You are in Business, Congratulations, it takes guts to put everything on the line and build your dream. I wonder how is it going? It is all smooth sailing? Can it be really hard at times and some days you wonder what on earth were you thinking? Do you feel alone at times like no one else knows the stress you are under?
Have you ever wondered, there has to be a better way? You will be pleased to know that there is!
I don't know if you are like me but when I went into business for myself I didn't know what I was doing, I was awesome at my “zone of genius” but I didn't know how to run a business, how to reconcile accounts, how to build a kick ass marketing plan. I had to learn all of that.
Like you, I am sure that you are great at your genius too. But what about the things you didn't bargain on? Things like managing staff, like leading a team, having difficult conversations, motivating staff and dealing with customers that sometimes feel like they are sucking your soul out of your body? Can you relate?
When we don't manage Communication, actually no, when we don't Master Communication then business is hard…..
Communication is in and through everything you do, whether its deal with suppliers, staff, customers, marketing, landing the next big deal, it is all communication. It is everywhere, so do you know your Communication genius zone?
Like your skill that is the reason that your are in business, maybe you are great with numbers, perhaps you are creative maybe you build or fix things. You have your own skills and strengths. Did you know you have the same skills and strengths as a Communicator?
When we don't harness out strengths we are allowing poor communication to infiltrate our business. This will cause havoc and cost you big time! Now you work hard so it is not on to let any of that hard earned profit be lost to poor communication.
When we do not Master Communication across our business we are at the mercy of many worrying trends;
Things like;
- Poor productivity
- Poor morale
- High staff turnover
- Bad Customer service
- Stress
- Increased sick days
And the list goes on and on. This ends up costing you your hard earned profit.
Imagine this, you have a new hire. They interviewed well, once you found them. The process of finding the right person was hard enough. They have been with you for about 6 weeks. You have shown them what you need them to do. At first it was great, the possibilities seemed endless. Then you notice it just doesn't feel quite right…. You ask them to do a task and it seems to take forever, when you ask for it they mumble something and you still don't have what you need. Your frustration builds, all you can think of is “what am I paying them for?
When you finally get the completed task it is not what you asked for at all and in fact it needs to be done again! How could this happen, you gave clear instructions, all of this time has been wasted and now your customer will be delayed because of this stuff up!
You do not know what to do, how can you speak clearer, how can you get them to work faster? How can you ensure what you ask for is what you get?
Has this or anything like it ever happened to you? I see this over and over again, whether it is in an accounting practice an engineering firm a mechanical workshop. It's the same, how to do ensure you are heard and understood?
The key is ensuring that you are Communicating in a way that your team understands. Did you know that sometimes it is almost like we speak in completely different languages?
Learning your communication needs, strengths and challenges will open your eyes, change your world and revolutionise your business for the better.
Over coming posts we will tease out these issues and go deeper into how they may be affecting your business and what you can do about it.
The real cost of poor communication is hard to measure as many businesses don't have measures in place to capture this. From my perspective the most important thing is to understand the foundation cause of the issue. For example if it is productivity, is it because staff don't feel motivated, are not supported, are confused, are working without the resources they need, do not know what to do. There are many layers and it is critical to understand what is going on so you can address it and fix the problem.
You go into business to kick goals, have some freedom, create a legacy, do what you love and make a difference so let's make it happen!
So, if you are keen to harness your communication strengths and Master Communication in Your business, welcome! Things are about to change for the better.
Until next time Care, Connect and be a Courageous Communicator.
Lets grow your business one conversation at a time.