I wrote this e-mail out to a business entity I am involved in (won't mention which) but is worth sharing:

Poor communication not only makes work inefficient and people unhappy, it also REFLECTS BADLY on us.

In the service industry communication is even more important because it is what we SAY and what we DO that get paid for. If you buy a PC and it's spoilt, just exchange for a new PC; but a service involves PEOPLE, and PEOPLE need TIME and have EMOTIONS.

It is not the principle of PAYING someone and therefore you can LEVERAGE as a customer. In the service industry people do this thing known as "loss recovery" whereby we charge higher for the next service when we realize a particular customer takes a lot of effort to work with.

This is the REASON why you see that after changing so many (contractors) the prices they quote keep going up and up. Did you find that it also becomes more and more difficult dealing with them? Ask yourself what will YOU do if somebody sends you e-mail every time it says URGENT?

I see this with my own eyes waiting in the kitchen (backstage) for a musical performance at a wedding dinner in a hotel. One table guest was very rude to the waitress and she just went to the kitchen and told the chef that the next dish she is bringing out needs to "add extra"... so customer is not always right!

Having changing business requirements "to adapt to the changing world" is not acceptable and I deem that as an EXCUSE to properly plan and think ahead. Decisions should be FIRM in the planning process and all risks identified out before carrying out execution. Having your plans change whilst executing them is AS GOOD AS NOT PLANNING (Why waste the time? If today like this, tomorrow like that, no need to call me up for a meeting/planning.)

As the products get more complex and the revision cycles get longer, having these ad-hoc changes will only kill the company.

Always write a summary of a meeting (aka minutes) in black and white for reference. This is not to "cover backside" as many government sector idiots think it is for. This is to make sure everybody stays on the same page so there is less back and forth, less effort and more results.