Fifty percent of marriages fail! A study referenced by the Huffington Post pegged communication as the #1 reason couples split up, breaking up families. Unfortunately, business failures have an even greater percentage of failures, especially after 5 years in business. I believe communication is one of the top 3 reasons businesses fail, breaking up organizations. Communication in business starts with the leaders.
In Peter Drucker’s HBR article, “What Makes an Effective Executive”, he references Chester Barnard’s 1938 classic The Functions of the Executive which says that organizations are held together by information rather than by ownership or command. This places huge importance on how that information is transferred . . . communication.
This blog is the first of 3 in my Process series. Remember, Process = Communication + Flow + Culture.
Process starts with Communication
Communication is needed in a great marriage, leading to a great family environment. When I see a healthy marriage in my family and friends, I see how the couples have constant dialogue about their plans, what’s going on in their lives, resolving conflict, sharing their feelings and frustrations, praise and corrections with their kids. Same goes for business. The clients I work with that are truly thriving are the ones who have constant communication across the leadership team, and up and down the chain.
Similarly, human bodies need great communication to function at their peak. When our neurons are firing effectively up and down our body from the brain to the respective organs and various parts of our body, we are able to perform our best. When it’s not, our bodies are hindered from poor communication and can’t function as well.
As a business leader, you have a choice in how you communicate with your organization. You can do it effectively and thrive as a business body. Or you can choose to do it poorly and risk being a statistic in business failures. When you’re not communicating effectively to the rest of your organization, you are choosing to operate below your peak.
How many times must you Communicate?
A process is not started without first communicating what needs to be done. How many times have you communicated a new process but didn’t get the desired results? Who should take responsibility for those results? In our EOS community, to become good leaders in your company, we emphasize that you must communicate 7 times before people get it.
I communicated a new process to my team, only to find out they interpreted it differently from what I did, leading to multiple erroneous communications to prospective clients, projecting a poor brand of my company. I could have blamed them but upon reflection, I did a poor job of clearly communicating the process and expectations. The picture in my head was different from the picture in their heads. That’s my fault for not clearly painting that picture.
Level 10 Meetings!
What would your marriage look like with perfect communication? What would your business look like? Visualize it! If you’re more intentional about how you communicate, you will have conquered the #1 reason for failed marriages and one of the most important characteristics of a great leader.
For great communication in your meetings that allow for dialogue within your leadership team, and up and down the ranks of your organization, use the Level 10 Meeting format. It helps drive clarity in priorities, expectations and accountability. Remember that it will take at least 7 times until people get things. So change your mind set of “I’ve already told them 3 times!” to “I only have 4 more to go”.
How effective is your communication in your Business Body? Take the Organizational Checkup to gauge the health of your company! For more information on creating a healthy business lifestyle, read about the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).
My next blog will be about the second element in Process – Flow. Flow creates consistency in your organization!
To Your Business Health!