Contents

1. Communication Fundamentals                                                                 4

1. Communication Fundamentals

1.2. Communication and Organizations in Context
1.3. Written Communication in Organizations
1.4. Interpersonal Communication in Organizations
1.5. Communication and Change

1. Communicator Strategy                                                                            7
1. What are your objectives?
2. What communication style do you choose?
3. What is your credibility?

1. Audience strategy                                                                                     10
1. Who are they?
2. What do they know?
3. What do they feel?
4. How can you motivate them?

1. Message strategy                                                                                       15
1. How can you emphasize?
2. How can you organize?

1. Channel choice strategy?                                                                          16
1. Writing
2. Speaking to a group (face-to-face)
3. Speaking to a group (electronically)
4. Speaking to an individual

1. The communication case for high-velocity value                          17
1. Building Blocks for High-Velocity Value
2. Static and Dynamic Business Situations
3. The Intersection: Launch Point for High-Velocity Value
4. The Architecture of Conversation

1. The Cycle of Value                                                                                   22                                                             
1. Align
2. Act
3. Adjust

1. The Cycle of Waste                                                                                  26
1. Disagree
2. Defend
3. Destroy

1. Value Perception                                                                           27
1. The Value
2. Awareness of How The Craft of Perception Works
3. High-Value Perception: Value on Purpose
4. Methods for Practicing High-Value Perception

1. Raising and Resolving Valuable issues                                         28
1. Accountability
2. Competence
3. Occasions

11. Bibliography                                                                                 30

1. Communication Fundamentals

1.1. Communication Fundamentals
It is self evident that written and spoken communication skills are of crucial importance in business (and personal) life. Managers and leaders in particular must be effective communicators, good at getting their message across to, and at drawing the best out of, people. Communication skills in all forms, including non-verbal communication, need to be worked at and improved to ensure you understand people and they understand you.

The same remark can also be applied to communication. But we suggest that everyone in the organization needs to develop the skills of understanding and interpreting the messages and meanings they encounter. This ‘reading’ is not necessarily a straightforward process. Morgan talks of the need to ‘develop deep appreciations of the situations’ . We also suggest that you need to develop a ‘deep appreciation’ of the communication which characterizes your organization – and this involves understanding what communication means and how it works.
 
Our approach is based on what we call the communication triangle. We suggest that you
need to think about communication by putting together two different perspectives:

Define the process: in other words, you need to examine major components of the communication process and the sequence of events which are taking place; interpret the meanings: in other words, you need to investigate the social and cultural context, and the historical background to see how the participants interpret what is going on.
Once you have compared these approaches, you can identify any differences in perceptions
and develop an appropriate action plan.
 
The definition of communication in many management texts is based on a model first popularized in the 1950s, the so-called mathematical theory of communication. This was developed from work on telecommunications systems. It aimed to show how information is transmitted from source to destination and to analyse what can affect the quality of the information during this process. The model then became very influential with researchers in human communication (see Littlejohn, 1983, or Mattelart and Mattelart, 1998, for amore extended account).

1.2. Communication and Organizations in Context
Communication is used to cover listening and talking and is a loose concept. It has its roots in Latin where its use embraced to impart, to participate and to share. It evolved as a word to mean the transmission of intangible rather than material things. But meaning comes into it too and communication might be usefully defined as: the process by which meanings are exchanged between people through the use of a common set of symbols (i. e. usually language).

Definitions of organizational culture usually echo definitions of national culture. They talk about typical or traditional ways of thinking, believing and acting. They talk about the way these ideas are shared by members of the group, and the way they must be learnt by new members of the groups. Two leading American exponents of the cultural approach describe how they ‘are interested in the workways, folk tales, and ritual practices of an organization’ (Pacanowsky and O’Donnell-Trujillo, 1990).
You can think how these ideas make sense if you consider how you feel when you join a new organization. You are very keen to find out ‘the way they do things round here’ and you probably behave rather cautiously to make sure that you do not offend anyone by
breaking one of the ‘unwritten rules’. 

Harrison´s  model of cultures and structures

Communication and expression of organizational culture. Corporate cultures can be

expressed in various different ways. The official corporate culture is often symbolized in the organization’s mission statement, which can sometimes be expressed as a set of values.
 
1.3. Written Communication in Organizations

New technologies such as the Internet and email have given organizations new methods of written communication. But one fundamental question remains the same, whatever the method: is the written communication achieving what it should do? Written communication should achieve some business objective.
 
