Ensure the task is understood, supervised and accomplished

This principle is necessary in the exercise of command. Before you can expect your Marines to perform, they must know first what is expected of them. You must communicate your instructions in a clear, concise manner. Talk at a level that your Marines are sure to understand but not at a level so low that would insult their intelligence. Before your Marines start a task, allow them a chance to ask questions or seek advice. Supervision is essential; without it, you cannot know if the assigned task is being properly accomplished.

Porridge Beta

Back to the universal principles

Calibration

Under, just right, over.

SituationUnderJust RightOver
Assigning a taskLeaves them to infer the outcome from a vague ask.States the outcome, the constraints, and what done looks like.Scripts every step so tightly that they cannot use their own judgment.
Before the work startsSends them off before they can ask, then is surprised by the miss.Leaves room for questions and checks that they can repeat the task.Asks for another read-back after they already have it, and the work does not start.
The work is underwayAssigns it and does not look again until the due date.Checks at a few points that would still let them recover, then lets them work.Hovers on every step and becomes the bottleneck.
Watching every moveStays away so completely that a miss has no warning.Lets them use their own technique and checks the outcome, not the keystrokes.Treats any method that is not yours as a defect.
They say it is finishedTakes their word and never looks at the result.Confirms the work meets what you named, then closes it.Reopens finished work for nits that were never in the ask.
A task that driftedNotices the drift after the date.Catches it early enough to reset the outcome without taking the work back.Resets so often that they stop starting until you are in the room.

Further reading

Sources and essays on this principle.

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