by Mr. Tiny Brain

Created on: January 23, 2009

Quick, somebody call the CEO! There's been a murder! Your managers are killing your business. You've hired all these professionals to manage various aspects of the company and they don't even know how to communicate effectively.

1.) They don't know the basic questions that need to be answered in every communication. Who, what, where, when, why, how, for how long, etc. A memo that says "I need the sales figures for July" may sometimes be adequate, but on that says "This is the account manager for the container division. Please send me the Sales figures for the M5 size containers in July of 1997 for Europe and North America so I can work on projections for next year. I'd like them soft copy by 09:00 am tomorrow (2/15/2008)" In this instance the tech providing the details also chooses to include the sales to Australia and Asia since he knows that they've always been needed in the past. While its true that the account manager may already have this information. The cost of including it would be significantly less to the company than a delay in providing the needed projections would. The second memo allowed both employees to work more efficiently.

2.) Meetings are rarely cost effective. If you calculate the cost to the company of having your entire staff sit in a meeting just so you can hear them read stats they've already sent by Email, you'd have a hard time justifying the expenditure. Many managers hold staff meetings because they're traditional and they like to display the power that can mandate everyone's compliance. People should also not have to meet to handle business as usual. There's nothing more boring than sitting in a meeting while someone goes through a fifty page list of scheduled activities just to see if there are any objections or inclusions. This could all be handled with instant messaging.

3.) Use technology. Instant messaging not only allows people to get other business done while being aware of peripheral issues. It also allows for fast responses to quick questions. You no longer need to actually track a person down to physically confront them with questions. Some instant messaging tools also keep track of conversations and can provide accurate records of actions taken in emergency situations. Consensus can actually be recorded and instantly acted upon. For those people who need the visual clues that are provided by body language video conferencing is available and still significantly less expensive in terms of both time and money than a business

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