I’ve never sold a house one day and a bought another the next. Until this week. While meeting with our attorney a few days beforehand, I quizzed her a bit to understand how wiring the money worked. I wanted to know the likelihood of the sales proceeds not getting through in time to cover our purchase the next day. Seeing that a short delay would have fairly minor consequences, I took the next logical step. What if the sale fell through completely due to some unforeseen calamity? I pictured ourselves arriving at the second closing with no money in hand and all our belongings in a moving van due to deliver within two hours. This is when the attorney said, “Turn your brain off or you will go crazy.” Now that is a statement with which I could not disagree more! For three reasons.
I recently had the pleasure of joining marketing strategy expert Linda J. Popky, president of Leverage2Market® Associates, on the Marketing Thought Leadership podcast. Our topic, “Let Me Make That Perfectly Clear: How Clarity Ties to Organizational Success,” covers some of my favorite topics and perennial questions: What is clarity? Why is it so uncommonly found in today’s organizations? How can clarity improve productivity, performance, and employee engagement? Why is it so important for marketers and other knowledge workers? Listen to this podcast. Podcast Transcript:
There is a big, hulking shell of a casino rising on the Mystic River in Everett, Massachusetts. Many people have been hoping Wynn Boston Harbor would sparkle like a Bellagio East with grand restaurants, glittering ballrooms, dancing fountains, floating furniture, and riverfront paths. The promise of jobs galore, both during construction and for years to come, was another crucial part of the dream. But now we’ve got a little problem. Wynn Resorts, even without Steve Wynn, is a tainted name. No one wants any facility in Massachusetts to be associated with a name that reeks of sexual misconduct. Casino construction is on hold, the fate of the casino license is up in the air, and the ensuing mess could take years to resolve.
I was the special guest on a TV broadcast of the Hopkinton Coffee Break recently. It was a lot of fun and a good way to get to know me. You will also hear some good pointers on clarity, of course!
Massachusetts recently tried to make changes in state health care programs for retired civil servants. They had to back down when the retirees protested. The Governor, Charlie Baker, blamed a lack of communication. The Boston Public Schools recently tried to change school start times. They too had to back down following excessive protests. Once again, a lack of communication was cited as the culprit. This is stupid. This is the kind of thinking that leads to endless meetings where everyone is invited. Truth be told, no matter how many meetings you have, no matter how many people are allowed to have their say, and no matter how many explanations you distribute, you will have protests if you mess with people’s lives and expect communication to be the preventive medicine.
It’s tough to grow when you are breathing your own exhaust, getting little useful pushback, and not knowing what you don’t know. That’s why my best clients enlist my services as a trusted advisor.
When I told you about my newest book, The Clarity Papers, I forgot one important detail: the Special Offer!
Remember when Bambi was born and Thumper was jumping around yelling, “It’s happened! It’s happened! The new prince is born!”? Well, that pretty much describes the way I’ve been feeling the last few days and I’m really excited to share my news. No fawn, unfortunately, more like a dawn! My newest book, The Clarity Papers, has arrived! Furthermore, the Kindle version will be available for free tomorrow, January 24th, through Friday this week. I’ll post a reminder tomorrow morning with the link so you don’t forget. What’s The Clarity Papers about?
Look around you. Listen to the conversations. Read pretty much any meeting agenda. What will you find? Lots of people discussing, reporting, communicating, and reviewing – activities described by what I call treadmill verbs. Why do I call them that?