Following instructions of / from Mr. Smith, please...

Why not "following Mr Smith's instructions"?

That's a good idea. If you prefer your original, either 'of' or 'from' will do. I suggest a 'the' before 'instructions' as well.

Shouldn't we avoid using "of" before the name of a person?

I cannot see why we should; but this is just the opinion of Mr. Micawber.

I wonder whether the 'please' is part of the sentence. Are you able to clarify, Rogue?

There seem to be a number of possibilities at the moment:

1. The following instructions are from Mr Smith...
2. Follow these instructions from Mr Smith, please.
3. Further to Mr Smiths' instructions...
4. Following Mr Smith's instructions...
5. Following instructions from

I'll try to clarify it:

The sense of what I try to express is reflected in your sentences 3 to 5.

This is the usual sentence that we use in our job, to say, for instance, that we are sending an e-mail to a client in the name of our boss.

It would be something like:

"Dear Mr. Smith:

Following instructions from Mr. Tower, please find enclosed the f

Maybe using "from" implies that Mr Smith is your superior, whereas "of" remains quite neutral.

In that case, from those 3 last sentences, I would probably choose:

1. Further to Mr Smith's instructions, please find enclosed...

(I would not find this phrase informal – quite the contrary.)

But if I were writing the email myself, I would be more likely to say:

2. Further to your conversation with Mr Smith, please find enclosed...

Or:

You got the idea perfectly well!

You help me a lot with these three options.

I will probably use the two first ones.

Thank you a lot!