So we can use one overriding criterion to judge the quality of business documents, whether paper or electronic – are they effective? For example: is the instruction understood and carried out correctly? Is the user well informed about the product? And so on. We argue that written communication will be effective only if writers plan and organize their documents. A good plan enables writers to choose the appropriate language, use effective layout and visual aids, and use a document format which makes sense to their readers. This may mean that they have to depart from some established conventions and adopt a flexible approach. But one advantage of modern word processing is that it gives us all the potential to be ‘document designers’ rather than just writers. Every good design comes from sensible objectives and planning, and this is where we start.

1. Interpersonal Communication in Organization

The rules for work are changing. We’re being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle ourselves and each other. (Goleman, 1998).The notion that we need more than just intelligence to be successful at work and in life is not especially new. For example, we can probably all think of someone who is very good at intellectual or academic tasks but who is not very effective at getting more practical jobs done. This may be because they do not feel motivated to do a good job, or because they find it difficult to co-operate with other people. The importance of these more personal abilities has been emphasized by organizational theorists in recent years, especially given the increasing pace of social change.
 

1. Communication and Change

Various factors can push an organization into some form of change, including political, social, economic, environmental and technological pressures. Management need to be proactive in order to anticipate and adapt to the increasing rate of change. Modern organizations experience different influences on and different types of change. This shows the importance of recognizing the stage or process which an organization is experiencing and monitoring the environment. Examples of specific strategies for implementing change show how effective communication is essential – in both the acceptance and the implementation of organizational change. Management therefore need to adopt a strategic and planned approach to communication, otherwise even the most imaginative and creative change strategy is likely to misfire.
 

1. Communicator Strategy

Managerial communication is different from other kinds of communication. Why? Because in a business or management setting, a brilliant message alone is not sufficient: you are successful only if your message leads to the response you desire from your audience. Therefore, instead of visualizing communication as a straight line from a sender to a receiver, think of communication as a circle, as show below, with the audience´s response as one of its critical elements.
To get that desired audience response, you need to think strategically about your communication – before you start to write or speak. Strategic communication is based on five interactive variables: (1) communicator (the writer or speaker) strategy, (2) audience strategy, (3) the message strategy, (4) channel choise strategy, and (5) cultural context strategy. Be sure to consider how the variables affect each other. For example, you audience analysis affects your communicator style, your channel choise may affect your message, and the cultural context may affect your channel choice.

1. What are your objectives?

Defining your objectives provides two important benefits: (1) efficiency, because you will no longer waste time communicating unless you have a clear reason for doing so, and (2) effectiveness, because formulating your objective precisely will help you communicate more clearly. To clarify your purpose, hone your objectives from the general to the specific.

General objectives. These are your broad goals. They are comprehensive statements about what you hope to accomplish.

Action Objectives. To define your objectives more specifically, determine your action objectives – specific, measurable, time-bound steps that will lead toward your general objectives. State your action objectives in this form: “To accomplish a specific result by a specific time.”

Communication objective. Your communication objective is even more specific. It is focused on the result you hope to achieve from a single communication effort – such as a report, email, or presentation. To create a communication objective, start with the phrase: “As the statement by identifying precisely what you want your audience to do, know, or think as result of your communication effort.

1. What communication style do you choose?

As you define your communication objective, choose the appropriate style to accomplish that objective. The following framework, adapted from Tannenbaum and Schmidt, displays the range of communication styles used in virtually everyone´s job at various times. Instead appropriate time and avoid using the same style all of the time.

When to use the tell/sell style. Use the tell/sell style when you want your audience to learn from you. In the tell style, you are informing or explaning; you want your audience to understand something you already know. In the sell style, you are persuading or advocating: you want your audience to change their thinking or behavior: In tell/sell situations:

You have sufficient information
You do not need to hear other´s opinions, ideas, or inputs
You want to control the message content

When to use the consult/join style. Use the consult/join style, sometimes called the “inquiry style,” when you want to learn from the audience. The consult style is somewhat collaborative (like a questionnaire); the join style is even more collaborative (like a brain storming session). In consult/join situations:

You do not have sufficient information
You need to or want to understand others `opinions, ideas, or inputs
You need to or want to involve your audience, coming up with message content together

2.3. What is your credibility?

Another aspect of communicator strategy involves analyzing your audience´s perception of you. In other words, consider your own credibility: your audience´s belief, confidence, and faith in you. Their perception of you has tremendous impact on how you should communicate with them.
Five factors (based on social power theorists French, Raven, and Kotter) affect your credibility: (1) rank, (2) goodwill, (3) expertise, (4)image, and (5) common ground. Once you understand these factors, you can enhance your credibility by stressing your initial credibility and by increasing your acquired credibility.
 

