“Brevity is still the soul of wit.” – William Shakespeare
 
Have you ever been in a meeting where someone gives their view about the subject in three or four well-chosen sentences? And have you also been in a meeting where someone gives the subject a good head-start, talks about it in some detail until they’re reminded of something else, which they also go into in some detail. . .and so on.  And on and on.
 
Which of these two persons do you look forward to listening to? Who will likely get more respect in the corporation? 
 
The person who understands how to deliver the message—the entire message—succinctly, enjoys an incredible advantage over someone who doesn’t understand the rewards of delivering messages clearly in as few words as possible, and the consequences of doing the opposite.  The subject is brevity.

But not all brief messages are alike...

So let's get started!

Your Partner in Success,

Charmaine McClarie

President, McClarie Group

The Brevity Advantage

As many of you know by now, one thing I stress both in my leadership development programs and with one-on-one coaching is a goal-oriented narrative.

Let’s say you’re going to drive to Kansas. First, you need to get gas. So when someone asks you where you’re going, what do you say? “I’m going down to the Arco station to fill up my tank,” or “I’m driving to Kansas.”  Kansas is your goal. Getting gas isn’t. Often what causes a slow-down in communication is the “I’m going down to the Arco station” approach. If you start this way, you lose your listeners long before you make your point. To communicate effectively, begin with the goal.  Often that’s all you need to tell them.

In a recent New York Times interview, Guy Kawasaki, a co-founder of Alltop and the managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, commented that American business would be much better off if B-schools would teach their students: “how to communicate in five-sentence e-mails and with 10-slide PowerPoint presentations. . .because no one wants to read ‘War and Peace’ e-mails. If you’ve ever gotten one of these, you know that’s true.”

Beyond brevity and keeping the communication goal in sight from the beginning, effective communication is holistic.  Alan Mulally, the recently appointed President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, has already made a real imprint on that company and has gone far toward turning it around. In another New York Times interview he talked about this kind of holistic communication:

“The more senior your management position is, the more important it is to connect the organization or the project to the outside world. You know, how does this fit in with what we’re doing? What is the real goal, the real mission? And it makes you also think about: What business are we in? And how do we pull together to have a comprehensive plan to create whatever we decided to do together? And then, how do you get everybody included, where everybody’s contributing and everybody knows what’s going on? ...Where are we? What is our purpose?”

Effective communication, as Mulally reminds us, is always about the big picture, not the brush-strokes. Details don’t inspire us; we do draw inspiration from the down-to-earth poetry of big picture communication.  Mulally tells this story:

“This reporter stops by a construction site and he interviews three bricklayers. He asks the first bricklayer, ‘What are you doing?’ And he says, ‘Well, I’m making a living laying these bricks.’ The reporter says: ‘Oh, that’s great. That’s very noble.’ He asks the next bricklayer, ‘What are you doing?’ And he says, ‘Well, I am practicing the profession of bricklaying. I’m going to be the best bricklayer ever.’ And the reporter asks the third bricklayer, ‘What are you doing?’ And he says, ‘I’m developing a cathedral.’

The third bricklayer explains the higher and unifying purpose of the work. Effective communication of that larger purpose is what inspires us. 

I wrote to one of my favorite clients, Jennifer Convery, the President of Griffith Laboratories, North America. I told her the subject—brevity—and asked her how she has succeeded so well in concise communication at Griffith, and how she has instilled this so well in her team.  Jennifer said knowing your "three must make points" forces us to truly comprehend the message we want to communicate:

 “Keeping your message simple and direct allows for clear, concise, powerful communication.  It is essential to know the detail behind the ‘three must make points,’ but only communicate it if requested.  The ‘three must make points’ have allowed our team to communicate our external and internal messages effectively and productively. Since utilizing this principle, we have seen significant increases in attaining our desired results in meetings and negotiations. We utilize this technique for capital approval, talent management communication and design, customer new business proposals, and many other situations.  Bottom line, it has helped us communicate our business rationale better.”

For those who may not have run into The Executive Success Principles^® recently, here’s a recap:

1. Communicate the vision

2. Speak in headlines

3. The three must-make points

4. Create witnesses

5. Don’t audition for the part

6. Embody your message

As you enter meetings this week, look around. Who is laying bricks? Who is building the cathedral? Note who has the brevity advantage. As you prepare for these meetings, jot down your three must-make points. Ensure you have the brevity advantage: communicate the larger goal and articulate your three must-make points in a clear and concise fashion.

• Increase your Network. July and August are a really good time to have one-on-one conversations with people who are normally inundated. Build your connections with key individuals in the organization during this time.

• Prepare for your Performance Review. Take advantage of any down time you have to build your case for your next performance review. Review what you've accomplished in the last few months. Document results and the value that you've brought to your organization.

• Book your Professional Development. Identify what training programs will be available in the Fall and slot that into your schedule now. You'll then be able to budget needed time for projects and milestone as they arise.

• Secure resources. In many organizations, budgets for the next fiscal year have been approved by July. If you have projects, ensure you leverage the resources you'll need while the funds are still available.

• Take time off. No Blackberry. No files. No thinking about work. Take a clean and full break from work. You'll come back refreshed, with a different perspective, and with a burn-out buffer for Fall.

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McClarie Group

1930 N. Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90031
Tel. (323) 224-6820 - Fax (323) 224-6758
www.mcclariegroup.com / charmaine@mcclariegroup.com