Surefire Success: Executive Top Ten Lists for Communication Success

Introduction

A lively discussion with a roundtable of executives raised the discussion ‘Why do some people succeed while others fail?’ It seemed as though everyone felt they could separate the winners from the losers but tying these differences down to specific, measurable characteristics was a bit harder.

The question rephrased the longstanding quest for the secret of success. A little superficial research demonstrated that there is no secret. There are fundamental skill sets that are essential to achieve both personally and professionally.

Listening, service, empathy, asking questions, conflict resolution, sales ability, influence, leadership, relationships and networking are echoed repeatedly. The common denominator is resoundingly communication. But we all know how to communicate, don’t we?

Regrettably, the answer is a disappointing ‘no.’ We don’t communicate nearly as well as we think. While it is an essential skill, schools focus on reading and writing but tend to neglect listening, and conversation. Even skilled professionals can benefit by improvement.

To work with a team, lead or develop the relationships for group performance, communication cannot be ignored. In sales, persuasion, negotiations or any type of influencing activity, those who communicate best reap the highest rewards. Serving any clients or seeking to improve in any way cannot be accomplished without effective feedback. Communication is the critical element for professional achievement.

Well, just how fundamental is a command of communication to success? It’s easy to see how highly peak performers value it with a sampling of some thoughts:

"To maintain relationships, friendships and even family ties, exchanging thoughts and feelings assume a high priority. Social interaction, mental health and interpersonal satisfaction require communication."

~Craig Harrison~

The art of communication is the language of leadership.

~James Humes~

Feedback is the breakfast of champions.

~Ken Blanchard~

Study the art of persuasion. Practice it. Develop an understanding for its profound value across all areas of life.

~Donald Trump~

Communication is at the heart of all relationships; lack of communication is the number one reason for the destruction of relationships.

~Leo Buscaglia~

The primary component of power in our society today is communication. There is no greater skill for us to master.

~Anthony Robbins~

Other evidence readily supports the necessity of powerful communication skills:

• Peter Drucker, one of the grand gurus of management, indicated that about 60% of all management problems come from faulty communication.

• According to the College Placement Council, effective communication skills was the #1 sought quality in prospective employees.

• A study at the Stanford University School of Business tracked a group of MBAs 10 years after they graduated. The result? Grade point averages had no bearing on their success—but their ability to converse with others did.

• Carnegie Institute attributes 85% of all financial success to communication abilities

• When hiring, communication is consistently ranked in the top ten skills desired.

• Stanford Research Institute study: The money you make will be determined 13% by knowledge and 87% by your ability to communicate and to get along with others.

• John Naisbett indicated accurately that we are now in the era of high tech and high touch.

• Vitalsmarts, conducted a survey of over 25,000 executives. Based on the survey and their interventions, an improvement in organizational communications translated to a 10 to 40 percent improvement in productivity.

• Kevin Hogan indicates that the average person speaks 20, 000 words per day.

• Companies with engaged employees outperform others by 47% to 202% (Dale Carnegie Corporation 2008).

• The results of Watson Wyatt’s ROI study show a strong correlation between effective communication practices and shareholder value. Communication improvement leads to an almost 30 percent increase in market value for the organization. Organizations with highly effective communication practices showed a 26 percent increase in shareholder returns from 1998 to 2002, compared to a -15 percent return for organizations with less effective communication practices.

• Shareholder returns for organizations with the most effective communication were over 57 percent higher over the last five years (2000-2004) than were returns for firms with less effective communication (Watson Wyatt 2006).

• The 2005/2006 study found evidence that communication effectiveness is a leading indicator of financial performance (Watson Wyatt 2006).

• Firms that communicate effectively are 4.5 times more likely to report high levels of employee engagement versus firms that communicate less effectively (Watson Wyatt 2006).

• Companies that are highly effective communicators are 20 percent more likely to report lower turnover rates than their peers (Watson Wyatt 2006).

• Miscommunication can cost an organization 25% to 40% of its annual budget, estimates private investment group Manchester Companies.

