I recently posted an article published in Forbes about T. Boone Pickens, famous for an active entrepreneurial life and his book, The First Billion is the Hardest . Every year around this time, he’s asked to share his wisdom, gathered over many decades, with some college graduating class in the U. S. The Forbes article includes six “Booneisms” he’s known for, but the one I like the most is, “A fool with a plan can beat a genius with no plan.”

Although the CEOs and senior managers I regularly work or interact with are certainly NOT fools, all too often they’re working without a plan. While it may be okay on Saturday to get up and “let the day take you”, that’s not a good recipe for business, large or small. Too much is at stake!

The ideal planning sequence takes place in the context of shared values and a true team of managers committed to each other AND a common goal. (I’ve often said to management teams, “You don’t have to like each other, but you MUST be able to communicate effectively and solve problems together as you work to achieve your objectives.”)

Over the years, I’ve seen many managers promoted because they’re smart and hardworking or, somewhat cynically, they know how to play the political game. In today’s busy environment, with unemployment at 2.3% (Colorado, June 2017), we also have the phenomenon of individuals being thrust into management roles to fill critical gaps even though their experience or training may not be what it should have been.

Yesterday, a friend and colleague said she was having trouble “holding herself accountable”. She wasn’t getting things done that she thought she should be, including some things she deemed important to the business. For perspective, this woman is running a business, supervising a stable workforce and keeping multiple clients happy. On top of all that, she’s a mom! (Can you say “busy”?)

The conversation quickly went to a few questions:

• What are you not achieving?
• Where’s the breakdown?
• What are your goals?

A colleague recently mentioned that one of his clients was going through a rough patch. It seems the four partners were arguing about various elements of the business and, consequently, overall business performance was suffering. My colleague didn’t mention it but I bet the entire “team” working below the four partners was suffering, as well!

Effective communication is one of the key functions of management, yet we frequently find ourselves frustrated with others not understanding what we have shared. After we say our piece, we assume that others see things the same way we do but the only thing we can be sure of, even after a lengthy conversation, is that what’s in your mind is not exactly  the same in their mind. We just hope the gaps are few and insignificant.

The problem is even worse if the communication comes in the form of a management “presentation” with little/no opportunity for dialogue. I once spent an hour presenting “how we make money” to a group of front-line employees: Revenue – (Material + Labor + Manufacturing Overhead + Other Overhead) = Profit. The presentation was complete with flipchart graphics. It was clear from some of the questions at the end of the presentation that some of the employees still looked at Revenue as the amount of money theoretically distributable to all the members of the company. While frustrating, this incident just confirmed how hard it is to be truly effective in your communication. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that the primary responsibility for the effectiveness of communication lies with whoever is sending the message.

Studies have shown that managers typically under communicate but think  they did a good job. It’s not just executive management. This “failure to communicate” affects all members of an organization. If you are a middle manager, you have the challenge of communicating both up and down the chain of command. If you are a front-line team member, it’s important you effectively communicate any issues or challenges you face in the performance of your job so they may be resolved. Anything less than excellent communication, at all levels, negatively impacts relationships and hurts the bottom line.

Here’s a formula for communication success:

1. Preparation:
   1. Understand your objective. Why are you communicating?
   2. Understand your audience.  What do they need to know?
   3. Plan what you want to say.
   4. Choose the best communication channel:
      1. One-on-one conversation
      2. Team presentation/discussion
      3. Written document:
         1. Match your style to reader’s preferences
         2. Avoid jargon or slang
         3. Check your grammar and punctuation
         4. Check for tone and attitude
      4. Email/text for simple directions (NEVER email/text complex or negative content.)
   5. Consider:
      1. Cultural context of organization
      2. Potential emotional content
      3. Need for detail
      4. The need to ask and answer questions
2. Draft:
   1. Decide exactly what to convey.
   2. As much as possible, use pictures, charts, diagrams.
   3. Verbal: prepare written notes to guide the conversation.
   4. Written: draft document/presentation for sharing. Review as necessary to ensure effectiveness. Send.
   5. If sensitive, solicit other inputs and get feedback prior to sending/engaging.
3. Engage (Verbal):
   1. Be concise.
   2. Listen actively.
   3. Stay open.
   4. Be attentive and avoid distractions.
   5. Respect others’ feelings
   6. Don’t interrupt!  
   7. Pay attention to body language.
   8. Ask questions to ensure understanding.
   9. Record all action items: What-Who-When.
4. Follow Up:
   1. How effective was the communication?
   2. Did I/we achieve the stated objectives?
   3. What could we do to improve communication?

Effective communication is an art that all of us would do well to master, for our own good and that of our organization. Are you getting the results you want from your communication or are you constantly thinking, “Why don’t they get it?”

Comer and Associates, LLC develops great leaders and teams and facilitates projects that lead to growth and profit. Our April 11 – 13 ADVANCE  management and leadership workshop will cover all the key functions of management, including communication.

How often should you go to a doctor for a routine checkup? The answer is, “It depends….” There are many factors including your age, sex, occupation and family medical history that indicate how often and for what conditions you should be checked. How often should you check on the “health” of your organization? This doesn’t “depend”. It should be no less than once a year and preferably once a quarter!

The second element for a “healthy organization” is a true team. I’ve been in many organizations where the CEO says, “We have a great team here!”. The reality is often quite different.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with the founder of a tech start-up. The business is in health care, a booming market! When I asked the founder to describe the business in a “sound bite”, I was given a rambling answer that talked about “market needs” and “customized services” and went on to include a laundry list of “features” their customers would enjoy. I could just imagine a prospect, eyes glazing over, tuning out the answer while starting to think about things they needed to get done that day. On top of all of that, the company was targeting 3 distinctly different markets! My concern, shared with my conversation partner, was that the fuzzy answer accurately represented the state of their market plan.

We just concluded our 4th ADVANCE  management and leadership workshop of the year and, as always, a major topic of interest and conversation was “accountability”. It seems all managers, leaders and directors, from top to bottom in the organization, struggle with this fundamental component of being a “healthy leader”. Why is that? The typical answer we get at Comer & Associates is, “It’s hard to hold people accountable because it demands confrontation and that’s uncomfortable.”

While it is certainly true that the human interaction involving difficult conversations is challenging, it is more often the case that you simply may not have the right processes or tools in place to effectively hold people accountable. The basic formula is simple:

• Set crystal clear expectations .
• Have an effective follow-up process .
• Apply consequences , as needed, to ensure you’re getting the performance and results you need.