Are you the kind who reads directions only when all else fails? No question, people have made famous discoveries by going off the main paths that too many tight directions restrict you to follow. Or perhaps you found yourself cursing at software instructions that appear to be written in another language for another species.
Not long ago I heard a story about a cleric who stopped to ask for instructions to the Post Office. The man told him, and the cleric shot back, “Hey why not come by to my church tonight, I’ll be telling people how to get to heaven.” Nope, thanks anyway… but you don’t even seem know how to get to the Post Office.” 
You’ve likely noticed that not everybody writes directions well. The brain deals best with directions that tend to get right to the point, and cut through the fog. Do you remember Franklin D Roosevelt’s instructions for making a speech… Be sincere; be brief, be seated. You could have a bag of rocks for a brain and still get it.
But how do you navigate instructions for using tools you don’t have, to manipulate acronyms you don’t know, to make a product you’ll never use?
Your linguistic, spatial and logical math intelligences can be sharpened to help you learn or teach better direction strategies. Try these smart skills for a headstart….
1. Read every instruction, and lay out tools before you start anything.
2. Sketch out how you think the end product will look
3. Check with another person to see if you have interpreted the directions correctly.
4. Proceed carefully and cautiously as you integrate words and diagrams
5. Follow the sequence given – one step at a time
6. Distinguish between significant and insignificant details
7. Measure carefully as you go
8. Organize each series of tasks
To develop smart skills for following directions is the precursor for writing clear instructions that open profitable growth opportunities. Well crafted directions can provide for missing expertise, highlight diversity strategies, restructure finances, and renew operations management. When a person or organization runs into trouble, it’s often related to a skill shortage in following or creating directions. What do you think?
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