Page 45 - Becoming a Successful Manager

36 KNOWING THE TERRITORY

a global workplace. Keep that in mind as you communicate with
your team. No matter what the medium, be sure to be specifi c. Say
what you mean, and then verify.
You can begin by avoiding vague words. That’s easy to say,
but the English language is so fi lled with vague words we often
overlook them. The resulting confusion can be costly in human
and corporate capital.
Here are a few to put on the top of your vague words list
because they can easily be misunderstood.

Too big ASAP
Too small Close
Too expensive As soon as you can
Soon Cost
Often Profi t
Few Ready
Many Done

Be aware of them and beware of causing confusion.
As a manager, you’ll work with everyone on your team, but
in the business world of today—and tomorrow—the members of
that team might be located in Bangalore, Chicago, Paris, and Sao
Paulo; and you have to be sure every party understands every
other party.
As workers are added to your roster and customers are added
to your book of business, learn about each one of them because all
business is person-to-person. Get to know the global participants:
what is important to each one, and how to be of the most service
and assistance to all of them. Think individuals—not groups.
Advancements in technology have removed barriers to inter-
action and information, but they often create confusion and
confl ict. For example, e-mails and instant messages are written