The Smithsonian

File under Set the Bar Low (and Barely Exceed the Bar)

Let me tell you about the transition from winter to spring to summer in our nation’s capital: temperature above 50...some tourists on the metro...cherry blossoms bloom...lots of tourists on the metro...95 degrees with 100% humidity...lots of sweaty tourists on the metro.

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So as I was stuck behind a family of four standing two wide on the metro escalator in the morning rush hour commute I heard the 5 year old ask her mother "do we have to go to the 'errand' space museum today?" It wasn't hard to comprehend exactly what she meant by the disappointment in her voice. Understandably so, as she believed she was faced with a day of learning about grocery shopping and picking up the dry cleaning. But as her mother attempted to enunciate the phrase more clearly it got me thinking about expectations because she was about to undoubtedly have a surprisingly good day.

I was thinking not so much in the way we develop or set expectations (we’ll talk enough about that soon), but in how we communicate them. It was not the parents' intent to purposely deceive their child by setting the bar low (although good job if they did). They conveyed something to their kid that was so natural to them, "Air and Space", yet it was foreign to her 5 year old ears. They took for granted her understanding, or more importantly that she wouldn’t misunderstand. Fortunately it worked out well, as that day may have inspired the next Amelia Earhardt or Sally Ride (but probably not).

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But what if it was the other way around? What if she dreamt of staring in awe at the Spirit of St. Louis or the Lunar Rover only to discover she would be learning about going to the bank or the drug store? The result may not have been so pleasant. Our stress levels are directly tied to not only how we set expectations for others, but also in how they understand them. We may work carefully to craft the message, yet ultimately fail because of how we communicate it.

How did you communicate expectations today?

Let me hear what your favorite Smithsonian is and why.

Song of the Day
In honor of communicating expectations, the Smithsonian Institution, and punk cover super-bands, the song of the day is Elton John’s “Rocket Man” as performed by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.