Sunday, July 10, 2011
Worst example of communication
For my new role as US Sales Manager for a UK company, one of my first tasks was to create artwork for booth panels to be used in upcoming Trade Shows. The greatest struggle stemmed from poor communications with the two gentlemen that had been working unsuccessfully to enter this market for the past 18 months. The salesguy and the engineer had their own ideas. Both felt the booth should offer vast explanation of the product. Even with my 16 years of industry experience, my input was seen as that of an outsider because I was new and female. Initially the project went nowhere. As the due date drew near I took the initiative and went to a graphic artist friend for help with the design. The final design was presented and both immediately recognized specific text of theirs that was left out. After over 10 hours of discussion, the booth panels remained very wordy and confusing. The salesguy did not agree to any other ideas but his own and the engineer thought it required more explanation. All the talking, compromise and emails in the world would not provide the required communication to make this work. Any suggestion that I made was discarded and both men felt very threatened if any word that they suggested was removed. Communication requires listening and compromise. The design of the booth panels was the culmination of ideas from 3 separate silos. As a result, the booth panels do not communicate the product clearly and people struggle to figure out what the text on the panels means in regard to what we offer for a product. My only saving grace was they tall table that they insisted on placing the product on as it hides all but the top third of the panels.
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I agree with you on how communication requires listening and compromise. Unfortunately not everyone agrees. In your case it might have had to do with the fact that these men felt that you were an outsider who was trying to take over, not someone who was looking for the best interest of the company.
ReplyDeleteThis is classic, Paige. For all of the talking and disagreeing and compromising, no real communication occurred.
ReplyDeleteSales job is probably one of the top area where communication can directly affect the organization's bottomline. At least from your example, I can probably infer that it's not just your skillset but also the right attitude towards work that makes communication flow two ways. It seems in your example both parties were missing at least one part.
ReplyDeleteThis is a prime example of how a lack of communication and compromise can significantly impact the overall quality of a project or presentation. Instead of getting the project done and ensuring that the panels communicated the product clearly, the sales guy and engineer were far more concerned with making sure their ideas were being broadcasted and displayed. Unlike you Paige, I think your co-workers failed to recognize the importance of the following phrase: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.
ReplyDeleteI think this post touches on an aspect many of us take for granted and overlook and that is communicating across cultures.
ReplyDeleteEffective communication is difficult enough and it then becomes even more difficult when you throw cultures with different cultural norms, beliefs, and values into the mix. Perhaps your message is being received and you read signs from the audience that it is received so you feel the job is done but did they really interpret the message the way you intended as a result of cultural differences? Just some fod for thought
While it appears you made a concentrated effort to achieve effective communication with your two co-workers, their reluctance to considering other viewpoints prevented effective communication. Your example shows how important it is to be open to others views and considerate of multiple backgrounds. We can learn a lot when we listen to what others have to say and are open to their ideas.
ReplyDeletePaige you were in a tough spot and it appears you did your best. Communication is a two way street unfortunately there appeared to be a lot of road blocks in the communication cycle.
ReplyDeleteDon't you just hate when people won't listen to anyone else's opinion? Grrr I'm grumbling for you. The only positive is that such a personality makes you double check yourself to make sure you are being open to other people's opinion like he wasn't.
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