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Communications Our last element of our value statement is “…focus on communications.” The most important and hardest value we save for last. Communications comes in many forms and there are books written on just this subject. I will not write a book on it here. Communications is a two way; otherwise it is just “orders”. We need more communication between shifts; between front end and back end; between CFT’s and Production; between the shop and the office; between accounting and production; between management and employees; between customers and CFT’s; between Human Resources and our “resources”; between our suppliers and purchasing; … and the list goes on. The point is that you can not over communicate. Take the time to explain what is going right and what is not going right with your projects with everyone involved. That does not mean “whine”. Communicate means that you spend more time listening than you do talking. Too many of us are enamored with the sound of our own voice. The habit of listening is hard. You want to be heard. How can you shut up long enough to let the other person quit talking so you can say what you want to say? That is not listening. You need to be present with the other person about what they are saying. Ask questions; understand their point of view. Restate what they said to verify that you have heard and understood their point. There will be plenty of time for you to give you point of view. Strive first to understand before trying to be understood. You will find that many times what you had thought you wanted to say is actually irrelevant to the discussion. If you have been told lately that you are whining again; you are probably not a good listener and need to train yourself to listen more. Why is it important? Being able to effectively listen and communicate creates a basis for relationships. Relationships are what make our business thrive. Our relationships with other employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders are our business. Without these we are out of business. So remember communication is the key value of our successes. The rest of the values can not even be expressed unless communication is present and communication can not happen until there is effective listening. Therefore, one might conclude that being a good listener is the key to success. I think there is a lesson to be absorbed by us all here. Frank |
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