Purposeful Communication

Today let's focus on communication. An organization may approach this in several ways: By design. Randomly. By individual style. Or to be avoided (need to know basis). As a general rule, communication is a skill that is under coached.

Good communication does not require the best application software, the best CRM, or an overabundance of technology. The place to start is attitude. A corporate culture is not built on a single theme, but rather a collection of good attitudes and ground-level leadership to see them through. A culture of communication is just that; people who desire to communicate proactively and effectively. No need to be asked or told. For those who have this as an attribute, it may come easy. For those who are not natural communicators, they need and require guidance and coaching. Ideally, by example from their leadership.

The best culture of good communication in my experience was a company who relied on group voice mail as the primary tool. OK, yes, it was in the 1990s... but it gave everyone their choice to have a leading voice, an equal voice, a passive listening position, or to be an obnoxious debater. We experienced all of that, but it was our choice and most everyone participated, from C-Level down. It helped us make quick decisions, in consensus, with real time information. It was available 24/7 and many of us lost sleep on some nights, waiting to hear responses.

The tone was set by the co-founder of the company, the brilliant inventor genius. He would tell us, 'It needs to be clear enough to explain to a 10-year-old'. A large brand name company I worked for later on would urge us to have 'no more than 3 slides in our deck' if we wanted to be effective. I became pretty good at it. I practiced with both of my young daughters at the time. It truly helped me develop a straightforward style and, most importantly, to the point.

1. Develop a culture of communication. Explain why it is important.
2. Be intentional with your message and your subject matter.
3. Keep it simple, clear, and on point.

Purposeful communication. If you understand the purpose, you're already there.