ENTREPRENEURSHIPWeeks to result

Trust, but Verify

Verify delegated tasks

Problem it solves

business growth stalls

Best for

Entrepreneurs and business owners who delegate tasks to employees

Not ideal for

Those who prefer to micromanage or have limited resources

Overview

Why this framework exists

The Trust, but Verify framework emphasizes the importance of verifying delegated tasks to ensure they are being completed correctly. It highlights the need for entrepreneurs to trust their employees, but also to verify the work being done.

Core principles

3 total
  1. Trust employees to complete tasks
  2. Verify the work being done
  3. Establish clear expectations and consequences

Steps

2 steps
  1. Establish clear expectations
    Clearly communicate the tasks and expectations to the employee
    Pro tipUse specific examples and metrics
    WarningAvoid being too vague or unclear
  2. Verify the work
    Regularly check the work being done to ensure it meets expectations
    Pro tipUse metrics and data to evaluate performance
    WarningAvoid being too lenient or too strict

Checklist

Saved in your browser

Examples

1 cases
CD Baby's verification failure

The author, Derek Sivers, failed to verify the work of an employee, which led to mistakes and damage to the company's reputation

OutcomeThe company's reputation was damaged, and the author had to take corrective action

Common mistakes

1 traps
Not verifying delegated tasks
Failing to verify delegated tasks can lead to mistakes and damage to the company's reputation

Origin story

How this framework came to be

The author, Derek Sivers, learned the importance of verifying delegated tasks when he hired an employee to handle digital deliveries. Despite trusting the employee, the author failed to verify the work, which led to mistakes and damage to the company's reputation.

Source

Traced to primary
Source · BOOK
Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
Derek Sivers · 2011
Open source →