Solomon Carter (solomoncarter2000@gmail.com) is a consultant specializing in compliance, OD, policy, human resources, performance improvement, leadership development, communications, and change management.

A standard that I’ve created pertaining to human resources, compliance/risk, performance, and leadership is, “If you’re not talking to me about a written policy, then you’re only talking to me about an unwritten fantasy.” At this point, particularly as leaders, we should have a firm understanding that everything that we say and do should surround written policies and procedures (as well as the law), which, for the purposes of this article, is an overarching construct of the same concept. Our policies should serve as our true north, not how someone feels. Luckily, policy always supersedes feelings.

With that being said, it’s been very surprising to see how many organizations struggle to answer two very simple questions that I ask pertaining to policy. These questions speak to the very foundation of everything that we perform and for which we make critical decisions daily, so they should be answered easily.

The first question is, “What’s the difference between a policy and a procedure?” After pondering the answer for what seems like years, this question normally evokes a correct answer in a roundabout way. But initially and often throughout the response process, the answers tend to deviate in general and depart from the clear, concise, and simplistic nature of the answer. For the record, the proper answer is: Policies tell people what to do, and procedures tell people how to do them.