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February is usually when I start thinking about how I’m doing in the new year. By now, I’ve finalized my goals for 2007, gotten started on them and hit my stride.
I decided to exercise more this year, because my clothes are getting uncomfortable. This is an annual goal for me and my spouse Claudia, but this year we’re taking it seriously. We’ve hired personal trainers, who first helped us develop fitness programs and now act as coaches to keep us going. Having people who know what they’re doing coach us makes a difference. My trousers are less snug already!
I also have a goal for my family—to spend more time talking to one another. We’re all enjoying this one, and in fact, we’re becoming better listeners as a result. I brought this idea home from the business because it’s so effective. We always have done a good job of communicating with many of our customers and suppliers on an informal basis. Now we’ve started to do this with our largest customers on a more formal basis during a semiannual business review. We give a brief synopsis of what we’re working on, how we’re doing and of course, what that means for them. What’s in it for them is important, but they also like hearing what we’re doing and where we’re trying to go. This assures them that they’re working with a company that tries to get better and has a plan to do it. It sets the tone for them to give us feedback on where they’re going and what the implications are for us.
“When we were a smaller organization… impromptu meetings and daily interaction kept everyone in the loop. At least, I thought so.”
Looking at our relationships with key customers and suppliers, and what I was doing at home, I realized that our company needs to work on a few things. Communication is one area that I want to improve. After all, it was something that I wanted to improve in our association this year, so I better practice what I preach in all aspects of my life. The problem in our company was that I have always had my head down while focusing on my goals. I finally realized that I’ve developed some bad habits as a result. Our company needs better communication, especially from me. We’ve grown too much to ignore it. I mistakenly thought that everyone knows where we’re going and how we’re doing. But they don’t. When we were a smaller organization of 10 or 20 people, impromptu meetings and daily interaction kept everyone in the loop. At least, I thought so. Today, we have 60 people working in sales, customer service, graphics, accounting, information systems, print production and distribution. Each person has a perception of the company based on what he or she does and sees everyday, but it’s just part of the story. They need the whole story to better understand the role they play in the big picture. We all need to feel we’re part of something and know, or at least have a sense of, where we are going. Otherwise, what we do doesn’t take on a whole lot of meaning, and what we do becomes just a “job.”
To address this, I’ve been sending more written communications to everyone, but we also started a monthly update during lunch, where we talk about what is going on face-to-face with everyone. We’re sure everyone will be there, because no one wants to miss the lunch. That way, it doesn’t require the time it would take for another formal gathering. We think it’s working, but time will tell, and if we find other ways or better ways to communicate, we’ll adapt.