Communication - Say what?

In every business I have been involved with over the years, folks say that there is not enough communication. I find that strange in today's multi-media world. Email, Post-it notes, meetings, newsletters, cell phones, blackberry's, ERP and MRP dashboard systems. We are the most connected generation at work and in our personal lives. So why do we still complain and wish we had more communication? At Ingersoll's all-candidates meeting last night many candidates said communication was the main part of their platform to offer to voters.

It's not the communication we need to improve but rather the information that needs to be considered in my experience.
The Captain of the Titanic announced "Abandon Ship - Women and children first" and yet the first life boats were sparsely filled. Perhaps if he would have said - "Many of us are going to die tonight - get your loved ones off the ship now" there would have been more survivors. People need to know the importance of the information given and it must relate to them somehow.

When I do a business turn-around I tell folks "Look we are in deep DooDoo". They likely already knew but hearing it from management confirms it. Knowing you are in trouble means nothing though. It requires a plan, action and most importantly a culture shift. The CEO of 1-800-JUNK has a mantra - SHARE EVERYTHING. Everybody knows what is needed to make a buck and thousands of decisions are made everyday that the CEO is oblivious too because he knows his folks know what to do. It's a self managing style that I really believe in and have had much success with.

In politics it seems politicians think we can't handle the truth! We get information that is hidden in spreadsheets and complicated statements and most folks don't get past the summary or the glossy brochure.
Take the Town of Ingersoll's financial statements. In a subsection paragraph it talks of a large industrial ratepayer that has a property tax dispute from 2001 to 2008 that totals $9 million spread out at 3 taxation levels. Gee I wonder which taxpayer that is. It is within the right of CAMI to not pay any more taxes than it has to. They are no different than us. Council, especially our Mayor do not want to talk about it. For Ingersoll it means a cheque being issued forthwith for about $3 million and the same at the county level and the School Board. $3 million is about 30% of our property tax income. We just borrowed up to $5 million for our share of the Federal Stimulus funding. It's all public information but in an election year no politician wants to talk about bad news.

I believe folks can handle the truth, even if it hurts. Telling folks the truth when they are in trouble also, brings all hands on deck. It's not the quantity of the information that is important, but rather the pertinence and consequences of inaction that are most needed to share. And communication needs to be tailored to the intended audience. Then you have to use the information to go forward or you end up on a sinking ship and too few life boats to save everyone.

In maritime lingo there are 2 words that describe debris found in the water "Flotsam and Jetsom". Flotsam is debris that was not purposely thrown overboard (ship wreck) but Jetsom is non-essential debris that was tossed overboard to keep the ship afloat. This describes in my opinion what we have to look forward to in the coming years. We may have to jettison some non-essential things, but the important thing is to keep the ship afloat. Communicating abandon ship is not an option, we can not fail, it is too important for the next generation that we can no longer pass off our mistakes. We can't be fooled by spending promises that won't be kept. In this election vote for your wallet. Vote Tim Lobzun for your Mayor of Ingersoll.