Two Ways to Keep a Boat Out of a Ditch

My friend Ron was looking forward to a beautiful summer’s day on the lake with his boat. He and his family were in the truck towing the boat when something odd happened. The boat that was supposed to stay behind him for the duration of the trip was passing him! That’s right. He looked in his rearview mirror and noticed a very familiar boat in a very unfamiliar position, not behind him, but right beside him. He reduced his speed and watched in terror as the boat veered left and crossed the median into a ditch.

What went wrong?

Ron’s brother-in-law, who was visiting from out of town, had hooked up the boat. What he had failed to mention was that he was not familiar with boats, so when Ron asked if everything was all set, he took his brother-in-law’s word that it was. Off they went, unaware that something was left unconnected, unhinged, or unclamped, and moments later, were standing on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck.

“He reduced his speed and watched in terror as the boat veered left and crossed the median into a ditch.”

Ron could have saved himself some trouble by doing two simple things: 

  • Trust but Verify - Ron trusted his brother-in-law and had no reason to doubt him. But it would have been wise to walk around and look at the hitch just to make sure.

  • Inspect What You Expect - Ron expected the boat to stay behind him the whole time. Due to the importance of this expectation, it would have been worthy of his inspection.

Which brings us to the question of this article: What are two ways you can keep your projects, initiatives, or deliverables out of the ditch? The above points apply to anything where you depend on other people to get something done, especially when they may be new to the task, project, or company.

Isn’t this micro-managing? Early on, perhaps. You can back off over time as the person gains experience and confidence in what they are doing. But, do everyone a favor and 1.) trust but verify, and 2.) inspect what you expect. You’ll keep things out of the ditch and your team will enjoy some smooth sailing.

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