In both my personal and work life over the years I’ve had a theory about communication - that theory has been that you need to deliver on the intent of the person asking for something, not the specific thing they are asking for.

Example: When your mom said “Clean the floor in your room” when you were a kid - did that really mean clean stuff off the floor, or clean the room? Would she be happy if you piled everything on the bed, or perhaps shoved it into the closet (guilty :^))? No. That is because the intent of her message is different from what she asked for. What she really wanted was for you to clean your room, and taking her literally could backfire.

This same concept applies in business and personal communications. How many times have you asked for something, or been asked for something, then when you deliver the goods the other person isn’t satisfied? It was the concept, the goal, the intent they were seeking, along with all things that go with it - a certain amount of comprehensiveness, ownership, and quality that was not directly spoken to, but was very important to the end product and their satisfaction level with the result. Sometimes it takes effort, and if you are overworked or stressed sometimes delivering anything more than the specific request seems like a pain, but will result in a better product.

So that’s my thought of the day. Understanding and communicating intent and goal, not just the specific deliverables requested when generating, or requesting something will make both parties much more satisfied in the end, even if it means doing a bit more work.