Message Not Received E-Book

Phil Simon

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Seitenzahl: 361

Beschreibung

Get your message across the right way with clear communication Message Not Received provides the tools and techniques that make an effective writer and public speaker. Particularly on topics related to data and technology, effective communication can present a challenge in business settings. This book shows readers how those challenges can be overcome, and how to keep the message from getting lost in the face of mismatched levels of knowledge, various delivery media, and the library of jargon that too often serves as a substitute for real, meaningful language. Coverage includes idea crystallization, the rapidly changing business environment, Kurzweil's law of accelerating change, and our increasing inability to understand what we are saying to each other. Rich with visuals including diagrams, slides, graphs, charts, and infographics, this guide provides accessible information and actionable guidance toward more effectively conveying the message. Today, few professionals can ignore the tsunami of technology that permeates their lives, advancing far more rapidly that most of us can handle. As a result, too many people think that successful speaking means using buzzwords, jargon, and invented words that sound professional, but don't actually communicate meaning. This book provides a path through the noise, helping readers get their message across succinctly, efficiently, and effectively. * Adapt your approach for more effective communication * Learn the critical skill of crystallizing ideas * Tailor your style to the method of delivery * Ensure that your message is heard, understood, and internalized It doesn't matter whether you're pitching to a venture capitalist, explaining daily challenges to a non-tech manager, or speaking to hundreds of people - jargon-filled word salad uses a lot of words to say very little. Better communication requires a different approach, and Message Not Received gives you a roadmap to more effective speaking and writing for any audience or medium.

Leseprobe

Additional praise for Message Not Received: Why Business Communication Is Broken and How to Fix It

“The message comes through loud and clear in Phil Simon’s smart new book: Today’s workplace is drowning in information overload, bad communication, and missed opportunities. Simon shows us the path forward with his savvy and practical advice.”

—Dorie ClarkAdjunct Professor,Duke University Fuqua School of Business;Author of Reinventing You

“In a world where disjointed and disorganized communication is the norm, Message Not Received arrives at the perfect time. Phil Simon provides tremendous insights and practical approaches to improve our communication both in and out of the office. If you want to make sure your words are actually heard (not just delivered), then you need to read this book.”

—Mike VardyProductivity Strategist;Founder of Productivityist

“In today’s business world, communication is more important and easily accessible than ever before—so why are we making it so complicated? In Message Not Received, Phil Simon closely examines why keeping it simple amounts to clear and efficient communication. I highly recommend that everyone in business take Simon’s direction.”

—Larry WeberChairman & CEO of Racepoint Global;Author of The Digital Marketer

“Look behind any business failure and you’ll find the lack of communication as a root cause. Phil Simon’s latest book, Message Not Received, examines how and why the latest technologies that are intended to radically improve business communication too often obstruct it instead. Simon’s book provides thorough, effective strategies for enabling effective organizational collaboration and communication to ensure business messages are indeed received. If you want to improve your organization’s communication skills, you owe it to yourself to read this book.”

—Robert CharettePresident, ITABHI Corporation

“An essential resource for business clarity. Read Message Not Received to learn how to strip out the jargon and quit confusing people with buzzwords.”

—Anita CampbellFounder and CEO of Small Business Trends

“A refreshingly relevant critique of modern business communication.”

—Michael SchrenkOnline Intelligence Consultant;Author of Webbots, Spiders, and Screen Scrapers

Message Not Received

WHY BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IS BROKEN AND HOW TO FIX IT

Phil Simon

Cover design: Luke Fletcher

Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750—8400, fax (978) 646—8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748—6011, fax (201) 748—6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:Simon, Phil.   Message not received: why business communication is broken and how to fix it/Phil Simon.         pages cm    Includes bibliographical references and index.   ISBN 978-1-119-01703-5 (hardback); ISBN: 978-1-119-04812-1 (ePDF);   ISBN: 978-1-119-04821-3 (ePub)   1. Business communication.   2. Business communication–Technological innovations.   I. Title.   HF5718.S565 2015   651.7—dc23

2014038167

OTHER BOOKS BY PHIL SIMON

The Visual Organization: Data Visualization, Big Data, and the Quest for Better Decisions

Too Big to Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data

The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business

The New Small: How a New Breed of Small Businesses Is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technologies

The Next Wave of Technologies: Opportunities in Chaos

Why New Systems Fail: An Insider’s Guide to Successful IT Projects

To Marillion:Thank you for showing me a better way of life.

The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.

—B. F. Skinner

We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us.

—Marshall McLuhan

CONTENTS

Preface

The Wrong Way to Announce a New Product Launch

The Good News about Bad Business Communication

Notes

Part I Worlds Are Colliding

Introduction: The Intersection of Business, Language, Communication, and Technology

Subject: The Other Scourge of Business Communication

Technology and the Cardinal Importance of Business Communication

What’s the Big Whoop?

