Free Information About Health and Wellness! To-the-point... What's the message? By: Robert Poulton Have you ever felt like WHAT you were trying to say, for some unknown reason wasn’t coming out right?... or, If I told them once, I’ve told them a thousand times!... but, they just don’t get it. Miscommunications or unclear communications cost companies both time and money every day. Communication either enables or blocks the achievement of our personal and business objectives. So, how do you communicate to achieve your business objectives 25-50% faster?... Go to its source! Communication’s Control Central... Picture your self walking into the control room of a large supper-computer that processes all of the financial transactions for about 50,000,000± credit card purchases-transactions per day. Oh, by the way, the super-computer is connected to tens of thousands of other small computers each communicating with the brain. What if you changed only one character, in one line of code, in the program that processes those transactions? The system stops communicating clearly and you end up with a mess like Portland, Oregon’s water department billing system that created a $9,800,000 loss and a big pain in the keyster for all of the customers who didn't get a bill for a year. Just like one character in a line of code... One word... can change the course of history, yours, your company's and even the world's. Let’s go on a journey back-in-time... Back to before you were born, back when -one word- set the course for your birth and possibly even the environment you were to grow-up in. Love, one word, one message, two different meanings in the heat of passion. The first meaning in its simplest form is -caring, commitment, support- as it relates to two people and a long-term relationship. The second meaning, -LUST - - come on baby, light my fire, I love ya- usually ends in a parting of the ways just before breakfast. The latter creates a lot of single parent families. Who’s usually left holding the bag?... you and your mom. How do you think these two, very different meanings impact your birth and life as you grow up? They create two very different environments, in which you grow-up learning two different ways of life and the meaning of the single word - love. So, if every communication has a message and every message has a meaning, what do I, as the sender of the message, need to do... to save time, avoid misunderstanding and achieve my objectives faster, at a lower cost? Start by understanding where it begins... the foundation of your communications. Like a brick building, the foundation of our communication was built one “Agreement” at a time during our personal domestication. We accepted these agreements from others and/or ones that we made with ourselves. Three examples of these agreements; a› I never do well on tests, b› I can’t speak to large groups of people, or c› I will be impeccable with my word, stating exactly what I mean or want. Your -Agreements- set the parameters or limits of our perspective, the position from which you view, observe, experience and interact with your environment and life. Your perspective in turn sets the boundaries for our perceptions, what we know based on our perspective. Think about this... because you will always remember it when you need it and you need it everyday. Your AGREEMENTS set your PERSPECTIVE, your perspective limits your PERCEPTIONS and your perceptions limit your BELIEFS. Oops, I all most for got... ASSUMPTIONS. Assumptions are the windows to the unknown, fuzzy at best, mostly outdated and the basis for most of our beliefs. Guess what drives your life and your business?... What’s this have to do with the MESSAGE and its MEANING?... How and what you communicate?... Your agreements, perspective, perceptions and beliefs are different than the person or group of people you are communicating with. The key to achieving your objectives 25-50% faster is validating that the message sent and its meaning is identical to the message and meaning received. If you have limiting-agreements instead of empowering agreements, how will you be able to clearly communicate your true message and its meaning? Remember, not all of your agreements were originally yours, you accepted them from others as they were presented to you when you were growing up. I don't know about you, but I don’t want to give control of my life over to someone else. Words are the catalyst for action and actions deliver outcomes... How important is communication and its foundation to you? Think about it... and we will continue this conversation another day... ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robert Poulton has successfully completed over 50 business turnarounds that range from moving a company from a $46,000,000 annual loss to net positive revenues of $7,000,000 within 18 months. Additional information is available by visiting: http://www.u2canprofit.com or drop him a note at rpoulton@u2canprofit.com