Let's be clear

Clarity is the best investment you will make. Miscommunication is a killer. Fortunately, that's a match made in heaven. True story. A friend of mine was asked to book a flight to Oakland for an urgent meeting. He dutifully called the travel agent, bought his ticket and made the flight. To Auckland. That's an extra 14 hours in the air. You see, my friend had a heavy accent and when he said "Oakland" the agent heard "Auckland". He missed the meeting.

I recall one time a vendor was giving my client first view on a major deliverable. The vendor was anxious but proud of the work they had put it. As we walked through the demo, I could see my client's face contort from excited anticipation to confusion, and then a frown. "You look pained" I whispered. She leaned in, "this is not what I asked for".

I see the consequences of miscommunication way too often - lots of wasted time and work. It's painful to observe and costly to fix.

Life's potential for ambiguity seems unlimited. You speak - I hear. But did you convey your intent clearly enough? Did I comprehend fully and have an opportunity to challenge the approach and enrich the outcome?

The best way I know to close the communication gap is to make a simple request:

Play that back to me.

In business, we are often asked to solve complex challenges. Unfortunately, teams can dive in to details too early. And any time before the goals have been clearly shared and played back is too early. Sometimes the goals are lost in the detail, sometimes they are never fully developed and communicated ( meaning sent and received).

At the same time, we have to be clear on what's intractable ( goals that the outcome must achieve, the "why"), and what's malleable ( the "how"). I advocate:

1. A one sentence description of what we are trying to achieve; a simple, measurable outcome that anyone on the team can recite. (This is a not a list of features.)
2. A list of steps that we think will achieve the goals, a plan to test the approach as we go, and a readiness to adjust as we learn.

In Tech, "play that back to me" translates to a clear specification that all parties can agree on. That may mean a contract, or a detailed specification, or ( often best) an evolving prototype that can be touched, felt, and sculpted in to the best outcome. The more complex the specification, the less likely that the team will absorb it, recite it, and based every decision they may on whether they are moving towards the goal. Anything else is a waste of time.

Spending a time on clarity of objective will save 10x downstream.

Clear Enough?

Consider two major initiatives in your career - one successful, the other less so.

1. How simple were the goals at the outset of each initiative and how clearly were they defined from the get go?
2. Did the respective teams fully embrace the goals? Were they referred to at every juncture throughout the initiative, or did they get lost in the fog of war as the work progressed?

If you would like to discuss ways that clarity can be achieved quickly, contact me at graham@primeFusion.ca.

PS Speaking of miscommunication, "waterproof" phones can disappoint, so be sure to read the fine print.

PPS There are various methods for simply capturing outcomes. If you're not familiar with the Agile Vision, check it out.