From Pencils to WhatsApp: A Little History Lesson

Book Overview and Outline

My Communication Bona Fides

Next

Notes

1 Technology Is Eating the World

Whoops

Accelerating Technological Change

The Rise of the Machines

Trailing the Goldfish: Our Declining Attention Spans

A Communications Revolution

The Age of the Entrepreneur

Disruption Is Cool

SEO and the

Really

Long Tail

The Sliding Scale of Search

Google and the Never-Ending Jargon Train

Marketing Madness

Mobile Mania

BYOD

The Rise of the Tech Celebrity

A New Body Politic

Other Trends

Next

Notes

2 The Increasingly Overwhelmed Employee

Mad Men

No More

Abundant Leisure: Keynes Was Wrong

Drowning in Data

Demonizing the Tech Companies

The Limits of Technology’s Tentacles

A Different Kind of Workplace

Is Being Overwhelmed Even a Choice Anymore?

Next

Notes

Part II Didn’t You Get That Memo?

3 What We Say

Jargon: The Cause of So Much Noise

Beyond Jargon: Other Communication and Language Atrocities

Next

Appendix to Chapter 3

Notes

4 How We Say It

A Communications Dynasty: Explaining E-Mail’s Impressive Reign

E-Mail Nation

How We’re Working Isn’t Working

Next

Notes

5 Why Bad Communication Is Bad Business

One Size Does Not Misfit All

Message Not Received

Decreased Clarity, Credibility, and Trust

Lost Sales

Severed Relationships and Burnt Bridges

Poor Execution and Strategic Blunders

Lower Productivity

Inefficiency, Waste, and Severed Relationships

Increased Risk of Project Failure

Other Long-Term Employee Issues

Net Effect: A Vicious Cycle

Next

Notes

Part III Message Received

6 Don’t Call It a

Paradigm

Language

E-Mail

Selecting a Communications Medium

Handling the Fallout

Next

Notes

7 Words and Context

A Trip Down Memory Lane

The World of Words

Communication Context, Awareness, and Technique

Next

Notes

8 Life Beyond E-Mail

Communication and Collaboration Circa 2004

The Benefits of Old Tools

E-Mail Detox

If Not E-Mail, Then What?

True Communication and Collaboration in Action

Slaying the E-Mail Dragon: Klick Health

Keep Calm and Jive On

The Internal Social Network

New Tools: No Guarantees

Next

Notes

Part IV What Now?

Coda

Acknowledgments

Thank You

Selected Bibliography

About the Author

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Chapter 1

Table 1.1

Chapter 3

Table 3.1

Chapter 4

Table 4.1

Chapter 7

Table 7.1

Table 7.2

Table 7.3

Chapter 8

Table 8.1

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1

Justine Sacco’s Infamous Tweet

Figure 1.2

Penetration Rates of Consumer Technologies (1876–Present)

Figure 1.3

Technology Adoption: Years Until Used by One-Quarter of American Population

Figure 1.4

Traffic as a Function of Google Search Result Rank

Figure 1.5

Cumulative Traffic as a Function of Google Search Result Rank

Chapter 2

Figure 2.1

Drowning, Not Browsing

Figure 2.2

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Chapter 4

Figure 4.1

Network Effect

Figure 4.2

Metcalfe’s Law in Action

Figure 4.3

Why and How Consumers Like and Subscribe

Chapter 8

Figure 8.1

Generic Microsoft Project Gantt Chart

Figure 8.2

Genome Weekly 360 in the Project 360 Module

Figure 8.3

Klick Daily Chatter

Figure 8.4

Genome’s Goals Dashboard

Figure 8.5

Klick Activity Over the Past Year

Figure 8.6

The Garage

Figure 8.7

Pit Stops at The Garage

Figure 8.8

PR 20/20 Yammer Marketing Webinar Group

Figure 8.9

Yammer Conversation with Clickable Hashtag

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Preface

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Preface

What we got here is . . . failure to communicate.

—Captain, Road Prison 36, Cool Hand Luke

On February 4, 2014, Microsoft concluded its extensive search to replace its retiring Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the easily excitable Steve Ballmer. On that day, the company named Satya Nadella as only the third CEO in its storied history. Given Microsoft’s stature and reach, one could argue that Nadella represented the most significant executive appointment since Tim Cook succeeded Steve Jobs as Apple’s head honcho on August 24, 2011.

Running a 50,000-employee corporation as powerful and culturally significant as Apple cannot be considered easy. In the whole scheme of things, though, few, if any, CEOs have inherited a company in better shape than Tim Cook did. He took over an extremely healthy organization with a record-setting hoard of cash, a reportedly strong pipeline, a vibrant developer community, a favorable public image, and largely positive coverage from Wall Street.