Communication is a Buffalo, stubborn yet necessary. Team communications have a mind of its own yet we must domesticate it because we can not survive, let alone progress, without excellent communication.

When someone makes a decision based on wrong information, it’s an assumption. Assumptions lead to terribly destructive mistakes. In 1978, a pilot, failing to communicate his eta, cost 43 lives in my town of Cranbrook, BC. Assumptions made by our very own team members have cost us embarrassment, frustration, and a sack full of money. If you can’t accomplish great communication, you can’t accomplish great exploits, unless you do it by yourself.

Devote whatever time and energy necessary to attain great communication in your team.

1. Focusing on the vision will underscore the importance of good communication. You can’t teach good communication until people see its value.

2. Build or fix your communication systems. It’s not actually the system you are fixing so much as the habits of people using the systems.

3. Reinforce and improve your communication by ongoing, intentional training. Improve by addressing specific communication failures that arise.

4. Assure the team that we are working on great communication because not everyone believes it. Have a clear system or opportunity for feedback and input from everyone.

Join Al and Becky in the buffalo pasture: