Expectation Gaps
When I was just starting out in the world of business, my first mentor taught me something that I’ve used with great success over the years. In fact, I would have to say that learning this idea was one of those watershed moments when you know that you’ve just received an insight that will make your life infinitely better if you’ll only apply it.
I can still remember the context of the lesson. I was talking with my mentor about the fact that most of the people I was managing were not getting the results that I wanted. What I was mainly talking with him about was the fact that many of these individuals had fallen way short of my expectations and yet they were under the impression that they were doing outstanding work and were asking for more money.
I’ll never forget what he told me. He said, “Robert, all problems between people are the result of expectation gaps. The bigger the gap, the bigger the problem.” At the time, I don’t think I fully understood what he had just said but I wrote it down in my journal because it sounded like something I should remember and maybe even file away for future reference.
Through the years, I have to admit that every single problem I have had in any kind of dealing with any sort of person can always be traced back to this simple concept. “All problems between people are the result of expectation gaps.”
I quickly learned that the reason I was not getting the results I wanted was because I hadn’t communicated the results I wanted clearly in a way that could be easily understood.
Have you ever had a situation where someone is telling you how great a job he or she has done and you’re thinking about how far they missed the mark. Here’s the most important question: “Did you specify exactly what you wanted?”
Here’s another important question: “Did the person you gave the goal to understand your expectations?”
It’s only through clear communication that expectation gaps become eliminated. You have to ask for exactly what you want and you have to make sure that the person you are dealing with understands what you want.
Think of some areas where you might be experiencing expectation gaps. The most important thing is to identify the gaps and then begin thinking about ways to close them.
So what if you’ve clearly communicated your expectations to someone who clearly understands what you want and you still don’t get the results you’re after? Well, that’s the subject for a whole other blog post I think.
Real people have conversations and conversations expose thoughts and thoughts are like a disasembled puzzle in its early stage , and unless you throw all the pieces on the table at the same time how can anybody know where to start, because no one can see the big picture, or they all see a different big picture, confusion builds chaos, facts and communications build bridges,Imagine raising your family communicating with email only, or emailing them programed systems for there lives, do you think that would work? I think not.. because it is all one sided withgout considering where the other person is at or what they are doing or thinking, people are not robots. I have gotten 55000 emails and none have produced 1 ounce of positive results and wasted thousands of hours of time. and it is not possible for me to adapt to 1000 differnt get rich programs, even if i wanted to, so in closing if no one has the decency or the humanity to talk to me directly like real people do. how can i fit them in the picture, if i dont understand there needs and they mine. E-mail is not the way to do business, at least not in the early stages of building.