The Paine of Measurement

What We Have Here
Is A Failure To Communicate
Have we totally lost track of what communication is?

At a recent conference three people got up to complain about their CEO "over communicating." Major corporations send out so much email that employees don't know what to do with it, costing them millions in excess storage costs. Never mind wading through the spam that we don't want at all. And then of course there are the burgeoning blogs -- yet another form of communications that threatens to overwhelm us.

The problem is that people are confusing expression with communication. Everyone wants to express him or herself. No matter how shy you might be, it is human nature to want to be heard, to want to be acknowledged and want to be loved or admired for what you have to say. The fact that you may have a right to express yourself in no way infringes on my right to turn down the volume and ignore what you have to say.

Communication, on the other hand, requires someone to actually listen. Whether between two lovers, four friends, or a corporation and its 400,000 employees, communication is about hearing and being heard, talking and listening, solving problems, exchanging information, providing guidance and expertise.

It is not about a pretty logo, a strong brand, or even a spot on Fortune's Best Places to Work. Communication is all about building relationships, earning trust, demonstrating consistency and showing commitment (see this month's Can This Reputation Be Saved for a classic example of how to wipe out a good reputation very quickly). It's as much about listening as it is about talking.

In the past, what passed for effective communication was frequently just doing a lot of shouting from the rooftops. Things are starting to change. In fact, it now appears that even Procter & Gamble may have seen the light. It announced this week that it would move large amounts of its TV ad budgets to alternative forms of communications, including PR and product placement.

The good news is that just as technology has made talking easier, it has also made listening easier. Some of the millions of new blogs are actually being used as forums for dialog. A few smart companies are looking at consumer generated media as a giant focus group to figure out what their consumers really think. And, between SurveyMonkey, Cymfony's DCI, and other new tools, it has become easier to listen. So let's shut up and start the dialog.

Wishing you large measures of success,

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