1. Audience strategy

Audience strategy – that is, techniques for gearing your communication toward your audience´s needs and interests – is possibly the most important aspect of your communication strategy, because it has the most effect on increasing your chances of being undertood and of achieving your objective. Some communication experts recommend performing your audience analysis first; others recommend performing two strategies interact with and affect one another. So, perhaps the best idea is to perform these analyses concurrently.
Audience strategy includes answering four sets of questions: (1) Who are they? (2) What do they know? (3) What do they feel? (4) How can you motivate them?.

1. Who are they?

“Who are they?” sounds like a fairly straightforward question, yet choosing the people to include and focus on is often subtle and complex. To decide whom to include and how to analyze them, answer these two sets of questions.

Who should be included in your audience? In many business situations, you have, or might consider having, multiple audiences. If you are writing or speaking to more than one person, gear your message toward the person or people with the most influence over accomplishing your communication objective.

Primary: First of all, decide who will be included in your primary audience – those who will receive your written or spoken message directly.

Secondary: Consider any secondary or “hidden” audiences – such as those who will receive a copy of, need to approve, hear about, or be affected by your message. Sometimes your secondary audience may be more important than your primary audience.

Gatekeeper: Is there a “gatekeeper” in your audience – someone through whom you will need to route the message? If so, is there any reason he or she might block your message?.

Opinion leader: Is there anyone in the audience who has significant informal influence?.

Key decision maker: Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is there a key decision maker, with power or influence over the outcome of the communication? If so, gear your message toward her o him.

1. What do they know?

Next, think about what the audience knows and what they need to know. More specifically, ask yourself these three sets of questions.

How much background information do they need? What do they already know about the topic? How much jargon will they understand?

How much new information do they need? What do they need to learn about the topic? How much detail and evidence do they need?

What are their expectations and preferences? What do they expect or prefer in terms of style, channel, or format?

1. What do they feel?

Remember, your audience´s emotional level is just as important as their knowledge level. Therefore, in addition to thinking about what they know, think about what they feel. Answering the following sets be bringing to the communication.

What emotions do they feel? What feelings may arise from their current situation or their emotional attitude?
What is their situation? Is there anything about the economic situation, the timing, or their morale that you should keep in mind?
What emotions might they feel about your message? Many communicators mistakenly think that all business audiences are driven by facts and rationality alone. In truth, they may also be driven by their feelings about your message: they may feel positive emotions such as pride, excitement, and hope, or negative ones, such as anxiety, fear, or jealousy.

How interested are they in your message? Is your message a high priority for your audience? How likely are they to choose to read what you write or to listen carefully to what you say? How curious are they and how much do they care about the issue or its outcomes.
High interest level: If their interest level is high, you can get right to the point without taking much time to arouse their interest.
Low interest level: If, on the other hand, their interest level is low, think about using a consult/join style and ask them to participate: one of the strongest ways to build support is to share control.
What is their probable bias: positive or negative? What is their probable attitude your ideas or recommendations? Are they likely to favor them, be indifferent, or be opposed? What do they have to gain or lose from your ideas? Why might they say “no”?

Positive or neutral: If they are positive or neutral, reinforce their existing attitude by stating the benefits that will accrue from your message.
Negative: If they are negative, try one or more of these techniques: (1) Get them to agree that there is a problem, then solve the problem. (2) State points with which you think they will agree first; if audience members are sold on two or three key features of your proposal, they will tend to sell themselves on the other features as well. (3) Limit your request to the smallest one possible, such as a pilot program rather than a full program right away. (4) Respond to anticipated objections; you will be more persuasive by stating and rejecting alternatives than having them devise their own, which they will be less likely to reject.

1. How can you motivate them?

Of the following three sets of motivational techniques, choose those that will work best for your particular audience.
Can you motivate through audience benefits? Stress “what´s” in it for them.”

Tangible benefits: Sometimes you will be able to highlight tangible benefits that you can offer your audience.

Career or task benefits: (1) Sometimes you can motivate by showing how your message will enhance your audience´s job – by solving a current problem, saving them time, or making their job easier or more convenient. (2) Or you can appeal to the task itself. Some audiences may appreciate the chance to be challenged, or to participate in tough problem solving or decision making. (3) Other people respond to appeals to their career advancement or prestige. Let them know how they will win organizational recognition, enhance their reputation, or develop networking contacts.

