Business Communication & Ethics, Week7 Summary, 5/19/12
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Jack Welch MBA Program
Candor is a game changer in the way I work now.
As I step into a bold new world of candor, I feel like I would in a plane that is just about to take off.
Beyond walking and running it is now about soaring to higher levels of productivity.
Grasping the concept of candor allows me to see business situations in an entirely new light.
I can see patterns in human behavior that I could not see before and do something about it.
When I see people hiding behind background charts in presentations I interrupt them and give them the confidence to focus on charts that move the business.
I now say, "move the business, not just the charts ".
I give myself the permission to push beyond the status quo and speak more courageously about what needs to change.
In my interactions with coworkers laterally, down as well as up the chain, I see myself opening up more. Subordinates are seeing more direct feedback immediately. I am also taking care to not go overboard to the point where candor does more damage than good.
I recognize that somewhere between candor that determines status quo and 100% candor there is a middle ground - a sweet spot - I need to aspire to. I am doing what I can in my sphere of influence to drive the organization to the sweet spot.
Astonishing insights from Jack Welch
Dr DP
Business Communication & Ethics Week 7 Summary
Candor - Open culture of frank, sincere, exhaustively honest conversation
Secret weapon in your communications arsenal. Use it.
Get everyone's idea out to be debated, modified, acted upon
GE way - surface, debate, improve, decide
I. Jack Welch, Winning, Chapter2
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Benefits of creating a culture of candor in organizations
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Gets more people in the conversation & get idea capital rich & get more info
Generates Speed - rapid debates, expand, enhance, act upon
Reduced cost - unclutter; eliminate bs reports; meaningless meetings
Get information flowing
Lack of Candor is a killer
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blocks smart ideas, fast action, good people contributing all they got
people dont speak their mind because it is easier
people withhold what they really think; keep their mouth shut sugarcoat bad news
people feel left out of important conversations; given inaccurate info which is acted upon
Decisions are slowed down as everyone does not have the same info; have untrustworthy info that needs rechecking
Ideas not debated in an open forum but in cloistered quarters where "only those in the know" are admitted
Costs go up as resources are wasted preparing reports that confirm what people in room already know
To get candor
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Reward it, praise it, talk about it
Demonstrate it yourself in exuberant exaggerated way
Candor - biggest dirty little secret => biggest change for the better
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II. eActivity
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Candor - People don't Tell the truth
Transparency is Against human nature
Socially conditioning - to make nice & not hurt anyone's feelings
Be candid with yourself - your own performance, desire for yourself, reason why you took a job
There is a line between candor and being rude
III. Week7 Lecture 1, Steve Kerr
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Absence of Candor - biggest unsolved problem in business today
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- Beyond outsized bonuses, bureaucracy, or poor strategy,
the absence of candor is the single largest roadblock keeping companies from being effective (Welch & Welch, 2005)
- Applies to all business communications
presentations, writing, meetings, one-on-one conversations, emails, newsletters
- Candor is built on culture of speed and efficiency
Causes for lack of Candor
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Socialization - avoid uncomfortable truth; make people feel good about themselves; white lies
Legal - Fear of legal trouble stifles candor eg job references; safe, conservative
Cultural - extremely bad manners to be candid
Organizational - culture, metrics, norms, incentives
Differentiate between the various cultural, individual and situational factors that contribute to a lack of candor in organizations.
- Speak Truth to Power courageously - Give Tough love to peers
Creating an environment that supports Candor
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Individual performance appraisals, Differentiation - Foster candor in employees' careers
Voting
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Culture of Candor
Debates
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embrace constructive conflict on politically sensitive issues
No sacred cows - hold every topic in public scrutiny
Incentives for Candor
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Report near misses - pattern recognize; identify common causes
make policy changes, train personnel
Safe and helpful to be candid about failures as well as successes
Leadership Imperative
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Actively find processes that encourage and reward candor
Design install & monitor practices that make people act against their instinct of no candor.
Dr DP
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