When to Be Directive

I was at a high-end clothing store the other day. I saw one of the workers on an iPad. Curious, I looked over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

He was making sure the clothing rack he was standing in front of matched the picture on his iPad exactly. He checked the order of each garment. He spaced each hangar exactly. He checked and then rechecked before moving on to the next one.

This was clearly a process someone thought important enough to make each store follow precisely. Someone designed each detail intentionally so that it fit together as a pleasing whole.

It’s okay to be directive where the details matter.

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