Ego benefits: Some people respond to motivational devices that enhance their sense of self-worth, accomplishment, and achievement.

Group benefits: For audiences who value group relationships and group identity, emphasize benefits to the group as whole: appeal to any tangible group benefits, group task enhancements, group advancements, or sense of group worth.

Can you motivate through message structure? Finally, in some situations, you might motivate your audience by the way you structure your message.

Opening: Arouse their interest in the opening, especially if it is low, by (1) emphasizing “ what´s in it for them,” (2) convincing them there´s a problem that needs solving, or (3) explaining how the message relates to them, especially if that relationship is not immediately apparent.

Body of the message: In some situations, what you say in the body of the message can enhance your persuasiveness.

Ending: The message ending is another place you might use motivational techniques. (1) Make it easy for you audience to act: for example, use a questionnaire they can fill in easily or a checklist they can follow easily; or list specific next steps or specific actions. (2) Once again, emphasize “what´s in it for them” at the end of your message.

1. Message strategy

Good communication is no longer just about broadcasting a message creatively.
 

Structuring your message is a third variable in your communication strategy. Ineffective communicators simply state their ideas in the order they happen to occur to them; effective communicators use structure strategically.

Instead of structuring your message as ideas happen to occur to you, ask the following questions: (1) How can you emphasize? (2) How can you organize?

1. How can you emphasize?

 Your opening or introduction is extremely important. Stating your main ideas first is called the direct approach; stating them last is called the indirect approach.
Using the direct approach. The direct approach, stating your main ideas at the beginning of your message, is sometimes called “bottom-lining” your message, because you state the bottom line first.
Advantages of the direct approach. Using the direct approach has many advantages: Improves comprehension, Is audience-centered (The direct approach emphasizes the results of your analysis), Saves time.

Using the indirect approach. An indirect approach, saving your main idea until the end of your message, involves spelling out your support first, then finishing with your generalization or conclusion.
When to use the indirect approach. Because this approach is hard to follow, takes longer for your audience to understand, and does not take advantage of the audience´s attentiveness at the beginning of the message, use it only when the following conditions apply: Cultural norms so dictate, Your message is sensitive (with emotional overtones), Your audiences´s bias is negative, Your audience is analysis-oriented, Your credibility is low.
Advantages of the indirect approach. When these conditions apply, the indirect strategy may soften your audience´s resistance, arouse their interest, and increase their tendency to see you as fair-minded.

1. How can you organize?

Once you have emphasized your main idea by placing it first (direct approach) or last (indirect approach), organize your supporting points accordingly.

1. Communication objective

1. If it is a … (Routine procedure, New procedure, hostile audience, Busy audience, or your credibility high, Audience is results-oriented, or bias is indifferent, …).

1. Then, use this approach… (Direct, Indirect)

1. And organize by… (Listing the steps in the procedure, Discussing the benefits of procedure, followed by steps in procedure, Explaining the plan, then the reasons why, …)

1. Channel choice strategy?

Managers need to connect with a variety of stakeholders including employees, customers, and alliance partners.

Channel choice refers to the choice of medium through which you send your message. In the past, this strategic choice was basically between two channels: writing and speaking. Today, many more channels exist – including fax, email, voicemail, electronic meetings, and videoteleconferencing. These new channels have changed how we think about channel choice. For example, traditional writing is usually fairly reserved and controlled; email, however, may be informal and spontaneous. Before you choose a channel from among this expanded set of alternatives, think about these general questions. Do you need to: Be formal or informal?, Receive an immediate response, Elicit high audience participation or not? Face-to-face or not?, Have a rich communication or not?, Have a permanent record or not?, Use a channel preferred by your audience or their culture?

1. Writing

Writing channels include traditional writing, fax, email, and web page.

1. Speaking to a group (face-to-face)

You can speak to a group in a tell/sell or a consult/join style.

1. Speaking to a group (electronically)

Unlike the face-to-face speaking channels discussed previously, the following three channels use different kids of groupware – a broad term for a group of related technologies that mediate group collaboration through technology – that may include any combination of collaborative software or intraware, electronic – and voicemail systems, electronic meeting systems, phone systems, video systems, electronic bulletin boards, and group document handling and annotation systems.
Example: Videoconferences, Audioconferences, Broadcasting or webcasting, Electronic meetings, Emails meetings.

1. Speaking to an individual

Speak to an individual – not to a group – when you want (1) a private, confidential communication, (2) individual feedback or response, (3) less preparation time, or (4) a fast, simple answer.

