2.4 Operational Closings: Agreements That Are Kept

Learning Objective: Learn to finalize undefined conversations with concrete agreements (“who does what by when”), avoiding misunderstandings and the feeling of wasted time.

Story

Friday, 14:00. Family planning meeting. There is talk of going to buy the gift for grandma, cleaning the garage, and that there is no milk. All mixed up.

—Well, we’ll see as we go —says someone, getting up.

Mike doesn’t get up. He knows that “we’ll see as we go” means “no one is going to do anything and we will fight on Sunday”.

—Wait a second to close —says Mike, taking out his mobile to take notes—. I recap agreements. [Recap]: One, I go for the gift this afternoon at 17:00. Two, we all clean the garage tomorrow Saturday from 10 to 12. And three, you buy the milk now on your way down. Correct?

—Ah, I can’t tomorrow at 10 —says his partner—. Better at 11.

—Corrected: Garage at 11. Do we have a deal now?

—Yes.

—Done. [Confirmation]: I send it to the group. Thanks everyone.

The “Operational Closing” has transformed gaseous good intentions into a solid plan. It has brought to light a hidden conflict (the garage time) that would have exploded tomorrow.

Deep Explanation

The world is full of “False Closings”: “I’ll call you”, “We’ll see”, “Something must be done about this”. These are low-status phrases because they denote fear of commitment or lack of clarity.

The effective leader is the one who crystallizes ambiguity. The Operational Closing (or clear “Call to Action”) is the signature of the verbal contract. Without it, the meeting has just been noise.

Elements of the Operational Closing Mike:

1. Recap: “Summarizing…”. Demonstrates active listening and validates others.
2. Assign: Name + Verb + Date. (Mike + Gift + 17:00). The trinity of execution.
3. Verify: “Correct?”. Ask for the explicit “YES”. This “Yes” is a psychological contract. If someone breaks the agreement later, they have broken their word, not just a vague expectation.

This also works to say NO. An operational closing can be: “We agree that we are NOT going to buy the gift this weekend”. That is also a valid closing because it eliminates uncertainty.

Synthesis of Key Ideas

• Clarity is Power: Confusion benefits the manipulator or the lazy. Clarity benefits the executor. Be the agent of clarity.
• The Secretary Role: Paradoxically, whoever takes notes and summarizes (“the secretary”) has a lot of power, because they are the one writing the official history of what has been decided.
• The Psychological Contract: By making the other say “Yes, I agree”, you activate the consistency principle (Cialdini). It will be much harder for them to back out later.

Practical Examples

1. Sales Closing / Negotiation

• Situation: “Well, we’ll give it a think.” (Evasive).
• Action: Force a concrete next step.
• Phrase: “Perfect. To organize myself: [Closing] does it seem good if I call you Tuesday at 10:00 to see what you have decided? Or do you prefer Wednesday?”
• Why it works: “Giving it a think” is infinite. “Tuesday at 10” is a milestone. If they tell you “don’t call us”, you already have your answer (it’s a No). You save time.

2. The Romantic / Social Date

• Situation: “Let’s see if we meet one of these days.”
• Action: Land it or discard it.
• Phrase: “I’d love to. [Closing] Does this Thursday afternoon work for a coffee? If not, you tell me when.”
• Why it works: Demonstrates real interest and confidence. If they give you the runaround again, you know there is no real interest and you can move on (High Value Move).

3. The Circular Argument

• Situation: You have been arguing the same thing for half an hour.
• Action: “Agree to disagree”.
• Phrase: “I see we are not going to convince each other today. [Closing] Let’s agree that you vote A, I vote B, and we leave the topic for today so we can have dinner in peace. Deal?”
• Why it works: The “agreement” is to stop fighting. It is a valid operational closing that protects the relationship.

Signs of Progress

1. Clean agenda:
   • Do you have fewer “pending issues” in your head? By closing conversations, you unload your mental RAM. You know what needs to be done and when.
2. Reputation for reliability:
   • Do people trust you? When you always clarify “who does what”, people feel safe working with you. They know there will be no unpleasant surprises.
3. Smoke detection:
   • Do you realize quickly when someone is selling you hot air? When you ask for concreteness and they give you the runaround, your “time wasting” radar goes off.

Common Mistakes

• The Assumed Closing (Unilateral)
  • It looks like this: “Okay, well you do that” (and you leave without waiting for an answer).
  • Result: The other person has not accepted. They won’t do it.
  • Alternative: Expect the nod or the “Yes”.
• Forgetting the “When”
  • It looks like this: “Okay, John looks at the budget.”
  • Result: John will look at it in 3 months.
  • Alternative: “…by Monday.”
• Fear of seeming annoying
  • It looks like this: You don’t verify so as not to bother.
  • Alternative: Understand that clarifying is not bothering, it is professionalism.

Conclusions

An interaction without closing is like a book with the last page torn out: unsatisfactory and useless. Get used to being the person who puts the period (or paragraph break). “So, we leave it like this”. Those words are the glue that holds social and professional life together.

Deliberate Practice

• Card: Game: Sprint 3-Step Template.
• Why it helps: Review your chats. Search for open conversations that have died. Resuscitate them with an Operational Closing: “Hi, this was left pending. Do we close it for Friday or discard it?”.

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