how to focus your performance review on the most important change

Because of a Lemony Snicket sort of confluence of unfortunate events involving a blizzard and a rental car, Ben was once writing the performance reviews for his whole team with another leader during a 15-hour drive from DC to New Orleans.

The first few took forever and there was no hope they’d finish if they kept that pace. 

Miraculously, the full set of the reviews were complete by the end of the drive. And the ones written near the drowsy, concluding I-10 part of the drive were better than the first ones. 

Ben and his co-pilot relied on a sentence stem to sharpen and simplify the reviews. 

“I wouldn’t have genuine criticism to offer this person anymore, if they just _______ .”

-Eric