1. The communication case for high-velocity value

Communication is a risky topic. Offering insight into communication includes at least two major pitfalls.
Communication is an all-too-familiar topic. “I already knows lots of things about communication. I am successful and I know how to get may point across. I do not use verbal crutches such as ´like´ and ´you know´when I am making a presentation. I practice listening and speaking every day of my life. Really, what else is there to learn?”
Unless you have successfully handled every isuue of coordination, cooperation, and misunderstanding in your life, communication is probably still worth pursuing. People tend to stop studying subjects that are familiar and common. Whoever continues to improve at a familiar, common practice has an enormous advantage over those who take it for granted.

6.1. Building Blocks for High-Velocity Value
Managers wanted conformity and compliance. In short, for many years managers basically told people what to do, how to do it, and when  to do it.
 
Value. We define value as what customers and investors are willing to pay for, that employees are willing and able to provide. In a public, for-profit enterprise, sustainable value requires all three groups. Value must be worthy to those paying and those providing, or it will not endure. When this mutual value is identified, delivered, and paid for faster than usual, we term it high-velocity value. This conspiracy of value, like all things mutual, involves communication.
Waste. Waste is any use of resources that not create value for customers, investors, and employees.

Communication. A popular, and narrow, definition of communication is “the exchange of ideas, messages, or information” (Webster´s Dictionary). In architecture, communication is the term for linking different spaces. A hall-way for instance, is a method of communication for the offices that open into it. In the communication catalyst, we say communication is any action that links separate elements into a larger system. Without communication, there is nothing in common: no teamwork, no mutual benefit, and no business value.

Conversation. Conversation is the uniquely human kind of communication. In the forms of impression (e.g., listening) and expression (e.g., speaking), conversation is how we learn about and influence the world and ourselves. Conversation is a language cycle that causes perception, meaning, action, and learning. Most business writing about conversation is trivial compared to its real nature and power. The education of any leader is incomplete without an accurate working knowledge of how conversation causes perception, meaning, action, and learning.

Catalyst. A catalyst causes or accelerates activity between two or more persons or forces. Communication is the primary catalyst for anything that requires the coordinated effort of people.

6.2. Static and Dynamic Business Situations

Valuable interactions are the key to the victory of high-velocity value over more speed. The simple reason is that conversation is the field of play for coordinated action. Whether the venue is telephone, e-mail, staff meetings, project reviews, or casual duscussion, it is still a conversational field of play. The interactions in static business conditions, however, are different from the interactions in dynamic conditions. It is very possible that you already possess the leadership and communication skills that meet the challenge of static conditions. They have been honed since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The dynamic skills are unusual, and developing them fully requires considerable personal interest.

Static and Dynamic Value Imperatives.

Static Imperatives: Prediction, Economies of scale, Following instructions, Rigid roles, Separate organizations, Experience and credentials.

Dynamic Imperatives: Learning and Adjustment, Rate of adjustment, Valuable conversations, Adaptive roles, Connected organizations, Ability to learn and adjust.

6.3. The Intersection: Launch Point for High-Velocity Value

Here are some dangerous, wasteful myths:

The customer is always right.
The sole purpose of a business is to make a profit.
Nothing happens without employees, so take care of them first, last and always.

There is some truth in each statement. Greather truth, however, is at the place where the three statement intersect. This notion of an intersection is a fruitful source of high-velocity value. The intersection is about integration, not domination. You will find that integration produces more value with less time, money, and stress. The reason is simple: Customers, employees, and investors need each other. Their purposes are reciprocal and interdependent. Like a pyramid of purpose, each requires the other two to stand at all. Anything produced at the intersection will be gratifying for all. A benefit for one at the expense of the other two is an investment in the demise of a business.
Many people have told us that it is liberating to be able to produce superior business results by researching and interesting with other people´s purposes. After considerable work on getting to the intersection quickly, a senior manager in a fortune 100 company told us: “This is the first time in my 36-year work life that I see high performance and being completely honorable coexist without compromise. We´re producing a lot better results than we thought we could, and I´m sleeping better than I ever have.”
Employees, investors, and customers are groups with distinct purposes, concerns, and circumstances. High-velocity values is launched from where they intersect. The value of the intersection, however, extends way beyond these three groups. Anytime you benefit from the coordination, support, or collaboration of others, the intersection is a gold mine of value. If you care about value (i.e., the rate at which employees provide what customers and investors are happy to pay for), then get interested in intersections.
Intersection conversations are the essential foundation for high-velocity value They call for:

Researching the point of view of anyone whose support you desire or require

Discovering where your view overlaps or intersects with theirs

We define view as:

