What Does Ready Mean?

Lena's company needed a brochure—a small book about the things it sold—for a Thursday meeting.

On Tuesday, Marco said the file was ready. Lena asked for paper copies that afternoon. But Priya found that a desk size was wrong. Marco meant the pages were ready for someone to check, not to print.

Lena stopped the work. Now the paper copies could not be ready before the meeting.

The team still had to check the sizes and prices. They could use a computer file at the meeting or have the meeting later. They chose the file because the customer already had travel plans.

The team gave each job to one person, with a time to finish. Only Lena could ask for paper copies. They also cut an extra photo page to save time.

On Thursday, they used the checked file. Paper copies came later, at an extra cost.

Next time, Lena asked,"Ready for which next step?" The answer was much clearer.