June 02, 2025
In 1986, Michael Gerber published The E-Myth, a book that would go on to become something of a gospel for small business owners who were learning the hard way that being good at the work is not the same as running a good business. The book begins with a simple story about a woman named Sarah who runs a bakery. She hires a bookkeeper, assuming this will lighten her load. She doesn't have a process. She doesn't provide guidance. She assumes, as many of us do, that the job title itself is instruction enough. At first, everything seems fine. But when the bookkeeper quits suddenly, it turns out the books are a mess, and Sarah is left holding the bag.
Gerber's point is about the need for systems. But look a little closer and there's something deeper at work: a failure of communication.
We talk a lot about systems these days—playbooks, processes, documentation, automations. Especially in our world of AI enablement, that language is everywhere. Here at Systems Support, we're helping professional services firms adopt AI agents, but even as we talk about implementation and productivity, I keep returning to the same essential idea: none of this works without clear, thoughtful communication.
Communication isn't just about exchanging information. It's about making sure the person—or system—on the other end can understand and act on it. And right now, many of us are failing at that in subtle, expensive ways.
The truth is, we've gotten lazy. Our communication has become filled with implied context, half-thoughts, vague instructions, and one-line emails that require the recipient to do a majority of the cognitive lifting. We toss things over the fence—expecting others to read our minds, to catch the tone we didn't write, or to intuit the "obvious" priorities we never stated.
Technology hasn't helped. If anything, it's made things worse.
You don't need to think that hard to get answers anymore. Type three words into a search bar—"best CRM software"—and the results pour in. Most of the interpretation is done for you. The algorithm figures out what you probably meant based on your past behavior, geography, and what people like you have clicked on. Your responsibility ends after hitting "search." When you live in a world where so much is served up with so little effort, it's easy to carry that expectation into other areas of life. Including work.
Now apply that same pattern to how people are using AI tools. We throw in a vague prompt—"write me a proposal"—and expect magic. And when we don't get it, we blame the tool. But the problem isn't the AI. It's the communicator.
The AI needs context. Just like people do.
In our webinars and workshops, I'm not just trying to teach folks how to get better outputs from ChatGPT or Claude or any other tool; I'm trying to teach them how to become better communicators. Because the skills that get you great results from an AI are the same ones that get you great results from your team. Clarity. Specificity. Intent.
Jocko Willink, in his talks on combat leadership, describes something called the "commander's intent." In military strategy, it's the principle that even if specific instructions can't be followed to the letter, the team should always understand the intended outcome. That way, even in chaos, the mission continues. It's not just a military idea. It's a communication philosophy. One that says: if people understand the destination, they can improvise the path.
Think about how powerful that is. If your team knows what success looks like, they don't need micromanagement. If your software understands what your customer is trying to accomplish, it can make helpful suggestions. If your AI agent knows the context of your business goals, its responses can become more strategic than mechanical.
But none of that works without you doing the hard part first—thinking deeply about what you actually want and communicating it clearly.
That's the core issue with lazy communication. It doesn't just make things harder for the receiver. It erodes trust. It creates rework. It leads to mistakes. And worst of all, it disguises itself as efficiency.
"I'm just trying to keep it short." "No time for a long explanation." "They should know what I meant."
But short isn't the same as clear. Fast isn't the same as effective. The extra sentence you didn't write might cost your team two hours of confusion. The acronym you assumed everyone knew might derail the client relationship you worked so hard to build.
A few weeks ago, I was working with a colleague who was building a custom AI tool. His background wasn't in software development, but he'd taught himself the essentials and was now writing code, testing configurations, pushing boundaries. He'd Slack me at 11:30 PM with a question. He was skipping dinners, hitting the gym, raising kids, and staying up late refining his prompts so that the tool worked exactly the way it needed to. What impressed me most wasn't the technical skill—it was the precision with which he communicated his goals. He wasn't just throwing ideas at the machine. He was crafting instructions with care, testing his assumptions, and iterating toward clarity.
That's what effective communication looks like. Whether you're talking to a machine or a person, the principle is the same. You get out what you put in.
If you're a business owner, ask yourself this: where are you being too vague? Where have you assumed understanding instead of confirming it? Where are your processes built on implication instead of explanation?
You don't have to write a novel every time you assign a task. But you do have to take responsibility for making sure your message can be understood and acted on. That means spelling out expectations. Providing examples. Asking questions. Confirming alignment.
And yes, it's more work. But it's work that pays off tenfold.
We can't afford to be lazy communicators anymore. Not in a world where AI is becoming a collaborator, where remote work is the norm, and where your competitors are figuring out how to move faster because they're getting better at saying what they mean.
So here's my challenge to you: go explicit.
Spell it out. Give the background. Share the intent. Make it impossible to misinterpret your meaning. It might feel slow at first, but over time, you'll notice something start to change. Fewer misunderstandings. Better execution. Stronger relationships. A team that operates with confidence because they actually know what you want.
Clear communication isn't a nice-to-have. It's the hidden multiplier behind every great system, every successful project, every productive day.
Say what you mean—and mean what you say.
Will MacFee is the president of Systems Support an MSP providing IT solutions for businesses in greater Boston.