Purposes – essential commitments I cannot abandon
Concerns – things that might interfere with my purposes
Circumstances – essential facts that I must account for
 

1. The Architecture of Conversation

The Purpose of Communication: Connect, Inform, Engage
 
Ordinarily, an architect is the designer and sometimes builder of a physical edifice. An architect of conversation is the designer and builder of achievement of all sorts. Most people hope conversations are valuable. However, hope is insufficient for high-velocity value. Hope is impotent without awareness and purpose. We need to deepen our awareness of how conversation generates perception, meaning, action, and learning. Add to awareness the genuine purpose to create value (instead of just hoping for value), and we can design a model for turning hope into reality. Our exploration has two paths:

1. The architecture of conversation as a cycle of value
2. The architecture of conversation as a cycle of waste

There is a reliable design for conversations that produce a cycle of value and for those that produce a cycle of waste. When conversation builds recurrent value, the cycle of align à act à adjust is at work (see figure). Look at the three elements like thirds of a wheel. When all three are present, we are rolling. When any one of the three is missing, we experience a very bumpy trip.

Figure 1.3 / Cycle of value

7. The Cycle of Value
Stop for a minute and think about how many new types of software or equipment you’ve learned to operate in the past five years.

1. Align

The Heart of the Matter

Align – Intersect . To launch the cycle of value, focus on the intersection of relevant point of view and relevant facts. The intersection forms the foundation of valuable relationships necessary for high-value achievement. Use the conversations meter to manage interactions, and you will get to the intersection quickly.

The intersection. High-velocity value is at the intersection of relevant facts and relevant points of view. Achievement slows when we focus on differences and accelerates when we focus on intersections.

Align - Invent. Invent conversations are stage two of alignment. The focus of conversations shifts from discovering intersections to generating possibilities. The mood of the relationship shifts, too, from thoughtful investigation of common ground to free, imaginative speculation.
To invent is the essential act of human freedom. Through invention, we make ourselves senior to circumstance and wage creative war on the limits of the past. An inventor is the opposite of a victim, transforming constraints into building blocks and barriers into launch points. When my purposes, circumstances, and explanations intersect with other purposes, circumstances, and explanations,  the inventing begins.

Align – Invest. Invest conversations are the bridge between potential and performance. They turn optimistic agreement into realistic alignment by allocating time, money, and talent to achieve a purpose. Invest conversations are the third crucial element of genuine aligment:

1. Intersection of purpose
2. Invention of ideas for achieving the purpose
3. Investment of time, money, and key people

1. Act

Act – Engage. Once resources are committed, action remains. The actions of real people in real time convert plausible plans into visible achievement. Many a fine plan has fallen in the gap between committed resources and effective action.

Engage. Connect the doer with the deed. A clear senior purpose ensures that our common future is the basis for resolving differences and accelerating action.

Act – Clarify. Preempt mischief with precision. Without precision, we have assumption, presumption, and invalid expectations. As you clarify, answer the following questions:

What precisely is at stake for customers, investors, and employees? What senior purpose is being served? What makes it important now?
Is this the person to do this task? What skills, position, and leadership does he or she have that serves your purposes?
How will you assess success? What needs to be delivered by when? What measures will you track?

Act – Close. Ask for authentic acceptance of accountability. To close an act conversation, use the precise information from the clarify step and ask for a promise. Refer back to the promise meter to ensure that requests and promises launch you on the road to high-value achievement.

1. Adjust

Agile. Resourceful. Resilient. Tenacious. These are the adjectives of adjustment. It is inspiring to see agile adjustment in the face of change. Many of our most enduring myths celebrate such resilience, from Robinson Crusoe to Star Wars.
Adjust conversations translate experience into improvement. Authentic accountability lives in reviewing performance and renewing efforts via the actionable lessons learned. The opportunity to accelerate value is senior to the threat of personal embarrassment.

When to Adjust

Value track: Adjust whenever you wish to accelerate the creation of value. Timely occasions for adjustment:

In standard forums for debriefing performace (e.g., quarterly reviews) and at other obvious milestones (e.g., new leadership, major deadline).

When results are far better than expected and you don´t know why.

When results are worse than expected and not improving.

What to Adjust

Adjusting conversation is effective for two reasons:

1. People can alter conversations without launching the cycle of waste.
2. If we adjust the right conversations, the right conduct will follow.

How to Adjust: The Conversational Debrief

State One: Review

1. State the original purpose any specific results that were promised.
2. State the accurate outcome to date. Separate facts and explanations.
3. What worked well in achieving the purpose and promised results?

