Collection
Close the communication loop when ambiguity can become an error
Adapt safety-critical communication tools into concise handoffs, explicit ownership, escalation and plan updates that knowledge-work teams can actually use.
12 elements · Explore in any order.
1 checklist · 1 pattern · 2 principles · 7 protocols · 1 template
12 elements
Close a critical instruction with a check-back
Sent is not the same state as understood.
Read the idea ProtocolCall out the critical fact and name its receiver
A fact shouted into a group chat can belong to everybody and therefore nobody.
Read the idea TemplateUse SBAR when the issue needs a decision now
The escalation should arrive with the problem already assembled.
Read the idea PrincipleDo not transfer ownership until the receiver accepts it
Forwarding the message is not the same as transferring responsibility.
Read the idea ChecklistHand off the uncertainty, not just the status
A clean handoff that hides uncertainty is clean in the wrong way.
Read the idea ProtocolHand off the contingency with the task
A to-do list is incomplete when the next obvious question is 'what if that fails?'
Read the idea ProtocolMake the receiver synthesize the handoff
'Any questions?' is a weak test because confusion often has no question prepared.
Read the idea PrincipleUse one handoff shape for recurring transitions
A standard shape makes omissions easier to see.
Read the idea ProtocolBrief the team before consequential work starts
Five minutes of shared plan can be cheaper than five different plans.
Read the idea ProtocolHuddle when reality invalidates the plan
Do not keep executing the old plan while privately admitting it is obsolete.
Read the idea ProtocolRepeat a high-risk concern when the first challenge is ignored
Politeness should not make a safety concern disappear after one sentence.
Read the idea PatternEscalate concern with a shared signal phrase
Sometimes the useful upgrade is not louder speech but less ambiguous speech.
Read the idea