Tag: Communication

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The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to respond.

I don’t know the exact origins but for many years now I have often said to colleagues that we have two eyes, two ears and one mouth, and that is the proportion in which we should use them.

The management literature abounds with entreaties for us to listen better, to develop listening skills, to be reactive listeners, and to listen first before speaking.

But have we learnt the lesson? Experience would suggest not.

The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to respond. (Stephen Covey) Continue reading “The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to respond.”

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For greater effect – communicate your strategy in 6 sentences

Who says your strategy needs to be heavily documented?  Try doing  it in 6 sentences for greater effect.

Here is a little gem I recently rediscovered and one of the many notebooks that are a key part of my reflective and reflexive practice. The source is Jay Conrad Levinson, and my notes say it comes from something he wrote in in Entrepreneur, that was then quoted in Communication Briefings,  Volume 14 number 2, page four, December 1994 

I have tried to find the original source, but it appears not to be anywhere on the Internet, so I suspect it was from a print newsletter.  Given that it was 1994 that is not surprising.  Levinson was known as a guru of Guerrilla Marketing – and his work can be found here: https://strategiesforinfluence.com/jay-conrad-levinson-guerrilla-marketing/

The gem I rediscovered is about bringing clarity, precision, conciseness and parsimony to your stated strategies.  Levinson used an example from advertising to explain this.

To make sure your advertising as a clear purpose, state your strategy in six sentences.

  • Prime purpose. “The purpose of rainbow tours ads is to get people to call and write for a free video brochure.”
  • Prime benefit. “We will stress the unique and exciting places our customers can visit.”
  • Secondary benefits. “We will also stress the convenience and economy of our tours and the skill of our tour guides.”
  • Target audience. “We will aim our ads at adventurous male and female singles and couples, 21 to 34, who can afford our tours.”
  • Audience reaction. “We expect our audience to call or write to request our video brochure.”
  • Company personality. “Our ads will reflect our innovation, excitement, conscientiousness – and our warm, caring attitude toward all customers.” 

I will own up to not being guilty of actually having followed these rules since 1994. I lost the idea in my notebook. And, continuing with the honesty, when I look back over the last 25 years I have probably been guilty of a common organisational sin – that I’ve been over-planned and under-delivered.

A great deal of thought needs to go into your strategy if you are to capture it in 6 sentences. It’s not an easy task, and certainly not as easy as writing the long, verbose omnibuses that often masquerade as a strategy. It requires a depth of understanding that can be challenging, particularly in our seemingly time poor work environments.

But I can’t help think of how much more effective I might have been if I had used a 6-sentence strategy approach to my work?

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How to run a good meeting (Those who learn to lead learn how to participate.)

Here are some tips on how to run a meeting:

  • Prepare, prepare, prepare.
  • Know what you want to achieve.
  • Provide as much information in advance as you can.
  • Make certain everyone knows why they are there.
  • Don’t compete with attendees.  Give their ideas precedence over yours.
  • Listen to everyone.  Paraphase, but don’t judge. Respect their voice.
  • Don’t put anyone on the defensive.  Assume that everyone’s ideas have value.
  • Control the dominant people without alienating them.
  • Realize that your interest and alertness are contagious.
  • Listens with spirit.
  • Keep an open process where all can see what is agreed and what is expected of them.  Keep notes visible (on flip charts or a board or the screen) for all to see.
  • Check with the person who owns the problem to find out if an idea is worth pursuing or if a proposed solution is satisfactory.
  • Give others a turn at running the meeting.  Those who learn to lead learn how to participate.

If this is all a bit cryptic for you – see this great resource from the University of Kansas.

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A note for the CEO: You communicate even when you are not communicating!

Here is a little story from one of my favourite leadership practitioners, Max De Pree, that reminds us that what a leader does is important. 

I often found  the CEO job a rather lonely life where every move is under someone’s observation.  But rather than letting this develop into a sense of strain or tension, it is important to remember that if your actions reflect your words (or intentions) then you are being authentic and effective.

Esther, my wife, and I have a grand-daughter named Zoe, the Greek word for “life”.  She was born prematurely and weighed one pound, seven ounces, so small that my wedding ring could slide up her arm to her shoulders.  The neonatologist who first examined her told us that she had a 5 to 10 percent chance of living three days.  When Esther and I scrubbed up for our first visit and saw Zoe in her isolette in the neonatal intensive care unit, she had two IVs in her navel, one in her foot, a monitor on each side of her chest, and a respirator tube and a feeding tube in her mouth.

To complicate matters, Zoe’s biological father had jumped ship the month before Zoe was born.  Realising this, a wise and caring nurse named Ruth gave me my instructions.  “For the next several months, at least, you’re the surrogate father.  I want you to come to the hospital every day to visit Zoe, and when you come, I would like you to rub her body and her legs and arms with the tip of your finger.  While you’re caressing her, you should tell her over and over how much you love her, because she has to be able to connect your voice to your touch.”

Ruth was doing exactly the right thing on Zoe’s behalf (and, of course, on my behalf as well), and without realising it she was giving me one of the best possible descriptions of the work of a leader.  At the core of becoming a leader is the need always to connect one’s voice with one’s touch. (my emphasis)

Reference:  De Pree M O (1991)  Leadership Jazz.  Melbourne: Australian Business Library, Information Australia. pp.1-3