The new flow meters at a Southern California water utility were acting strangely. They’d been replaced within the past year, but some showed readings that were inconsistent with the previous year’s results. Bob, the senior manager of all the pumping plants, was inclined to blame the technicians who were calibrating the meters. After all, the […]
The Magic of Listening Curiously Read More »
A manager writes long, dense emails to her next-in-command. He spends excessive time trying to figure out the main points. When he can’t decipher the emails, he talks with her to find out what she meant.An IT expert writes two-word answers to complex questions, leaving his reader in the dark about how to solve the problem. A staff
3 Communication Habits That Are Costing You Millions Read More »
Have you ever read something that was so muddled, you had to read it three times before you understood it? Have you ever received a long rambling email and spent ten minutes trying to figure out what the point of it was? Have you ever received a letter or email composed of a solid block
Costs of Poor Writing: Wasted Time Read More »
A bank branch manager recently told about one of her premier bankers. His emails were full of misplaced capitalization, typos, and other glaring errors. When she tried to correct him, he said, “Look, I know my clients. They’re my friends. It doesn’t matter if there are mistakes; they know what I mean.” He had generated a lot of business, but his numbers were falling. Then the manager received a private email from one of the banker’s biggest clients. He wrote, “Please take Mark off my account. If he can’t spell, I don’t believe he can handle our finances.” This was a $5 million account. The client email became part of the banker’s personnel file. He was dismissed soon after.
Do Mistakes Matter? Read More »
In a writing training at a large multinational corporation, I asked, “What are the costs of unclear messages and emails?” I expected answers like, “The wrong work gets done,” and “Operations slow down.” But that’s not what I got. A woman’s hand shot up. “They don’t affect me at all,” she said. She shrugged nonchalantly.
The Real Cost of Unclear Messages Read More »
