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October, 2008 What do war, the "Wall Street Bailout" and business have in common? Please read on. War is not the answer Clarity, communication and assumptions…
I might start printing bumper stickers that say, “Assumptions are the Problem” and sneak around in the dark of night and stick them onto all those VW “Bugs” with the War is Not the Answer bumper stickers. My point here has nothing to do with Iraq or Afghanistan. It is about communication in general. Our decisions are directed by our assumptions. Our assumptions are dictated by the information that we chose to take in. Often times our assumptions are not visible to others so our decisions seem arbitrary at best and evil at worst. I have little doubt, for instance, that George Bush thought he was doing the right thing by invading Iraq. Certainly based upon inaccurate information and perhaps poorly communicated, but in his mind, the right thing to do. Many—my friends and family included—think that he is just plain evil. Not incompetent; evil…a different set of assumptions. As I write this, the “Wall Street Bailout” is being contemplated by congress. Talk about different assumptions! I stumbled onto a blog yesterday where the vast majority of the writers seem to think that the $700,000,000,000 being considered will go directly into the bank accounts of CEOs who will then buy large diamond rings for their wives or girlfriends. They have chosen not to avail themselves of the information on liquidity and equity to loan ratios that drive banking behavior. They perhaps also think that Kennedy was killed by 3 gunmen. (There are, of course, some very good reasons to oppose the financial rescue as written.) The same thing happens in business. CEOs make decisions that are sometimes well thought out, well researched and done in a collaborative fashion with their most trusted advisors. However, if they are not communicated well, the front-line employees make inaccurate assumptions about those decisions. They know that he a) drives a Lexus, b) has a big office, and c) makes a lot more money than they do. Their assumption may be that his decisions are only self-serving. Sometimes they are right. However, my experience is that most CEOs agonize over many tough decisions, usually make the right ones for the business but often don’t spend the time and effort required to clearly articulate their decisions. This is not about morality. It is better business—whether you believe that you have an obligation or not—to clearly articulate your decisions. Trust is built in great measure through predictable behavior. When you communicate well, you become predictable. I’ve yet to meet the executive who over-communicates. __________________________________________________________________
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