An agreement that works in practice

Who will do what, and what happens if there’s an obstacle?

After a conversation, someone says, “We’ll communicate better.” You both agree, but a week later the same problem comes up. One person expected a phone call when something changed; the other thought a note in the document was enough. General agreement doesn’t establish a process. You need to agree on specific behavior, who is responsible for it, and when it should happen.

For a change to a brief, the agreement might be: “Peter will add the change to the shared tracker. Lucia will confirm the impact on the deadline by the next working day. Peter will tell the client the new deadline only after it’s confirmed.” This process separates recording the change, assessing capacity, and making a commitment to the client. Each person has a clear responsibility.

Include a plan for obstacles and a check-in. What if Lucia is away or an answer is needed sooner? Agree on who will cover or who has authority to decide. Don’t rely on someone noticing without being told. After the next change to the brief, check whether the process provided the necessary information without causing unnecessary delays.

At the end, have both people confirm in their own words what applies. For a work agreement, a brief shared summary is useful. If there’s no agreement, identify the open issue and what happens next. Silence, fatigue, or the end of a meeting don’t by themselves confirm that someone has accepted a commitment. An agreement should respect people’s authority and actual capacity.