A positive meeting this meeting with our Vice-Provost for Information Technology reminds me about my basic philosophy of business. Communications is key. First off, my bias, I have a degree in communications and have worked in several professional roles doing communications. That said, there is little that can't be accomplished if you learn to communicate well. Sometimes the most critical piece of communicating is learning when to say nothing at all and learning how to say something succinctly and clearly.
Communicating to the audience is also key. In an instance this weekend I sent a broadcast communication without thinking enough about the audience. There was at least one person, Sam, who got the message and was concerned about what I had to say. The issue did not affect Sam, but my message was ambiguous, putting it kindly, to the point of implying that Sam would be impacted. A better choice of words and clearer communication with more forethought about the entire audience would have prevented the confusion and prevented Sam from being converted.