• It’s estimated that 14% of each workweek is wasted as a result of poor communication (Joyce Gray, De Anza College),

It seems apparent that communication deserves a high priority. Surefire Success was developed to emphasize practical paths to improving results. Research focused on ways to make materials both actionable and memorable. By creating ‘Top Ten’ executive briefings, these objectives were both realized. These lists focused on connecting material with people who were inherently smart and looking for all the advantage they could get.

Checklists serve as brief, direct notations of the thinking, feeling and performance required to perform a given task. They serve as a quick, ready reference to straightening out communications issues or simply to offer a little growth.

Without fail, articles and books are filled with these tools. After the list is generated, the text offers detailed explanation and countless examples. Success Dynamics generates these short lists for fast, immediate return. These materials are the results of extensive research and are condensed into short, memorable, actionable lists.

Relying on fundamental common sense, these lists can readily work without extensive augmentation. In many cases, they reflect what the reader would conjecture given the time, research and interest in considering the particular topic (To a certain extent, everyone has expertise in communication. Life provides countless experiences—some fruitful and some merely serving as object lessons of what not to do). Lists serve as crib notes for performance. They take basic information, synthesize it and offer an operational, action-oriented set of concerns. These tools get results.

So, why ten? It would seem odd that everything falls into a top-ten type format. Three seems to be a fairly popular number. Stephen Covey supported the popularity of seven. Other numbers seem downright neglected. Well, ten feels right.

Shorter checklists don’t seem to offer enough room to fit the essentials. Longer numbers seem to drag on ad nauseam. In compiling lists that offered useful, memorable advice, ten seemed most effective.

Top-ten’s are meant to be executive briefings. They can be read as a coherent text or independently to answer some pertinent question. The intent is that, after an initial reading, these lists will serve as a reference to handle life’s challenges.

Through the extensive nature of these lists, most critical aspects of communications and relationships are addressed. For personal or professional application, checklists serve as an easy answer to improvement, performance and the satisfaction that effectiveness provides. These lists are meant to cover what everyone needs to know in a fashion that is both entertaining and fast.

Communication is the currency of success. Invest wisely.

Surefire Success

Communication is the Currency of Success…

Invest Wisely!

#01 Communication Trends

Communication is not a skill. It is the skill.

~Harry Beckwith~

With greater global connection and a highly educated workforce, dramatic transformation is taking place in communication desires and experiences. Information and thought represent highly valuable commodities. Taking advantage of human assets necessitates moving communication to a more managed, intentional part of operations. The basic trends demand adjustments in thinking and performance.

1. People want and expect to be ‘in the loop.’

Better decisions and execution come through heightened participation. The adage that together we know more than any one does, is frequently referenced. To achieve desired improvement, allow people educated opinions. This requires information flow. Superior communication yields better productivity and a higher quality of life.

2. Participative structures are the norm.

Interchange brings on more and better thoughts. Engaging the minds and talents of a complete staff creates power and energy. By allowing participation, teamwork becomes real. Brainstorming and other creative techniques require interaction and group efforts. Meetings and committees are at their best when everyone contributes.

3. People like to move from ‘labor’ and ‘employees’ to team members and ‘players’.

Commitment comes from engaging minds. When management cares what people think, listens and implements improvement, the gains are available throughout the organization. As players, employees are valued assets. Their participation and mental engagement fuels peak organizational performance.

4. Effective communication is necessary to create a ‘smart’ organization.

Updates and information flows allow for more thought and the leveraging of mental power. Continuing flows of information assure that everyone has the latest data for action. Information is not power. Applied information is. The flow of actionable data allows for better decisions and superior effort.

5. Diversity and multiculturism require sensitivity, appreciation and greater efforts to be inclusive.

Inclusiveness and communication must comply with sensibilities and idiosyncrasies of various cultures. Different groups need to be invited, and deliberate efforts must be made to intentionally include them. Through inclusion, customer service, decision making and enhanced worker satisfaction, life improves for everyone.

