Managing the vague

Marketing projects are almost always vague.
They almost always involve people who aren't your direct reports.
And they almost always use people who have other stuff on their plate.

(this, btw, is very different than running a factory, where all three things above are never true).

So, here are three questions I'd challenge every person working on any marketing project to ask. Ask them whenever someone gives you a task.

--when is this due?
--what does it look like when it's done?
--how important is it compared to everything else on my plate?

Rigor isn't pretty, but sometimes it enables communication.