Lewis S Eisen

Five Obstacles to IG Policy Approval

In the best circumstances, a well-crafted draft IG policy will sail through an approval process like a ship in warm...

Sample #1: Don’t Dumb Down Your Policies

Don't dumb down your policies. It's true that everyone might need to be able to understand your policy, that doesn't...

Sample #2: Procedure vs Checklist

Distinguishing a procedure from a policy or standard is easy: a procedure has a beginning, an end, and sequential steps....

Sample #3: “Must” is NOT clear

No, "must" is *NOT* clear (contrary to popular belief). People reach for "must" to indicate that something is strict, but...

Sample #4: Policy vs Signage

Policy and signage are different. Policy RECORDS the decision on a given point; signage COMMUNICATES that decision to employees and...

Sample #5: The Bossy vs Helpful Format

Here's another example where an organization — in this case, a government social service — has used "must" to indicate...

Sample #6: Policy vs Guidance

Be respectful of your decision-makers' time. Approving a policy demands their review, thought, discussion, and enquiry before making a decision....

Sample #7: Drafting with Respectful Language

Time limits are common in a variety of procedures documents, but there's a respectful way to communicate them, as shown...

Sample #8: Roles vs Responsibilities

ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES are *not* the same thing. A role is a position that can be assigned to different individuals...

Sample #9: Setting a Standard

Instead of focusing on telling people what to do, a more respectful approach is to tell people what a good...

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