The Crystal Clear Standard

Alisa Cohn won't let her clients fire anyone until they answer one question.

'Have you been crystal clear about what you need from this person?' And what they always do is the hand motion like well, sort of, but well, maybe. Which means no. Which means no. You've not been crystal clear.'

Before you blame your toddler for not listening, ask yourself: was I crystal clear?

'We need to leave soon' = not crystal clear. 'In five minutes, we're putting on shoes and going to the car' = crystal clear.

'Be good at grandma's house' = not crystal clear. 'At grandma's house, we use inside voices and we don't run' = crystal clear.

'If you don't fix this, we're going to have to part ways' = crystal clear. 'I wish you'd stop doing that' = not crystal clear.

If you haven't been crystal clear, you're the problem, not them.

The hand motion means no.