VISUALIZING THE SLAPPEY PLEDGE: VALIDATE


I WILL VALIDATE. I will create clarity and avoid misunderstandings by discussing expectations upfront. I will establish mutually understood objectives and deadlines for all projects, issues, and commitments. I will confirm completion of tasks by asking customers and coworkers to validate my work.

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A couple of years ago I got a call from a customer—he is usually always a nice guy, but I could tell he was a little irritated this time.  He said, "This isn't that big of a deal, but why does it take 10 days to get a simple voicemail change done?" I immediately apologized for the oversight and told him we would get it taken care of immediately. We got it handled quickly and it blew over with the customer, but I couldn't help feeling dismayed that we had squandered a 3 hour response and replaced it with a 10 day response because we didn't validate.

After I investigated the situation I found that the call had come in at about 12 pm on a Wednesday.  Since it was a fairly easy request, we got it done that afternoon at around 3. BUT—no one validated with the customer that it was done! We thought thought our work was done, but what we did wasn't what the customer wanted.  I don't know where along the way we got it mixed up, but the request we completed wasn't what the customer needed.  So instead of getting bonus points with the customer for an awesome 3 hour response time, we lost credibility for what appeared to the customer to be a 10 day response.

It would be like climbing up a tall ladder to find out you put it on the wrong building!

But I want to be clear: validation starts by setting clear expectations upfront and then coming back at the end to make sure you met and exceeded those expectations. The process for validation is very critical with our customers but should also be used with each other as well.  Let's take hold of the value we bring by being great at Validation!

Clear Expectations Up Front + Validation After Complete = Happy Customers.


Luke 14:28 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it."

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