What were valuable insights, methods, and mindsets? Sort the input
Into the cycle of value conversations: align, act, and adjust.

4. What worked poorly since the last review) Acknowledge goals unmet,

Disappointments, and mistakes of commission and omission. Sort the
Input into the cycle of value conversations: align, act, and adjust.

5. Who specifically is there to appreciate? What specifically did they

      provide? How and when will you recognize them?  

State Two: Renew

6. What actionable lessons will produce value going forward? Share the

Lessons with whoever would benefit. How will what we learned change
 the way we act? What new action will we take immediately?

7. What area of improvement is our highest priority? Identify a single,

Important focus. What cycle of value conversation is it in? Is it an
Issue of insight, method, and/or self? What structures and measures
Are needed to support adjustment?

8. The Cycle of Waste
Listening well and talking clearly are two of your most critical skills for keeping your employees.
 
When value deteriorates the cycle of conversation is disagreeà defendà destroy. These three have a connected relationship, as do align, act, and adjust. In this cycle, though, waste increases instead of value.

1. Disagree

Conversational waste starts most often in the presence of differences. The disagreement may or may not be obvious. The waste cycle does not care. If the disagreements is significant to what we are trying to accomplish together, waste escalates. Disagreements abound.

8.2. Defend

After disagreement comes defense. If I got what I wanted in the face of our differences, I now expect everyone involve to act exactly as  I would. This is irrational. The winners and losers wittingly and unwittingly defend their original position. Contrast this scenario with people standing together for a worthy purpose and coinventing multiple ways of succeeding. It is not a pretty comparison.

8.3. Destroy
Separated people with disconnected expectations of one another are usually not happy with the results. So, we have to explain the failure. Those explanations often destroy any possibility of recovering alignment.

1. Value Perception

1. The Value

The value of action is dictated by the value of perception, and yet few people cultivate their perceptive talent. Perception makes all the difference, however. Shift your perception habits from ordinary to high value, and you will produce more benefit in less time than you ever have before. You will be a communication catalyst.

1. Awareness of How The Craft of Perception Works

The craft of perception is challenging mainly because of the popular belief that we have no control over what we perceive. The normal view is that sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell operate independent of creativity.
Think of a time you said something valuable. Perhaps you were in a meeting and voiced a comment that solved a problem or revealed an opportunity. Maybe it was in one-on-one conversation, and you said something especially insightful. In either case, value did not begin in the moment of speaking; that insightful comment began in how you listened. Valuable perception is the source of valuable speaking. Value begins with the quality of impression (e.g., listening), not the quality of perception. It is an improvable craft, however. At Conversation, we sort perception into two categories: ordinary and high value.

1. High-Value Perception: Value on Purpose

extraordinary person functioning as a communication catalyst, purpose governs perception. For the ordinary person, purpose is the unwitting victim of automatic perception.

1. Methods for Practicing High-Value Perception

Conversant´s perception methods are focused on listening. We have found that listening affords lots of chances  to practice, and improvements in listening improve perception overall. As you will see, we care most about how we listen when people differ, because the fate of any work community lives in its capacity to deal with difference.
Valuable listening is a muscle that needs exercise to develop. The exercise involves:

Climbing the ladder of listening

Flipping the brain switch
 

1. Raising and Resolving Valuable issues

 You arrive for work bright and early, ready for a productive day.

For raising and resolving issues to be a source of business value, accountability, competence, and occasions are minimum ingredients.

10.1. Accountability

Accountability is a hot topic. In education circles, the word is freighted with controversy as our teachers are “called to account” for education of our children. We want accountability from politicians, accountability from corporate leaders, and accountability from anyone who has ever promised us anything.

1. Competence

Raise the issue at the intersection. You have been hearing about this intersection business for many chapters. Raising and resolving issues is a great practice field for everything we have said about it. You can raise issues to respond to a problem or an opportunity.

1. Occasions

If you are to build a culture adept at raising and resolving issues, you need occasions for doing just that. Those occasions do not happen automatically.
The typical occasions for conversation  in any enterprise tend to be a function of organizational structure. If you are organized by product lines, there will be typical meetings and forums to support that structure. If you are organized by geography, by function (e.g., engineering, marketing, or finance), or by process, there will be typical, unforced occasions for conversation. Each of those occasions  is an appropriate venue for raising certain kinds of issues.

