Still or Sparkling?

The story: He asked for a bottle of water. She said yes. Fifteen minutes later she came back with sparkling. He complained. She pointed out he never said still. Both were right. "Water" felt like a complete instruction — and it was, right up until it wasn't.

What it means for organisations: The more routine a request sounds, the fewer questions it gets. Teams execute on incomplete instructions every day because the instruction felt clear enough. The gap isn't in complex decisions — it's in the everyday ones that nobody thinks are worth clarifying.