Last week I mentioned that I would share a funny little story about our assessment for the final session of our 9 week online masterclass series – The Loyal Lieutenant.
The final assessment was a practical session where participants had to write a procedure during the class and submit the procedure so Ross could test the procedure.
Participants didn’t know what the procedure was until they arrived on zoom.
“The procedure you have to write is ‘How to Spread Lemon Butter on Jatz Biscuits’ for Ross’ morning tea.”
“What? That’s it?” asked one of the engineering students. “How to put lemon butter on a Jatz?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Off you go.”
I waited and watched as participants wrote out their procedures.
One by one they submitted them and I printed them for Ross.
If you know Ross, you know he has a sense of humour and can be a bit cheeky.
He followed the procedures exactly as written.
If the procedure instructed to place the lemon butter on the Jatz, he would simply place the bottle of lemon button on a Jatz biscuit.
It might seem like a simple exercise, however one of the procedures included 34 steps.
It was so funny to watch Ross as he placed a “scrape” of lemon butter on the Jatz. How big is a scrape?
When you are writing procedures you have to be precise. You can’t assume that the reader knows anything. You have to include every detail and it’s best to start with a verb because people want to know what they have to do.
Overall it was a fabulous exercise. All of the participants did extremely well. Their procedures were detailed and provided instructions for exactly what to do.
One slight detail that was only captured by one participant though, was the final step – Eat and Enjoy.
Remembering that the procedure was to prepare the biscuits for morning tea for Ross, he actually needed the instruction to eat. It’s a bit like the game Simon Says – “Simon says, Put your hand on your head” and we all follow the instruction, but if the instruction is given without saying “Simon says” and you follow the instruction, well you’re out of the game.
How would you go? Do you think Ross could follow your procedure? Do you think you’d be able to write it in about 10 minutes?
If not, perhaps you need to enrol yourself or your Loyal Lieutenant in our next Loyal Lieutenant Masterclass Series. Nine x 90 minute sessions of practical applications to streamline your operations, step into a leadership role, learn how to write procedures so you can delegate to others and generally have some fun along the way. Click on the link for more information.
Regards Shirley
P.S. Registration is open for the next Loyal Lieutenant Masterclass Series. A 9 week hands on training to streamline your operations, learn how to write procedures the right way and get clear on your roles plus much much more. Click on the link for more information. https://shirleydaltoncourse.com/offer
P.P.S. The Loyal Lieutenant book is now available on Amazon. Click on the link or the QR code below. bit.ly/TLLebook
