Ann Latham was the final guest in Skip Weisman‘s Expert Interview Series for 2013-2014. The topic was clarity, of course! The Power of Clarity, What It Can Do For You, and How You Can Get It. Skip is a leadership and workplace communication expert. His Expert Interview Series has included a wide range of experts. Listen to this podcast.
It happened this way. My husband and I were on a trail in the Berkshires marked with blue blazes. At least mostly. Just before we got lost, I was chuckling and actually taking pictures of the blazes at the right because they were such a perfect example of clarity blindness, which, like color blindness, you don’t know you have until until someone shows you what you are missing. Without writing a lengthy primer on trail markings, here is a quick description of three levels: Level 1: A worn path. Hikers watch for evidence of previous traffic and hope for an occasional sign post. This approach is not recommended for remote areas or hikers without knowledge of the trail, topo maps, and compass. Snow, mud, autumn leaves, and disuse can easily obscure the trail. Nonetheless, many people have never seen a trail marked in any other way. Level 2: The trail is marked with paint swatches on trees and rocks that differ in color and shape from those used for near by trails. Consistency is critical. A sudden change in the color or shape of the blazes alerts hikers to the possibility that they have missed a junction and inadvertently ventured off on the wrong trail. When done well, the standing pauses spent searching for the next blaze are short, few, and far between. The first time you experience this great, universally understood system is exciting and eye-opening. It provides a new level of clarity you may not have known existed. Level 3: The best trail markings I’ve ever encountered adhere to additional conventions to warn you of turns and junctions. Suddenly there is no doubt where the trail is going. Standing and searching is completely unnecessary. If you’ve never seen this system, I doubt you would ever imagine that anything could… read more →
My Clarity Index is a big hit. It takes only 5 minutes and 15 questions to discover where you need to focus to get better results faster with greater confidence and commitment. I don’t want you to miss it! Click here to check your clarity. I also want to be sure you saw the opportunity for your organization to participate in the Shared Clarity Index. I don’t divulge individual responses, but I do provide averages, aberrations, and insights. There is tremendous value in knowing whether your peers, direct reports, and boss see things the way you do. The Clarity Index™ has revealed several cases already with diametrically opposed opinions within the same department. That’s a problem! For a limited time, I am charging nothing for this service. If you are interested, simply let me know and we can discuss the logistics. Feel free to share this offer with others in your company or beyond
Five minutes and 15 questions could save you 50%! Why? Because clarity produces better results faster with greater confidence and commitment. Wondering how clear your organization is? Check Your Clarity Index now!
When I was accepted at Tufts University in Boston I arrived feeling like a Geographical Distribution Requirement (GDR). My classmates were from both coasts, had attended fancy schools, dressed differently, and made fun of the way I talked. I was quite certain I’d been admitted strictly because they needed someone from a small town in fly-over country. I kept my mouth closed throughout the fall and left the talking to my incredible classmates. It was well into the second semester before I realized that many of the fancy talkers weren’t saying anything. Not because they weren’t smart, but because they had been allowed, or maybe even encouraged, to talk regardless of whether they had something to say. They undoubtedly scored high marks in class participation. They used big words, spoke with poise, and said nothing. It was an eye-opener for me, a product of Lake Woebegon who would not dare waste anyone’s time unless I had something important to say.
At the beginning of a recent strategic planning project, I used a survey to get the lay of the land, generate ideas, and stimulate the thinking of those who would be involved in the process. I asked several questions about cause and needs, for example: What are the barriers to customer success? What customer needs is no one meeting? Many of the respondents leaped over cause and need, and went straight to solutions. What are the barriers to customer success? We need to provide a more complete set of offerings such as … What customer need goes unserved? We should … This is not at all uncommon.
Welcome to the Clarity Quiz! Before reading any farther, jot down your answer to this question: Where Would You Hide An Elephant? You might be surprised to know that your response says something about your clarity!
One situation that could benefit from a little clarity – clarity of purpose, priorities, and plans – is Afghanistan. But here is a fabulous example of how not to create clarity: Daily Mail. Do you create complexity or clarity? If you create anything even sort of like this, you are creating complexity. There is a huge chasm between data and analysis on one side and useful information followed by sound decisions on the other. If your strategic thinking and planning processes get bogged down in data and analysis, give me a call.
The “devil is in the details” resounds with foreboding at every turn. You must do your homework and dig into “the details” before leaping into a new project. You must follow up on “the details” to avoid dropping the ball. The quality of your product may depend entirely on “the details” that drive precise execution and precise tolerances. No one can argue with this. And yet, the world is awash in detail. With seemingly more detail every day. People often spend more time on unnecessary detail than on important detail. On unnecessary decisions. Unimportant decisions. Fixing problems that don’t need fixing. Tracking paperwork and information of no consequence. Choosing between virtually identical alternatives. Trying to control the uncontrollable. Knowing the unknowable. Preventing the unpreventable. So what’s to do? How do you tend to the right details and ignore the rest? The answer lies in good judgment.
The health care debate has returned: public option or not. It’s driving me nuts. Why are they debating the route when they have yet to agree on the destination? What is it each side wishes to achieve or avoid with a public option? If they can’t agree on that – on the destination – they will never agree on how to get there. They will never even agree to disagree on the virtues or short-comings of a public option.