Page 14 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATIONS 5

icans—men and women with college and advanced degrees—make
grammatical errors in writing and conversation that would not have
been tolerated just a generation ago. We forget—and to our peril,
hardly value—the simplest and most basic things, such as how to
have an intelligent conversation or even how to spell. As just one
example, I recently got a brief thank-you note from a thirtyish,
Tulane-educated client with twenty-fi ve grammatical and spelling
errors. Incredibly, this is not uncommon. But is it acceptable? Should
we yield to the tyranny of the universal dumbing down of even our
best and brightest?
The gradual loss of the art of conversation we once valued and
cherished, and the steady erosion of our capacity to interact effec-
tively at a very personal level, speaks volumes of the age we live in
and may eventually change the very nature of civilization as we
know it. Of course, it’s true that texting with colleagues in the offi ce

can be more efficient than running up and down halls to try to make
a decision or resolve an issue. It is also true that e-mailing customers
on their handhelds can avoid the hassles of telephone tag. But these
facilitators and conveniences will never replace the added business
value of direct human contact.
The more we rely on technology to do our talking for us, the
more we can expect to see the cost of that reliance in our business
results and performance.
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Our computers can help us run our businesses, but they will never
get the actual deal done, enlist investors, persuade managements,
recruit and retain new customers, nor lead our employees.
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In business, management’s inability to interact, articulate, per-
suade, or enlist can have immediate and potentially fatal conse-
quences. The combined effect over time can be an eventual loss of
competitiveness and a negative effect on the bottom line. At the per-