Page 186 - The Voice of Authority

nication—about the problem causes more problems than
the problem itself.
In the moving fiasco, consider these specific, individual
communication mishaps: The window-covering people who
didn’t communicate the cor-
rect item numbers and specs
Circular communica- to the factory. The postal let-
tion requires a plan, pa- ter carrier and supervisor
tience, and persistence. who didn’t communicate to
And when those are replacements on the route.
lacking, profits and The telephone people who
people suffer. didn’t communicate and co-
ordinate service installation
and correct orders between
departments. The Customer Relations department who
didn’t communicate about the promised follow-up.
Lack of internal communication—all of it.
Circular communication requires a plan, patience, and
persistence. And when those are lacking, profits and people
suffer.

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

The CIA, the FBI, and the Oval Office have been the butt
of plenty of jokes in recent years for their failure to share
intelligence. Yet we may be a nation of hypocrites for such
finger-pointing. “Working in silos” has become the collo-
quial term for either hoarding information, forced isola-
tion, or a personal decision to remain disconnected.
Meaningful internal communication involves true in-
formation sharing, not logjams in e-mail boxes. Far too of-
ten, we’re circulating the unnecessary and hoarding the
important. Not everyone understands the difference be-
tween volume and significance.

174 The Voice of Authority