How to be an Effective Communicator

This is the second of a four part series covering the underpinnings of how Google works based on the book of the same title by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg. If you haven’t read part one on Strategy, check it out here. This post will focus on effective communication and how you as a leader can be a more effective communicator. Three topics will be discussed; communication during meetings, using data for effective communication, and how leaders can be more effective communicators.

Running Meetings

If you’re like most people, you view meetings as a waste of time. Why do I have to spend multiple hours of my day in useless meetings when I could be doing actual work? But a well constructed, well-run meeting is actually a great thing. Meetings are the most efficient way to present data and opinions, to hash out difficulties and come to agreed upon solutions to problems. The problem with most meetings is that they are neither constructed well, nor run efficiently.

Several key meeting tactics are discussed in the book, of which I’ll outline a few of the most important ones here.

Meetings should have a single decision maker - meetings need to have a clear owner and someone to make the tough decisions. Meetings between peers often don’t have a resolution because the members often end up compromising rather than making a tough decision. Include someone more senior in the meeting to make those types of tough decisions.

The decision maker should be hands on - the decision maker should call the meeting, set the objectives, determine the participants, and set the agenda. After the meeting this person should summarize the meeting with clear communication to the whole team on decisions made during the meeting, next steps, specific task owners, and deadlines.

Meetings should be easy to kill - every meeting should have a clear purpose. If conditions have changed or a meeting no longer serves its purpose, kill it.

If you attend the meeting, attend the meeting - this one can be very difficult for people to adhere to. If you are asked to attend a meeting, be there and be fully present. All too often we will attend a meeting and then check our email or text a co-worker. Not only is it disrespectful to multitask during a meeting, you may also miss an important piece of information that you need to make a decision on. If you feel that your presence is not needed at the meeting speak with the meeting organizer and voice your concerns.

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Setting the Agenda

This is not directly covered in the book, but I believe it’s a good point to address. How should you set a meeting agenda to get the most out of a meeting? First think about the appropriate attendee list. If ten employees were to attend a one hour meeting, how much of the company’s resources (time and dollars) would be tied to that one meeting? Can you get the same point across in an email rather than a meeting? If a meeting is necessary and you have decided on the appropriate attendee list, you should then set the meeting purpose, objectives (or topics to be discussed) and desired outcomes. A sample meeting agenda is below:

This, along with any support documents should be sent out at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. If someone cannot attend, they can at least understand what will be discussed, read through the meeting topics and provide input outside of the designated meeting time.

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Start Meetings with Data

CBS

Now that you have your meeting agenda set, how should you start your meeting? At Google the norm is to start every meeting with data. Decisions used to be made based on opinions and anecdotes but with the advent of the internet, more and more data is becoming available everyday. The conference rooms at Google are set up with two monitors, one for videoconferencing and another for displaying data.

We don’t seek to convince by saying “I think”. We convince by saying “Let me show you”

Using data is a great way to kill the “death by PowerPoint syndrome”. How many meetings have you been to where every slide is filled with words and the person presenting repeats the very same words that are on the slides? Slides should not be used to run a meeting or argue a point, rather they should be used sparingly to present the data so that everyone has the same facts. Wrong data cannot be fixed with fancy slides.

A point of contention among leaders is that they understand the data best, when in actuality the data is best understood by those closest to the work. As a leader you shouldn’t be getting lost in the details, rather trust your smart team members who work on the data to guide your understanding. Focus on the high level things that matter the most and let your team handle the details. As an example, leaders should not focus on EBITDA, ROS, or TSR; instead focus on what really matters, revenue and cash flow.

Leadership

What does it mean for a leader to be a good communicator? The purpose of a leader is to optimize the flow of information throughout the company, all the time. As a leader you have to habitually over communicate. It is said that you need to say something twenty times before it starts to truly sink in. The authors provide several ideas about how to over communicate well.

Does the communication reinforce themes that you want everyone to understand?

You first have to think about the themes you want people to understand. These themes are the foundation upon which your business is built, and are related to your mission, vision, and strategy. At Google the themes are putting users first, thinking big, and not being afraid to fail. If you repeat something twenty times and people don’t get it, then you have a problem with the theme, not the communication.

Is the communication effective?

Do you bring new and interesting data to the conversation or has your communication become so common and mundane that its meaning has evaporated? Think of something that you recite everyday as a child, the Pledge of Allegiance; after a while you’re just speaking the words and the message is lost. Don’t turn your important communication into the Pledge of Allegiance.

Is the communication inspirational?

Does the communication rally the troops? How can you instill inspiration among your team members? It starts with being more focused on others than yourself. People listen from behind their own filters. Filters that are driven by many inputs including the team’s current situation, emotional filters or cultural filters. You have to talk to people about their concerns and issues before you can expect the team to understand your own. Ask your team questions to get the discussion started.

Tell the truth and be humble

Setting a tone of truth and humility creates goodwill and loyalty among the team. When you make a mistake, communicate that with the team as well. They will appreciate the truth, and be more open to telling the truth themselves in future situations.

Summary

Key takeaways that you can apply to your communication delivery today.

• Every meeting should have a clear decision maker who is hands-on and engaged in the meeting.

• Set your meeting agenda with a clear purpose and desired outcome. Think about the attendee list and who really needs to be in the meeting.

• Start your meeting with data and seek to convince people by showing them.

• Over-communicate, over-communicate, over-communicate