6. Dynamic media are changing etiquette and the rules of connection.

E-communications have transformed the speed, etiquette, and ease of connection. Cell phones, computers and other electronics make people available at more hours in various locations. Communication media is transforming connection and the need to relate in diverse ways.

7. Globalization and expanded connection is transforming life.

Work and home have lost some of their traditional boundaries. People can connect without going to an office. E-communication has developed more contact options and more personal connection than old-fashioned snail mail. Informal links, the internet and real time electronic exchange have created heightened need for speed and media savvy. Speed and global connection generate opportunity but also present potential pitfalls.

8. Information and mind-power have become primary assets.

Success is predicated more on knowledge and application than other variables. Achievement is based on gaining actionable information. Minds are more significant to an educated, participative, empowered workforce.

9. Multifaceted needs for influence, negotiation and leadership exist on all levels.

Leadership exists throughout organizations, both traditionally and informally. Influence and negotiations are primary communication tools that are indispensable at all operational levels.

10. Communication needs to be managed for performance.

Feedback loops and continuous improvement structures are impossible without the application of accurate, timely communications. Communications audits and reviews evaluate, correct and continuously improve these processes.

Action Plan:

Are you aware of the media that your colleagues prefer to use? Have you mastered these tools (being aware of positives and negatives) to be able to use them to optimal effect?

Have you done a personal audit of your communication abilities? Are you actively engaged in personal development to become more effective? How?

As a communicator, are you actively engaged in team building and relationship development? Do you work towards improving both the quality and quantity of your connections? How?

Surefire Success

Communication is the Currency of Success…

Invest Wisely!

#02 Articulate Professionals

Communication is best achieved through simple planning and control…

Most conversations drift along; in business this is wasteful; as a manager…

seek communication rather than chatter.

~Gerald M. Blair~

The most frequently sited characteristic of success is the ability to effectively communicate. It’s an essential part of influencing, teamwork, relationships and every aspect of performance. To define its implications, the characteristics that separate those articulate professionals who really achieve from others who simply aspire must be determined.

1. Network.

Top flight performers are connected. They develop networks and information sources above and below. They know the grapevine and how to find needed information. Connections enable anticipation, vision and the ability to deliver results.

2. Influence.

Power and persuasion are the tools that make negotiations and bargains possible. People with influence have the ability to elicit performance as necessary. They are able to work with and through others.

3. Conflict Management.

Regulating and channeling contention to effective competitive structures directs energy to action. It capitalizes on the adrenalin for greater motivation and higher achievement. Managing negative conflict diffuses problems and eliminates the waste of resources. This peacekeeping, resolution ability controls hostilities and promotes team achievement. Aggressive, counterproductive exchanges diminish effectiveness.

4. Team Building.

Promoting teamwork elicits group performance and delegates tasks. Involvement by multiple players enables development of superior products. Team building motivates and exhorts superior effort. Relationships, bonds and continuing communications elicit the interaction through which everyone can achieve more.

5. Media Management.

Mastering alternative channels of communication combines the power of the media with verbal and nonverbal skills. Tapping this source and managing different vehicles for relations attenuates communication performance.

6. Verbal and Nonverbal Command.

Communication power is more than verbal excellence. It comes when abilities with words are applied in conjunction with auditory and nonverbal skills. This synthesis generates intentional, empowered, managed impact.

7. Listening and Empathetic Skills.

Listening through all senses forms the foundation for rapport. It links team members and establishes possibilities. Through this ability, understanding and empathy may be created. These craft the foundations for valuing and working with dynamic, motivated groups. Empathy and analysis form the foundation for understanding and relating to varied audiences.

8. Information Gathering.

Information, when applied, forms the most powerful resource for any professional. The most dynamic and useful data comes through communications and relationships. At the heart of this ability is the necessity of questioning. By generating effective queries and mastering techniques to elicit aid, mountains are moved.

9. Leadership.

Leadership is the ability to guide groups through action towards mutual objectives. To lead, the team must follow. Everyone has had the experience of leading and generating results. It is extremely fulfilling. At the heart of this skill