on it!”
But what exactly is it that Pug and Beagle are on? Does the boss want a paragraph? A page? Slides? A 20-page report? And analysis of what? Sales? Earnings? Market share? Distribution? Advertising? All of the above?
All they really know is that the project is important and the boss is anxious. And that’s never helpful.
What they need is clarity of the objective. What exactly needs to be done?
2. Clearly defined responsibility
If you’ve worked in any corporate role, you’ll be familiar with the assignments for “Pug and Beagle” to handle. Or worse still, “Pug, Beagle, and Spaniel” – the three trusted work-hounds. Even if they are all very capable, who is doing what?
Without a clear project leader, what they’ve been handed is a recipe for confusion. Or worse, dischord.
3. Timeframes
Let’s return to our hypothetical project. The request was for a “quick competitive analysis.” Well, how quick is quick?
· Could it be a day? Maybe.
· A week? Possibly.
· Two weeks? Conceivable. A competitive analysis can get pretty meaty.
What both Pug and the boss most want to avoid is a phone call, say, three hours later with the boss barking,
“Where’s that competitive analysis? I’m meeting Schnauzer in 10 minutes!”
The best Pug can offer is that he was planning to meet Beagle over coffee first thing tomorrow morning to discuss how they’d approach the project.
What they wanted were clear deadlines that left no room for guessing.
4. Careful communication
So often what is intended by one person is not actually what is perceived by the other.
When you think about it, projects (and working relationships for that matter) frequently flounder on the shoals of faulty communication.
So how do we prevent such delegation-related problems from occurring in the first place?
From a Leader’s perspective, a key element is to make sure there’s ample time available when a substantive assignment is briefed (no harried phone calls from remote airports) and to follow up an informal conversation with a clear written directive:
“As briefly discussed over the phone, could you and Beagle send me a one-pager by next Friday on your findings regarding the competitive analysis of Barking Dogs of America? I’d like you to summarise the key strengths and weaknesses of their website, and Beagle can focus on their customer experience. I’ll need it by midday, please. I’m here for any questions.”
Having reflected on this work orientated brief-critique, how can you apply this when providing a good brief for outsourcing your next (or even your first) home-related private project?
How to provide a clear brief
When our someone from our PA team is assigned to an activity, our experience is that the quality of the results delivered are contingent on a good understanding of the client (first and foremost) as well as a good brief.
Taking the time to provide a clear-enough brief does pay off. Because immediately you’ll feel a huge weight lifted off your shoulders. And you can then look forward to the work being done exactly as you would want.
So here are some things to factor in as you construct a good brief:
· Give it time. Briefing too quickly is a false economy. It will almost always result in more questions being asked. Much like the boss in our example, we’re all pressed for time. And for the client, it can be tempting to minimise the amount of time spent on the brief. After all, it’s easy to think that if you have to spend time explaining to someone else how something should be done, you could have done the thing yourself. But that’s often not the case. A one-hit brief is a win-win – for you and for the people you’re delegating to.
· Visualisation. Literally try to see what you want to happen in your mind’s eye. This is the fastest way to draw out the details you need to express to someone else. It might just take a moment with your eyes closed to do this. It’s like speed reading. It’s using your abundant imaginative and creative brain.
· Relationship. This is everything. You know how it feels to work with someone who falls into stride with you – they know intuitively what you need. That’s what we aim for. It can take some time investment and some time to develop. But ultimately it is about openness and being connected and being willing to share your thoughts. A good brief brings more insights than just the immediate job in hand. It gives the assignee the chance to learn more about you too.
If you struggle to delegate when it comes to your home and private life, you might like our post about why some sorts of delegation is easy and some isn’t, coming soon.
We’d love to know what strategies you engage at work when briefing a project that would also be successful when outsourcing your personal projects.