WORKER-CUSTOMER EXCHANGES: Five Only
Any work interaction can involve five kinds of exchange. Problems at a workplace usually involve one or more of these exchanges.
First, everything starts with the need for exchange: a customer demands and a worker supplies.
If supply and demand do not match, meaning that the customer has no demand or a worker cannot supply, then other exchanges cannot happen. Yet, we always have the time dimension that makes our lives changeful, so even if the demand and supply initially match, a customer may start demanding more without adjusting the other exchanges. The worker can also derail the original exchange and begin supplying less than agreed upon. If the worker starts outputting less than settled for the same amount, or if the customer demands more than agreed, they violate the first exchange.
The take-home message: To protect yourself, agree on the exchanges from the start and adjust them during your collaboration period. At least have a clause that will regulate your exchange if circumstances change. {CRAPPY BOSSES}
If the demand has matched the supply, the second exchange is the endpoint exchange: the customer describes the desired endpoint, and the worker achieves it, delivering the result.
The problem on the customer’s side is that she cannot describe the endpoint and formulate requirements. As a worker, you must know that you will later be blamed for this deficiency. “You did not understand… You understood me wrong; I was talking about a different thing… I thought you were a pro…” The problem of a worker is being unable to deliver the result according to the requirements. The matching phrases from a defecting worker will be: “You did not explain… I understood you differently… I thought you meant a different thing…”
The take-home message is to spend time clarifying the requirements, agree on the details of the endpoint as early as possible, and have communication channels to clarify requirements when needed.
The third is the judgment exchange: the client provides criteria for success and failure, and the expert provides the approach. The judgment exchange is as important as the endpoint exchange because delivering the results does not necessarily mean it will be considered a success, and not delivering is not always a failure. Judgment exchange will frame it as one or another.
The two problems on the client’s side will be the inability to provide clear criteria and the messing with the worker’s approach—the so-called micromanagement. The two problems on the worker’s side will be the inability to provide the approach and neglect of the criteria.
The fourth exchange is the means exchange: the client can provide a means of production, the expert – the skill.
The problem on the client’s side is the inability to provide means or providing faulty means; the expert’s – no skill. Isn’t skill the same as an approach? They are close but different. Approach means all decisions to use the skill in a particular work, to decide what to include and what not.
The fifth is the resource exchange: the client pays (not necessarily money) for the expert’s time and effort. The faults are apparent: the client does not pay the agreed amount according to the agreed plan, and the worker does not invest the agreed amount of time and effort.
In many work situations, not all five exchanges will be evident; in many, you can achieve endpoints without putting everything on paper and having people sign it; in many situations, you will not be allowed to question things; however, this framework can help you find the roots of organizational problems and help explain many things.
For instance, what makes a bad boss or worker? Evaluating a worker or a boss with this frame can help you analyze why you have certain emotions toward them.
These exchanges exist in different contexts, including when you work for yourself. The framework helps you understand why working for yourself can be more challenging than working for others.
If you work for others, they do half of the work: they will provide you with the criteria for success and failure, give you the means, and pay for your work.
However, the more “you” there is in your work, the more work you do and the more uncertainty you deal with. If you are an entrepreneur, you often buy means; if you are an artist, you do almost everything yourself. Thus, working for yourself is generally more demanding than working for someone else, especially if the client has social obligations to insure you.