Story 29: Quarterly
The story: We will pay every three months. Handshake. A few days later, a call: why has nothing arrived? You said every three months, she said. Pre-paid, he said. He had meant at the start of each quarter. She had meant at the end. The frequency was agreed. The direction was not.
What it means for organisations: Quarterly is treated as a complete answer when it is half of one. Frequency is the part everyone hears and confirms, so the agreement sounds finished before the other half comes up: when the clock starts, and which end of the period the obligation sits on. Nobody withheld anything. But the first missed payment does not arrive as a misunderstanding, it arrives as a character judgement, and that is hard to walk back with a clarification.
Where next?
Read the comic as text
The Alignment Gap, Story 29
by Stavros Stavru, Ph.D. (weallagreed.com)
Scene 1: The parking garage
An empty parking garage with painted parking lines, striped pillars, and a "No Parking" sign on the wall. Axel and Ally shake hands, both smiling.
Axel: We'll pay every three months.
Ally: Deal.
Banner between scenes: “What could go wrong?”
Scene 2: A few days later
A sidewalk beside a quiet street, with trees, bushes, and buildings in the distance. Ally stands on the phone, angry, gesturing with her free hand. Axel's voice comes through the phone.
Ally: Why haven't you paid yet?!
Axel (on the phone): You said every three months.
Ally: Yes, but pre-paid!
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