When You Think You Have Your Important Message Ready to Deliver, Get a Second Opinion
May 2007

When You Think You Have Your Important Message Ready to Deliver, Get a Second Opinion   

Ever spent a lot of time preparing a dynamite presentation on a topic that really mattered only to have it fall flat? Ever agonized over an employee performance review in an attempt to really get their attention and find out later they missed what you most wanted them to hear? Ever put together a sales proposal knowing you nailed it by understanding the customer's need and clearly laying out the benefits of your solution to then hear the disappointing words, "Thanks, I'll get back to you."? If you said yes to any of these, you're not alone. So what was missing? 

Getting Ready

When preparing an important communication, proper preparation includes considering all the relevant factors - your intention, desired outcome, audience, timing, history, etc. - and your outline or plan for delivering the message - order of information, setting, length of time, visual aids, follow up steps, etc. It's a good idea to practice in advance a few times. Maybe you can try a dry run with someone else to get their reaction. All these steps will help assure the result you are looking for.    Where's the Magic?    But even with all this preparation, you need one more final step. Let's call it the magic ingredient - a second opinion from the wisdom in your heart. Here are a couple examples of messages with magic and without.    

True Stories
   
The CEO of a fortune 500 firm called an important management meeting of all the executive, branch, and sales managers in the company. These managers flew into the meeting location from all over the US at great expense in time and money. The economy was slow and sales had been dropping for several quarters. The executive team had tried lots of different programs to regain lost sales and eroding market share. The CEO realized he needed to get everyone on the same page and renew their commitment in order to turn the negative trend around.   

Big Gamble   

He knew it was a huge gamble to pull everyone out of the field for a few days and incur the expense of this meeting. If it didn't work, the bottom line would look even worse. So he gathered the executive team and some key people in the field and went to work on the message. They did extensive due diligence by gathering all the relevant info on the situation and developed a solid solution. They made sure they answered the 'what's in it for me' question with a new incentive program; they conducted market research to help focus the sales team; they created a support plan to assure people had what they needed to succeed. All that was left was to rally the troops and get them on board. The CEO would deliver the message personally at the big meeting. 

 Missed the Mark  

On the day of the meeting, the mood in the audience was mixed - some wariness and some excitement about what was coming. The CEO stood on stage in the large ballroom facing the 400 people there. His presentation was upbeat, articulate and very complete with some fantastic audio / visual aids to really amp up the excitement. He felt very satisfied that he'd done all he could to move the group. 

But he was wrong. What he and his team failed to connect with was the exhaustion the managers were experiencing. The message came across as yet another request for a gargantuan effort. This dedicated group was already on board. They didn't need a rah-rah session. They needed the CEO to acknowledge their effort and commitment up to that point. Given that acknowledgement, they would have willingly rolled up their sleeves once more.  

After the presentation, most of the participants felt discouraged. There were lots of private little meetings going on full of blaming and defending. Instead of being pumped up, the majority were deflated and returned home pretty defeated. Needless to say the strategy backfired. In less than a year of continuing struggles the CEO was replaced.  

A Different Story 

The operations manager of a manufacturing company received a phone call from his boss at corporate telling him their largest customer was threatening to fire them as a supplier due to poor quality. The manager was stunned. He personally presented quality results every month to the whole manufacturing team and had done so for years. Their performance overall was stellar. How could this have happened? This development was definitely career limiting.   He went to work. He gathered his managers together to let them know what had occurred. He sent a team to the customer to examine all the rejected product and begin the necessary rework. Based on the feedback from the rework team, they designed new audit processes in production. He personally called the president and material manager at the customer to apologize for the problems, explain his recovery plan, and ask for their patience. The reception was cool, but they gave him one more chance to perform.     It was clear that somehow complacency had crept into his operation and he needed to address this with the whole crew ASAP. They all had to understand the urgency and severity of the situation. He planned his presentation - his most important one so far as leader of the manufacturing group. He felt solid and ready and scheduled the meeting with the entire plant for that afternoon.  

Getting a Second Opinion   

Before he left his office to go out to the manufacturing floor, the manager closed his door and reviewed the message he was about to give. It felt complete. Then he took one more step. He sat quietly, allowed himself to focus inside, and asked his heart if there was anything else needed here. After a few minutes, he saw that his previous presentations to the team were comprehensive and clear, but lacked emotion. He always showed up cool, calm and collected. His heart was showing him the magic ingredient for today was to really let everyone know how much this mattered to him. If he did, they would follow him anywhere. 

A Message from the Heart   

He left his office and went out on the floor. Normally, he stood apart and at the front of the group when he spoke to them. Today, he stood in the middle of the meeting area and asked everyone to gather close around. He took a minute to make eye contact with each and every person. Then he slowly began to speak. He explained about the phone call from the boss and his to the customer. His voice broke when he experienced the disappointment of letting the customer down. In that moment he realized that was what mattered most. His team prided themselves on being the best and it hurt to fall short.     Everyone was silent while he gathered himself and continued with how they needed to change, what he was asking of each of them, and how confident he was they were up to it. They all received the message. It was a transmission rather than a communication.   

From that day, it only took a few weeks to implement the changes in quality processes. The entire manufacturing team made it their number one priority. No prodding or pushing was necessary. The group retained the customer and set new records for customer service, quality, and on time delivery. His heart's second opinion made the difference.  

You Can Do This Too

It's really quite a simple process to get your message across when it really counts. Anyone at any organizational level can do it. It may take a little time to prepare, but it's worth it.   

How It Works - Here are the steps: 

1. Get clear on your highest intention and desired outcome for the communication

2. Consider all the relevant factors involved, i.e. the scope you want to cover, information about the group or person, objective facts regarding the situation you are addressing, readiness of the audience, etc.

3. Plan your message as thoroughly as you can with your intention and the relevant factors in mind. Create an outline. Decide the timing, location, A/V aids, etc.

4.  Practice so you know your material well

5.  Add the magic ingredient by accessing the inner wisdom in your heart for any deeper truth or guidance it has for you

When to Use the Process
  

The short answer is all the time. The practical answer is when you have something that really matters to you and/or there is something important at stake. Examples are:

Try this out. It really works! With practice you'll be amazed at the difference it makes.
   

If this article resonated with you, please feel free to pass it on to anyone you know who could benefit from it.  

If it feels a bit overwhelming, but you really want to improve your ability to communicate in a more powerful way, talk to us. The best way we know to learn and embody this capability is to practice, practice, and practice - with some help from us. Our one-year leadership program teaches this and a whole host of other leadership capabilities. We've helped hundreds of people transform their relationship to work and make the kind of difference they thought impossible. For more info click on: http://lionhrt.com/programs/leadershipprogram.htm.  

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LionHeart is in business to help leaders learn how to lead from their hearts. We've found that inner wisdom always shows a way through regardless of how difficult the circumstances may seem. We teach people a practice called remembrance to access their own inner wisdom. To learn more about remembrance click on: http://lionhrt.com/theremembrance.htm