Interacting is an engagement.

It's a contract between you and your customer - boss, colleagues, audience... The interaction is the product you promise. You might not specify expectations for that engagement, but your customers will.

Any engagement needs a framework - I use SPIFFY.

Set-up, preparation, interaction, follow-up. You need to do every step. And, in general, you're probably spending too much time on the interaction itself.

Any interaction is time-bound because you've set when it will happen.

That means you have little leeway or slack, and you need a buffer to ensure your commitment. That also has consequences for follow-up.

Because follow-up is only useful unless it's too late.

Which means follow-up is time-bound as well.

That's important because set-up and preparation aren't time-bound. You can do them at any time in advance. And you can spend the time you need - without taking time from the interaction and the follow-up.

What happens when you don't set-up and prepare in advance?

You put pressure on your commitment. And the time and focus that you should be giving the interaction and follow-up just isn't there. Which leads to one thing.

An unhappy customer.

SPIFFY helps you plan. Allows you to make sure you're focussing on the right areas at the right time. And points out where you need help from your systems.

So you can keep your commitments and your customers happy.