Lots of people learn that the way to avoid problems is to follow instructions exactly as they're given. If one is intimidated by something, that is often viewed as the safest course. I remember a lab partner in school who messed up ~ 2 weeks of our work due to following the instructions exactly rather than thinking about what he was doing...

Yes, it's frustrating to try to make things excruciatingly clear in detail and then have the details ignored - or to have the write-up take the place of thinking. But that's the way it is.

Hiring people who have that (seemingly rare) flash of insight to be able to understand instructions is, of course, the best solution. But new techniques and procedures will always arrive. Spending some time training people how to do things, based on a clear write-up but not supersceded by a clear write-up, will probably always be necessary.

The Shark Tank guy should have understood that a 20 page writeup is good, but not sufficient. Standing up and demonstrating what needed to be done was essential as well.

Cheers,
Scott.