VIEWPOINT NEWSLETTER 2007,
Issue 2
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What I learned on summer vacation
Different cultures, same problem: need for insight vs.
undigested info
Many of us have jobs that are hard to explain to people outside our
industry or function. But this summer, every business person I met –
from locations as diverse as Africa, Amsterdam and California –
instantly understood the work of Meachin Communications. Regardless of
country, company or culture, they’ve all experienced the same problem:
presentations that give too much undigested information and not enough
insight.
This problem is important because business suffers when companies
don’t present their work well. They lose projects to competitors.
Clients underestimate their capabilities. Misunderstandings add time
and cost to internal projects. Opportunities are missed.
Why aren’t people giving audiences what they want? Some groups are too
close to the numbers or methodologies to focus on what the data mean.
Others are locked into outdated habits, or just don’t know what
well-structured presentations look like. Still others fear that
clarity will be perceived as rudeness.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The flexible Communications Logic
framework allows people to structure clear messages in culturally
acceptable ways. This approach is particularly relevant for firms that
operate globally, as the client case study below illustrates. It shows
how a major pharmaceutical company applied Communications Logic across
its Global Strategic Sourcing function.
Applying Communications Logic across one
function, 3 continents
The initial problem: A Fortune 500
pharmaceutical company's Global Strategic Sourcing leaders wanted
their teams to present well-structured recommendations and points of
view, not just raw data. And they wanted the entire group located on
three continents to produce consistently high-quality documents.
The approach: Train all 100+
people in the US, UK and Latin America to use Communications Logic
when constructing documents, and give the Directors extra training to
serve as coaches. Working in small groups, participants applied
Communications Logic to their own documents in progress. The Directors
joined their groups in critiquing each person’s structure solution.
Every participant also met individually with the instructor to review
communications issues.
The outcome: The program was “very
well received across the company.” One region’s leader reports that
the training “gave my team members a new perspective on how to
effectively communicate with their stakeholders. . . .[and] helped me
to reach a higher level in the way I sell my ideas and projects.”
Communications Logic “has been successfully applied and is making the
difference.”
Get in touch if you recognize this problem in your company.
Barbara Meachin
351 East 84 St.,
29E
New York NY 10028
telephone: 646-335-3098
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