More from the piano metaphor, but this time it's about the book

Yesterday, we looked at how far more effective daily practice is when it comes to learning the piano. Another important aspect: having a lesson book.

If you think about it, it would be laughably nonsensical if a piano teacher walked a student to the piano and said "Alright, have at it." Even for practiced students, pure improvisation is a challenge. A lesson book, filled with attainable pieces of music, gives the student something tangible to work towards. Further, the teacher rewards them every time they are able to play the piece of music well and with their own style.

For management, why are we comfortable giving people an outcome to strive for - such as, think more strategically - without the tactical guidance of what that could look like. Expecting our team and ourselves to come up the right actions all on their own is as fool-hardy as asking a novice to start learning the piano by riffing on the spot. Be reasonable, be helpful, and be explicit in what you want to show in order to demonstrate that you're building your skills.