I have designed a lot of products in my career. The technological advancements in regard to design tools, from the beginning of my career to now, have been amazing. When I started as a design consultant, there were few CAD options. Computers were rarely used for design or engineering. As designers, we rendered new product images by hand in a very labor intensive manner. The advancements in design tools, design development programs, manufacturing and materials makes many parts of the process easier and improves overall quality.
There is one part of the process that has not changed quite as much, if at all; people. We are pretty much the same. The one people related issue which continues to create problems, lost time, mistakes, wasted money, is communication. Communication between team members, clients and manufacturers is still a problem even though there has been much work done in regard to building great teams and increasing team communication. Communication can break down, regardless of the best intentions to keep it flowing smoothly. Add in today’s tight timelines, with teams located in all parts of the world, and the problem of communication gets infinitely more challenging.
The one people related issue which continues to create problems, lost time, mistakes, wasted money, is communication.
Building effective teams and team communication has been studied a lot. The quality of the team you assemble is a great way to combat future breakdowns in communication. The more you work together, the better the team gels and the better the communication becomes. But, we are always working with new people; people we just met or new additions to the teams we interact with. Even a new vendor, manufacturer, or a new hire at a group you don’t directly control, increases the chances for communication breakdowns.
We evaluate every program we work on to assess how well the project went and how we can improve. If there are problems, we look at how they occurred and what we could do to be better the next time. The reality is that communication breakdowns happen during the product development process. At times, it can seem to be beyond control, no matter what your level of experience. Maybe it is. Maybe it is just “how it is;” the cost of doing business. Communication breakdowns happen and they just have to be dealt with. I don’t like that answer though, because it means that I am a victim to circumstance. While this may be somewhat true at times, there are a few things we have learned that take the control back. Things you can do to establish effective communication between anyone on the team. It does not matter if they are right next to you in your office or on the other side of the world.
The first, is to truly believe that breakdowns in communication are the fault of the person communicating, not the receiver of the communication. That may seem ridiculous, too much work, or just not possible. One thing is true, if you believe this, your communication style will be different. If you really believe that any and all mistakes or issues created by your communication with others are your fault, you will be very likely to make sure you are, without a doubt, understood. This might sound crazy, but if you accept this premise as true, your mind will begin to think differently. New ideas on how to get you message across will come to you. You might decide to take a course on communication. You may not settle for one email requesting a particular outcome. You might follow up until you know your desired outcome is understood.
If you really believe that any and all mistakes or issues created by your communication with others are your fault, you will be very likely to make sure you are, without a doubt, understood.
You could decide to fly to a particular location to ensure that there are no mistakes. It is human nature to step up our game when we perceive that the blame is landing on our shoulders.
Use multiple modalities of communication, written, verbal, in person, and video, whatever it takes. Not everyone receives communication the same way. When I first learned this in a seminar, how I subconsciously received information, I was blown away. Up until that point, I was just blurting out information thinking that it was being heard and understood. Not so. Some prefer to hear information; some see it, and some feel it. If you don’t know your audience and you use only one modality, your communication will be lost to the majority of the group. Just being aware of this simple fact will elevate your communication to new levels.
Don’t expect to say something once and be understood. When I was younger, I would say something once, or write an email once and think that was good enough. I actually thought that if I repeated myself, others would get annoyed by hearing the same information again. Then I realized, what I said was not nearly as important to others as it was to me. Shocker! What we think is important might not even be on someone else’s radar. I started repeating myself, a lot. A strange thing started to happen. I found that those that didn’t hear me had additional chances to understand what I was saying. Those who had heard me reached greater clarity on what I was saying.
What we think is important might not even be on someone else’s radar.
Know the level of information that is right for every encounter. Going too deep into a particular topic at the wrong time bores people and the message gets lost. Some audiences only need the abridged version; usually larger groups. This applies to emails as well. Long, detailed emails often get skimmed or not read completely. Break them up into shorter ones. Put different issues in separate communications so they can get the same level of attention.
No matter how good we are at communication, we can always be better. Communication is, I believe, the most import thing we have as humans. It encompasses so much. We use it in business, in our personal lives, as groups and even between nations. It takes constant effort and awareness to be good at it. If we all practiced better communication, I guarantee our lives would be easier. For now, those that take the responsibility to be more effective in communication will be the ones who benefit the most. They will be the ones that get the most accomplished, become the best leaders and be the ones that have the most influence.
Contact us at Driven Innovation if you want to know more about this or have a product development problem you need solved.