Communication: are you doing it right?

Yesterday, I tweeted:

We have spent the last four days at our bi-annual retreat, reflecting on how we have performed in the first half of 2019, and strategizing on how we will move ahead. A recurring area of concern has been communication.

We immediately acknowledged that a lack of communication is deadly for any company. The thing is, the teams will continue to operate under multiple layers of assumptions and bias when the right systems for communication are not set up. I safely concluded that if an organization does not create and maintain effective communication processes and internal teams don’t have the information they need to work together towards the big picture, things can go awry pretty quick.

I once read of ten young programmers who were put on a queue with a task to pass on a coded message whispered by the person before them. The message read, “You’re not a great programmer if you only know one language.” By the time it reached the tenth programmer, he exclaimed, “Java, C++, C, and COBOL.”

George Benard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

As a company gains more people, the tendency of miscommunication exponentially increases, especially when there is no effective communication process available. Things can quickly change from fantastic to awful when the internal team of a company has divided objectives. You must start a company the way you want it to continue — as you grow, the ‘newbies’ will easily adapt and replicate what they see. This is why it is essential to deliberately take measures, no matter how small or large a business is, to ensure effective communication within a company, therefore, creating a safe space where effective communication thrives as a culture in your team. To achieve this, you can do the following;

• Writing things down is an effective way of carrying everyone along — Uncertainty can create a lot of confusion and negative outcomes. Once it exists on paper or in a document, it becomes easy for anyone to access it, refer to it when lost, and of course, understand the workflow and duties assigned to each individual. At VP, we use Google Keep to share notes and thoughts, and this is open to all members of the team.
• Always ask for feedback — Never assume people understand what is being conveyed — even when it is written down. Do not be reluctant to go over things again, break ideas down into smaller pieces, and ask for feedback. It is essential to set the atmosphere right and eliminate every form of hostility within the company. This way, it becomes easier for team members to open up.
• Deliberately create time for team members to get along — Organizations are like families. They need to co-exist. The closer people work together, the lower the chances of miscommunication and the higher the chances of success. Spending more time together reduces tension between people and provides security to share ideas that will drive the business forward. Activities like periodic team bonding exercises are great — breakfast or drinks with direct reports and activities that take away the tension, creating an atmosphere of vulnerability and trust.
• Invest in understanding your customers/partners — Spending time in understanding your customers is crucial in avoiding miscommunication. Successful businesses are patient and willing to align themselves with the interests of their customers to prevent conflict and optimize communication. It is therefore important for employees to be trained to address customer issues without being defensive or negative. The gap between profit and loss is dependent on excellent business-customer communication. While it is great to have a seamless internal communication process, ensuring an effective external communication system is perhaps a critical determinant for your business sustainability.

When a business understands the value of good communication, everything else falls into place. Transparency between the internal teams of a company is what maximizes productivity. No team can function without the other teams. They all have to be aligned. This way, costly mistakes due to misunderstandings are avoided, everyone works towards the same goal, and of course, the business grows faster, together.

Inside VP

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Portfolio Chatter

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• Sell multiple products and quantities on a single Payment Page
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• Build custom inventory management solutions. Read more about it here.

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ThankUCash has a brand new app! Download from Google Play here or App Store here.

What are we reading?

Measure What Matters by John Doerr. Find here.

See you next month,

V.