11. Bibliography:

Hartley, Peter. Business Communication : An Introduction.
Florence, KY, USA: Routledge, 2000.
https://site.ebrary.com

Adair, John. Concise Adair on Communication and Presentation Skills.
London, , GBR: Thorogood, 2003.
https://site.ebrary.com
 
Snair , Scott. Stop the Meeting I Want to Get Off!: How to Eliminate Endless Meetings While Improving Your Team's Communication, Productivity, and Effectiveness.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003.
https://site.ebrary.com
 
Arredondo, Lani. Communicating Effectively.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Companies, The, 2000.
https://site.ebrary.com
 
Cornelissen, Joep. Corporate Communications: Theory and Practive.
London, , GBR: Sage Publications Ltd, 2004.
https://site.ebrary.com
 
Connolly, Mickey & Rianoshek, Richard. (2002). The Communication CATALYST, The fast (but not stupid) track to value for customers, investors, and employees, Dearborn Trade Publishing. USA.

Munter, Mary. (2003). Guide to managerial Communication, Effective Business Writing and Speaking, Sixth Edition, Prentice Hall Series in Advanced Business Communication, USA.

Wood, Andrew F. Online Communication : Linking Technology, Identity, and Culture.
Mahwah, NJ, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Incorporated, 2004.
https://site.ebrary.com

Bates, Suzanne. Speak Like a CEO.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Companies, The, 2005.
https://site.ebrary.com
 
Zhu, Yunxia. Written Communication across Cultures. A sociocognitive perspective on business genres.
Philadelphia, PA, USA: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2005.
https://site.ebrary.com

Notes:

Adair, John. Concise Adair on Communication and Presentation Skills.
London, , GBR: Thorogood, 2003. p 1.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=10073915&ppg=9
 
Hartley, Peter. Business Communication : An Introduction.
Florence, KY, USA: Routledge, 2000. p 9.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=10016928&ppg=25
Hartley, Peter. Business Communication : An Introduction.
Florence, KY, USA: Routledge, 2000. p 15.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=10016928&ppg=31

Hartley, Peter. Business Communication : An Introduction.
Florence, KY, USA: Routledge, 2000. p 17.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=10016928&ppg=33
Adair, John. Concise Adair on Communication and Presentation Skills.
London, , GBR: Thorogood, 2003. p 3.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=10073915&ppg=11

Hartley, Peter. Business Communication : An Introduction.
Florence, KY, USA: Routledge, 2000. p 70.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=10016928&ppg=86
Hartley, Peter. Business Communication : An Introduction.
Florence, KY, USA: Routledge, 2000. p 82.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=10016928&ppg=98

Hartley, Peter. Business Communication : An Introduction.
Florence, KY, USA: Routledge, 2000. p 137.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=10016928&ppg=153

Hartley, Peter. Business Communication : An Introduction.
Florence, KY, USA: Routledge, 2000. p 239.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=10016928&ppg=255

Hartley, Peter. Business Communication : An Introduction.
Florence, KY, USA: Routledge, 2000. p 335.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=10016928&ppg=351

Munter, Mary. (2003). Guide to Managerial Communication, Effective Business Writing and Speaking, Prentice Hall Series in Advanced Business Communication, USA.
Boone, Mary E. Managing Interactively : Executing Business Strategy, Improving Communication & Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Professional Book Group, 2000. p ix.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=5004733&ppg=9

Boone, Mary E. Managing Interactively : Executing Business Strategy, Improving Communication & Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Professional Book Group, 2000. p 1.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=5004733&ppg=13

Connolly, Mickey. (2002). The Communication catalyst, Chapter one, “The communication case for high-velocity value”, Page 3, Dearborn Trade Publishing, USA.
Connolly, Mickey. (2002). The Communication catalyst, Chapter one, “The communication case for high-velocity value”, Page 3, Dearborn Trade Publishing, USA.

Boone, Mary E. Managing Interactively : Executing Business Strategy, Improving Communication & Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Professional Book Group, 2000. p 5.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=5004733&ppg=17

Boone, Mary E. Managing Interactively : Executing Business Strategy, Improving Communication & Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Professional Book Group, 2000. p 7.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=5004733&ppg=19

Boone, Mary E. Managing Interactively : Executing Business Strategy, Improving Communication & Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Professional Book Group, 2000. p 10.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=5004733&ppg=22

Rosner, Bob. Boss's Survival Guide: Communication.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2002. p 4.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=5008172&ppg=4

Arredondo, Lani. Communicating Effectively.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Companies, The, 2000. p 1.
https://site.ebrary.com/lib/uisantafe/Doc?id=5004711&ppg=13