Episode 3 is Here to Help You With Expectations
Working with other people requires good communication, interpersonal skills, and cooperation. However, even with those attributes in place, often it can be difficult for individuals and teams to get on the same page. People make assumptions, tasks are not completed or done incorrectly, and problems arise. This is especially true when to individuals or teams are from separate organizations or departments.
That’s why we are very excited to announce the release of Episode 3: Not So Great Expectations.
In Episode 3, United Spaceworks Incorporated (USI) has worked with a British aerospace company called Peregrine Engineering to launch their first major rocket. They're about to find out just how painful it can be when two different teams have not established proper expectations.
The Real Story That Inspired This Episode
In 1999, engineers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab and Lockheed Martin miscommunicated with one another about the Mars Climate Orbiter. Each team made assumptions about how the other was communicating. The navigation team at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory used the metric system of millimeters and meters in their calculations, while the Lockheed Martin team used the English system of inches, feet, and pounds.
The result was the Orbiter crashed, a loss of $125 million.
Episode 3 is inspired by that incident and brings to life a similar scenario to demonstrate the importance of communicating and agreeing upon expectations between individuals or groups.
How Do You Talk About Expectations With Your Team?
The Habit Highlights (best practices) discussed at the end of this episode summarize a simple process for anyone to improve relationships and profits, while lowering stress, by simply confirming expectations and removing assumptions.
What steps do you take to avoid making assumptions? How do you set the proper expectations with your co-workers, your boss, or your direct reports?
It’s hard to do your best work without knowing what is expected of you.
