Communicating with Deltas
Be direct. Be succinct. One thing at a time.
A reader comments on how he mishandled his communications with a Delta at work.
I just had a delta at work heckle me for a work product at 4:30pm on Friday that had been stalled on my desk since Monday. Because it was in the back of my queue. He insisted, at an employee appreciation event, that it absolutely had to be done and hadn’t I seen it and I was holding everything up.
I stayed late to get it out, so he could give it to the customer over the weekend. The work product was good and I made my changes directly in the document. Thinking I’d done what he needed.
Fast forward to it’s Wednesday now, and I get an email about next steps that were totally different than the document I edited, only to find out he never sent the work product out. And when I responded “wtf- I thought it was a rush item that had to go out over the weekend” apparently he had been looking for more of a green light then me finishing it.
He came in to my office super sad and hurt at my “wtf email” because he felt was I was chastising him. And I was confused, explaining that “I thought your work product was great, needed minimal tweaks, and that you were sending it as soon as my edits were done because you had asked me to rush it and said it needed to be done immediately.”
I work for the org in an advisory capacity and am usually interfacing with the alpha and his bravos. And I overlooked the need to tell the Delta directly, via email, “I finished my edits. They were minimal. Great work, this is ready to send.” As soon as I finished the edits.
Now I know better, and will be conscious of sending a “good job and greenlit” email anytime I do end up interfacing with the deltas.
When communicating with Deltas, always be direct, always assume you’re dealing with someone who has one input slot, and never, ever, assume that a Delta will remember any previous instructions even if they are directly related to the new task at hand. Deltas aren’t retarded, but they do have a Task Override feature in which any new instruction completely eliminates all previous instructions and information.
For example, this was a recent, and very common, exchange with a Delta.
Tuesday: “Delta, do X. How long will it take?
DELTA: “Three days.”
Tuesday: “Okay, great. Do X. Tell me when you’re done.”
DELTA: “Sure, no problem.”
Thursday: “Delta, we’re also going to need to do Y. Can you do that?”
DELTA: “No problem. I’m on it.”
Thursday: “Okay, great. How long will it take?”
DELTA: “Three days. Unless you want me to keep doing X, then I can’t get started on Y until Monday.”
Thursday: “Wait, what? Who said anything about NOT doing X?”
This is the moment that the Delta’s boss needs to count to 10. The fact that the Delta somehow hears that you’ve told him to STOP doing what you have specifically told him to do simply because you’ve brought up another task is, quite rightly, terrifying to every executive and manager. If Deltas ever wonder why their superiors sometimes seem to avoid talking to them, this is why.
Now, it’s true, at no point was there ever any suggestion, or even any hint of a suggestion, that X was no longer required or that the Delta should stop doing X. The context that is obvious to everyone who isn’t a Delta is that since we both know you’re already doing X, you’re supposed to finish X, then start Y, barring any specific directions to stop with X. But due to the Delta’s Task Override feature, the mere mention of Y necessarily means that X is cancelled and all instructions concerning X are thereby to be ignored.
This one task at a time approach is highly effective on a tactical level, but disastrous strategically, which of course is why Deltas so reliably fail when they find themselves in positions that require strategic thinking across simultaneous channels.
I don’t have any advice for Deltas on managing their Task Override feature because I simply don’t understand what is going on inside that black box. It makes zero sense to me, although since I write 900-page novels with nine different perspective characters without using an outline or notes, maintaining multiple concurrent streams of thought comes naturally to me. Perhaps some of the Deltas here can share a few thoughts on the subject.
But for those working with Deltas, the reader’s observations are very, very important to always keep in mind. If you haven’t given a specific order to a Delta to do something, the chances are very high that he isn’t going to do what you assume he will do.
Vox, you described me to a T. I’m an electrician by trade and when my foreman tells me to do something, I usually clarify if they want me to do it now or after I finish my previous tasks. I then can get a variety of responses:
“What did I just say? Go do what I just told you.” “Are you serious? Obviously finish your previous task and then do what I told you.”
“Do I have to spell it out to you?”
Different foreman have different mindsets so I take it upon myself to gauge what they mean exactly. Sometimes it’s obvious what they mean but on the off chance they might mean something different, I still ask for clarification.
I can tell sometimes my foremen can get annoyed but I hate it when I go with what I think is obvious yet have them chew me out because I didn’t do “their” obvious meaning.
Yes I do like instructions especially clear ones so I know that what I’m doing is the right thing.
On the flip side, when I’ve had to lay people out and they do the exact same thing to me, I get annoyed as it seems so obvious in my head what they need to do. How ironic
I've noticed Deltas have a tendency to blow up sales by presenting way too many options to a client, even options that are not even relevant to the situation. The client gets overloaded and doesn't move forward. Best to only bring in Deltas once the client has already signed on the dotted line