Bed Sheet Communication
I definitely outkicked my coverage when I landed my wife. One of the many ways she’s amazing is that she is an instructor for Revelation Wellness in her “free” time. She spends several hours per week designing workouts and devotionals that she shares with a group of dedicated women whom she cares greatly about. They meet at the Crosspoint Church building at 5 am twice per week. In addition to her local group, she serves as a regional leader for Revelation Wellness. Last weekend, she attended a retreat for regional leaders in Kansas City, so the kids and I ran the house for the weekend. A friend and teammate played a song (More Than Me by Ian Munsick) that she thought I’d like this week, and the message sums up my thoughts. I’m thankful that my wife loves Jesus more than me, and that she puts that level of effort into praise and worship through movement. The kids and I wanted to make sure that she came home to a clean house without any demands upon her return as a thank-you for her dedication. After completing all the laundry, I was putting clean sheets on the bed and preparing for my usual struggle of fitting out what direction to line up the fitted sheet when I noticed that this set of sheets had tags on each side labeled either top/bottom or side. That leads me to this week’s thoughts on bed sheet communication.
The simple and clear communication provided by those tags took away the confusion and frustration that normally occurred from the project. The effectiveness of this made me start thinking of other places where a similar method worked. Men’s and Women’s restroom signs, the yellow light in a stoplight, and a book’s table of contents are some examples of simple and clear communication that remove obstacles and improve the user experience.
Three simple lights manage the flow of traffic for millions of vehicles per day, but that little extra communication that comes from the yellow light makes a huge impact. The simple and effective communication tells the driver that it’s time to make a go/no-go decision. If a yellow light guides traffic and simple tags can help me make the bed right the first time, imagine what simple and clear communication can do in our business. Great communication eliminates frustration for customers and coworkers by setting direction and expectations of outcomes and reduces stress by removing doubt. Admittedly, it takes a little more effort to provide great communication, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. It only needs to be clear, simple, and add value. The bed sheet manufacturer didn’t have to include those tags, in fact, most don’t. But the fact that they did, made my life easier, and in response, I will request that my wife choose that brand the next time she deems that we need new sheets. The same will hold true for the people in our lives. Whether it’s our customers, our friends, or the wonderful people who are a combination of the two, giving that little extra will be something they value.
That leads me to this week’s challenge: focus on your communication. You are the expert in your job, and you know the areas that will frustrate or provide obstacles for others. Channel your bedsheet communication to use that expertise to intentionally communicate clearly and simply with the goal of making life better for someone else, even if it doesn’t gain you anything.
Simply put… Use your talents to make the world better!
I’m thankful that you were willing to go to work today, that you took the time to read this, and for being a part of what makes Ag Partners the world’s greatest cooperative!
Have an amazing day!