My Business On Purpose

Four Steps To Setting Crystal Clear (As Mud) Expectations

Human beings long for clarity.  We want to know precisely when the train will arrive, exactly when school will resume in person, and definitively when my Instacart order will show up.

Large corporations have entire departments focused solely on communication; communicating with the public, with employees, with customers, with regulators, with vendors and suppliers.

What about a small business?

Typically, it is the owner who will have to embrace the banner of clear communication for the business team and begin thoughtfully and repetitively empowering others to generate their own clear communication.

Communication is one of the kindest actions we can take as business owners to bring clarity to all of those partners.  The very root of the word communication simply means, “to share”.

Oh if Mom could see you now as you recall all of the Kindergarten cliches about how sharing is caring.  

In fact, sharing is caring, but only if sharing is done in truth, kindness, generosity, shrewdness, and discretion.  

We’ve all met the “keep-this-between-me-and-you” guy who you know has spread what they are about to share with you, to plenty of others before you.

And we’ve spent time with the “I-hate-to-gossip” lady when she pivots with a simple, “but…” and then drops a gossip bomb.  That is not careful sharing.

Careful sharing means laying the foundational concrete of forethought, timelines, impact, and outcomes.

Here are four steps to creating communication that will be helpful and set some powerfully clear expectations for everyone involved.

First, remember that it is going to take longer than you think.  If I had a dollar for the number of times that the expectations were clear in my own head, and yet still led to confusion to others.  It’s not their fault, instead my expectations have not had the necessary time to build clarity for others.

Expect questions.  Expect curiosity.  Expect confusion.  Just because it is clear to you does not mean it is clear to me.  

Many business owners are driver-personalities prone to rush results.  Results of clear communication often come with slowness and time.

Second, write down your expectations.  The simple value of writing things down is proven every time to read an important historical document; the Constitution, Luther’s ninety-five theses and his volumes of other writings, or the history of trees.  

Oral cultures have existed in the past, but the ones that have endured have transcribed the oral stories into written histories. 

Many business owners and key leaders are even taking the peculiar step of writing out a simple outline before they go into a hard conversation with an employee or with a customer.  They will even use their written outline to show the other person that they have truly thought through their words.  

Write down your expectations so others have time to digest. 

Third, set a formal time to share your expectations.

It is not uncommon to hear a business owner frustratingly respond with, “but I told them (the process) the other day!”  

If all Ashley and I did for the health of our marriage was to talk “in passing”, then it would be a long marital road.  We must have intentional times to sit down and discuss and dream and ideate.  

After you have your expectations written down, schedule a time to formally present them.

Finally, realize that sometimes you will never be fully understood...and that is ok.

This morning I was reading accounts of a few stories that Jesus was sharing with his apprentices.  Once he wrapped up, he walked to his hometown of Nazareth (which is halfway between the Sea Of Galilee and the Meditteranean Sea).   Some of the towns people he grew up with were curious as to how he had become so famous, and frankly were offended by his fame, and he turned to the small group following him and said simply, “A prophet is honored everywhere except his own hometown and among his own family.”

Sometimes, regardless of your clarity, you will simply be misunderstood.  I have yet to find the magic elixir of how to reconcile that feeling, but it makes me feel better knowing that even Jesus himself was not able to bring clarity to everyone.  

Neither will I, but for the ones who do find clarity it will be worth the effort.  For the rest, it may be clear as mud.

Part of setting clear expectations is having both thoughtfulness, and a process.  We have unlocked the entire Business On Purpose Roadmap coaching experience to help you build those necessary processes in your business, including your communication process.  You can go to mybusinessonpurpose.com/free to get started setting clear expectations!

Scott Beebe is the founder of Business On Purpose, author of Let Your Business Burn: Stop Putting Out Fires, Discover Purpose, And Build A Business That Matters.  Scott also hosts The Business On Purpose Podcast and can be found at mybusinessonpurpose.com.

What do customers expect when they do business with you? 

I’ve always loved small businesses. I love supporting them! I love how you’re treated when you walk in the door. As the more you go, the more you they get to know you and know what you like!

 I lived in Greenville about 8 years ago and there was this tiny little restaurant that we would walk to from our house called the Soda Shoppe. It was amazing! I went there and would order pretty much the same thing every single time because I liked it so much.

One day, I walk in and the owner, who’s name was Ren, just waved at me and didn’t walk over. That was not like him at all and I just chalked it up to the fact that is was pretty busy at the time. Less than 5 min later he walks over with my exact order and drops it off at my table.

My jaw almost hit the ground! He knew me, knew the sandwich I wanted, with the correct dipping sauce and he just dropped it off and said, “the usual right?”

That’s where small business hits it out of the park. When they provide an experience and service at or above where you can find anywhere else. From there on out I’d just wave at him walking through the door, give him a thumbs up and it would be at my table in less than 5 min! I felt known, I felt cared for and honestly that was my spot from there on out!

So, what happens when the opposite happens. What happens when you frequent a small business and you do NOT receive superior service? Well, it happened to me the other day. I needed something for one of my various hobbies...and I decided that instead of jumping on amazon and saving a couple bucks PLUS my time, I would drive 15 min to this store to see if they had it.

I walk in...and the store was empty. 3 guys working unloading a few boxes and restocking shelves. I walked straight up to the owner, who I’ve talked to about 5-6 times recently and asked for what I was looking for.

“Ah we’ve had a hard time keeping that in stock. There may be some in these boxes but there’s just no way to tell.”

I kind of looked at him stunned, no problem solving, no let me look in the box real fast to see if I can make this sale. He simply said…”I’m sorry man, you may just need to come back tomorrow.”

Let’s just say I didn’t go back the next day. Now I get it, some days it’s tough, but you have to ask yourself some serious questions about the culture of your business. Now, more than ever, the customer has convenient options for how to get what they need! Now, more than ever, you have to find ways to exceed your customers expectations. That’s why they buy from you in the first place instead of going the convenient route. So, how do you do that. Is it hand written notes, is it working as hard as you can to remember someone’s name? Is it a follow up survey you can create in google to make sure their experience was excellent in every way?

This stuff matters! Do you know how many people I told about the soda shoppe? It was my go to lunch spot for 3 years! I took everyone there and the word started to spread. All because the owner took the time to build a culture at his restaurant that made me and the rest of his customers feel known, appreciated and cared for.

That’s what it takes! You’ve got to create customers that sell for you as they share the stories of their interactions with your business!

That’s what makes you worth the drive, worth the inconvenience, worth the price difference.

Hey I know I’ve mentioned this a handful of times, but if you haven’t signed up yet...what’s stopping you? 28 days free to our online platform. All the trainings, all the templates for free for 28 days! Go to to mybusinessonpurpose.com/thomas28 to sign up and start jumping into all the stuff we have for you. Do it...RIGHT NOW! I promise...you need it and it’s free so do it!

Have a great rest of your week everyone!