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How to give orders

1. Quotable quote

Ted Pollock, Managing Creatively: 1, Cahners, Boston, 1971, p. 38.

"No matter what your instructions, no matter what your ‘students’, you will be a more effective ‘teacher’ if you move from the simple to the complex."

2. Here's an idea

When delegating a task to an employee, always try to explain the task in terms of the organisation’s needs. For example, instead of simply saying, ‘I need a marketing plan for Product A on my desk by 10 a.m. Friday’, say something like, ‘The general manager wants to discuss our marketing plans after lunch on Friday. It’s important we make a good impression.’ By couching the order in a more specific frame of reference you let the employee work towards a larger goal which is more motivating.

3. Here's an idea

Be realistic when you assign a deadline for the completion of a project. As well, avoid the practice of asking for the task to be completed earlier than you need it - or your staff will stop taking your deadlines seriously! …