Two Basics of Human Communication

 

Our discussion of communication this week could boil down into two observations.  1.  It is not what we say but how we say it that matters.  2.  To borrow from W.E. Deming, the “Father of Total Quality Management” (TQM), the very first order of business before embarking on any change project is to define the business.  In what business are we?  This is simple, but too often we are at cross-purposes for we have not openly agreed on the nature, definition of the business.  For-profit universities, for example, must decide in the final analysis if they are in the business of making money or educating.  Healthcare faces the same challenge:  money or patient care.  Deming, rightly, argues that we can save lots of turmoil and miscommunication if we first clearly define the purpose of the enterprise.  Amen.  Of course, communication challenges erupt also when we start with this definition; it saves more trouble later.  Keep up your good work.  Dr. Rux