Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating. Fortunately these skills can be learned, and the barriers to […]
Communication
3 Internal Communication Trends to Plan for Now
John F. Kennedy said it best, “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” JFK hit the nail on the head, because we see that the rules of technology and communication are rapidly changing—innovation is a constant that internal communication managers […]
Expert Tips for Managing Remote Teams, Part II
This article is part two of the series on managing remote teams. Please see part one here. 5. Go the extra mile with praise. As noted previously, body language doesn’t translate well over distance. Sure, video helps a lot, but it can’t capture everything, and not everyone is able or willing to use video conferencing […]
Expert Tips for Managing Remote Teams
In many ways, managing a remote team is like managing a team in your office. The main difference is distance. But that distance removes some aspects of in-person interactions—like body language—that help make connections and clarify intended meanings. Technology tools can help bridge these gaps, but it takes more than just tools to ensure your […]
The Hidden Benefit of Transparency
Lately, we have been focusing on the “mea culpa” ads that we’re seeing all over the media. Wells Fargo, Facebook, and Uber are some of the big brands that have actively run apology campaigns. The absolute expectation of total transparency is one of the factors driving the need for these campaigns, but that expectation falls […]
Non-Profit Texting: This is Creative!
Just the other day I was introduced to an East Coast non-profit providing year-round licensed childcare. They are a paid up customer and using text messaging in a very creative way. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get permission for me to use their name or logo… BUT they were using our texting service in such […]
Master These 10 Tips to Successfully Communicate on the Phone
We live in a digital age where so much of what we do is now conducted online, through an app, or via text / email. However, it’s a mistake to assume that because of that, the phone doesn’t matter as much anymore. Indeed, it matters more because the stakes are higher. Nowadays, if someone is […]
Avoid Meaningless Words
From Seth Godin’s post Meaningless, published January 7… There are words that now have no meaning at all… ‘Well’ and ‘so’ have been doing this work for a long time, but add to that the more syllabic words like ironically, literally, and hopefully. And don’t forget all the adjectives, beginning with ‘very’ and ‘really’ that (ironically) make something […]
Do You Ask Better Questions?
Given the amount of competition out there, the challenges of landing a new client and the struggles with keeping the clients you do have, I totally get the hunger to have the right answers. But, it’s not about the answers we provide, it’s about the questions we ask. We want to think that after all, what […]
7 Pros and Cons of Face to Face Communication in the Workplace
Communication is one of the highly valued elements of any business, company, or workplace. Businesses have incorporated various channels of communication as a way of ensuring that workers can efficiently communicate amongst themselves as well as with customers. Such communication comes in handy in facilitating various operations within the business while generally promoting corporate efficiency. […]
