Story 04: Left. Obviously.
The story: He said the café on the left side of the street. She knew exactly where to go. But left depends on which way you are facing when you arrive. He pictured someone walking one way. She was walking the other. Both ended up outside a café on the left. Neither was wrong. Both were waiting.
What it means for organisations: Precision creates false confidence. The more specific an instruction sounds, the less likely anyone is to ask about it. But specificity is not the same as a shared reference point, and a detailed instruction fails in a quieter way than a vague one. Nobody stops to check something that already sounds exact.
Where next?
Read the comic as text
The Alignment Gap, Story 4
by Stavros Stavru, Ph.D. (weallagreed.com)
Scene 1: On the phone
A city street lined with buildings, trees, and street lamps, with a cafe and outdoor tables visible on one side. Ally and Axel are in different places, each on the phone. Ally listens with a relaxed smile. Axel pumps his fist confidently as he speaks.
Axel: Great! Let's meet at the cafe on the left side of the street as you come down Main Street.
Banner between scenes: “What could go wrong?”
Scene 2: Main Street from above
A bird's-eye view of Main Street. There are two cafes with outdoor tables, one on each side of the street. Axel waits at one cafe, Ally at the other, each on the "left side" from the direction they came. Tiny figures walk along the sidewalks.
Axel: She's always late!
Ally: Would he really come?
Share this story: LinkedIn ↗
