Is It Really A Failure to Communicate?

 

"What we have here is a failure to communicate" 
--Strother Martin,Cool Hand Luke, 1967

What percentage of your managerial and organization issues are presented as "communication problems?"  Probably no less than bout 80% of the phone calls I receive from clients and prospective clients are described that way at the outset.

Not so.

That phrase seems to be a catch-all for anything having to do with people. Here are three issues that come up quite often along with related solutions:

Issue: "People aren't making the changes I want them to make."

Solution: Go back and define the changes as goals, not philosophical visions. More often than not your people are willing to do what it takes if they understand the specific results you want.

Issue: "I can't get my boss to take my suggestions seriously."

Solution: Start by explaining how the the situation is affecting results. Then ask if that is also a concern to your boss. If it is, be prepared to show 2 or 3 solutions that have differing amounts of complexity, cost, resources, and likelihood of success. If you show up with just one suggestion you put your boss--and yourself--in a place where you can only get a yes or no answer. I don't like those odds. Do you?  Instead, offer a choice of "yeses."

Issue: "I'm planning a meeting and can't seem to get commitment replies from the emails I sent."

Solution: Do you invite friends to a special dinner party via emails? (If so, do you also give everyone a wifi-enabled PDA to order hors d'ouevres before having them play Charades using only programming code?) Commitments come from relationships. Relationships come from personal interaction--tone of voice, inflection, urgency...

Emails are terrific for announcements and sharing information. To gain commitment, pick up the phone or get face-to-face. Think about the goal, the situational variables, and the ultimate methodology. It really is all about relationships.

"Communication" covers a multitude of sins. The next time you hear it described as the issue, ask, "What about communication is bothering you?" Your diagnostic skills will suddenly amaze your friends and neighbors.
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Tip of the Editorial Hat to: Brian Roger. Brian picked up on my mistaken recollection of the originator of the opening quote. I had attributed it to George Kennedy but, as Brian pointed out in his comment at My Venturepad, the famous line was uttered by the cinematically contemptible Strother Martin. Thanks, Brian.

Comments

[Hayli @ Rise Smart]

Great post! I just experienced the party e-vite from a friend for a weeklong cabin in the woods excursion. It was a mass e-vite to all her girlfriends for her birthday week and it just felt so impersonal. It didn't fit into my schedule, but I was just thinking this morning about how I might've felt more inclined to try had she actually brought it up in one of our recent conversations. An impersonal e-vite with no personal follow-up - especially for big ticket things like a weeklong cabin trip - runs the risk of being viewed as an "obligation invitation."

Recent blog post: Job search got you down? Get some Fresh Air

[Steve Roesler]

Hayli,

I had no idea that you were a pioneer woman. Now I'm visualizing you as the RiseSmart Little House on the Prairie spokeswoman.

That does, indeed, seem like quite an impersonal way to approach what is a highly personal week together. Are we seeing what many are beginning to write about: an era of detached, text-messaged/emailed relationships that miss the heart?

Film at 11. . .