Painting "Done"

How many times have you delivered something - an email, a report, a simple task that someone offhandedly asked you to do on the way to the bathroom - and not quite gotten it right? Recently, I was working with a colleague who asked me to come up with a different way to present some concepts to our client, and I took that to mean he wanted a visual. I went to Canva and put together a couple of options for attractive visuals and 45 minutes later, when I was done, I learned that he just wanted different language to describe our concepts. Luckily, he liked my visual, and encouraged me to save it for later.

But this happens all the time. Your boss says, "move the meeting," and if you don't ask enough questions, you change the room when she wanted the time changed. Or your partner asks if you can go on a date, so you snag a fancy dinner reservation only to find out they wanted greasy food and a movie.

I've been listening to Brene Brown's incredible book, Dare to Lead, and in it she shares a powerful tool called "painting done." It's the process of co-creating the ideal end state of an activity. Instead of just asking "what does done look like?" (which is more than a lot of us do when we're delegated a task), painting done takes it a step further to make sure you think through all the desired outcomes, the "doneness" required, and any support you need to make sure it can be completed.

Imagine this:

Sara asks Jordan, a new team member, to “pull together the client presentation for Friday.” Jordan nods. Sara thinks it’s clear. (It isn’t.) This is our first mistake -- when we give instructions (complex or simple), we often end by saying something like, "Got it?" The other person nods, but we have no idea what's actually in their heads.

So Thursday afternoon, Jordan proudly sends over a 60-slide deck filled with detailed data, exploratory charts, and optional recommendations he thought might be useful. Sara is stunned. She was anticipating a pointed 12-slide executive summary focused only on project milestones and next steps. She doesn’t have time to fix it before the Friday meeting, and both of them feel stressed and frustrated.

Imagine if the "painting done" version had happened instead:

Sara: Jordan, can you put together the client presentation for Friday?

Jordan: Absolutely. Before I start—can we ‘paint done’ together so I’m clear on what success looks like?

Sara: Great idea. Done looks like a 10–12 slide deck. High-level overview. No detailed data unless the client asks for it. The goal is to reassure them we’re on track.

Jordan: Got it. What tone should it have?

Sara: Confident and simple. Think clean visuals, light text, and bullets. I also want three slides that outline the decisions we need them to make.

Jordan: Perfect. I’ll send you a draft tomorrow by 2:00 so we have time to revise. Anything else that belongs in done?

Sara: Yes—please use the standard template and avoid adding optional recommendations.

The beauty of this approach is that is offers both Sara and Jordan the opportunity to raise issues, problem-solve together, and co-create the outcome. If Sara hadn't been clear on what she wanted, it would give her an opportunity to craft and shape her outcome in real time. And if Jordan had obstacles that would prevent him from achieving the 2pm deadline, he could raise those, too.

It's a simple tool that adds (potentially) two minutes to your up front time and eliminates frustration and swirl down the line.