Growing the Goodbiz tribe
In challenging economic times, we all have choices as to how we respond. We can choose to resign ourselves to surviving, curtailing our ambitions and revising what we believe is achievable. Or we can take a risk. We can put ourselves out there, on the line, and try something completely new.
One fine example of innovation in tough times is Goodbiz.ie. This is an Irish association of ‘good’ businesses i.e. those who are solvent, tax compliant and committed to meeting the credit terms of fellow members. Smarter Egg is a proud member of Goodbiz. It makes so much sense.
And if you thought Goodbiz.ie was just a bunch of stuffy accountants, think again….
I’m delighted to provide Goodbiz.ie members with some articles on insights gained from books and related facilitated discussions. The first such article was distributed to members last week and is reproduced below.
How business people can learn from plane crashes
by Aodan Enright
It may be tempting to think that all plane crashes are caused by extraordinary and unpredictable events that are outside our control. The obvious example would be the recent drama in the Hudson River in New York when Captain C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger expertly guided a fatally damaged US Airways jet to a safe emergency landing, protecting the lives of all on board. That aircraft had suffered the misfortune of a catastrophic collision with a flock of birds. But how can we explain the many examples of perfectly functioning aircraft that have tragically crashed with massive loss of life?
In Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, Outliers, the author introduces an ‘ethnic theory of plane crashes’. He highlights that most plane crashes are, in fact, caused by human error. He introduces some chilling tales of how apparently straight-forward miscommunication amongst flight-staff can result in tragedy. In particular, he suggests, somewhat controversially, that where pilots are from can have a bearing on the likelihood of them being involved in a disaster.
Why is the cultural dimension so important? In essence, it comes down to how we communicate. In some cultures, social status has a direct impact on how two people will interact. In a culture with a high ‘power distance index’, someone who is perceived as being at a lower status, e.g. a first officer, will tend to be indirect in the way they speak to a superior, e.g. a captain. Unfortunately, this ‘mitigated speech’, any attempt to downplay or sugarcoat the meaning of what is being said anywhere, contributes directly to the kind of miscommunication that causes planes to crash.
I have explored this concept with dozens of business people in recent facilitated discussions and the consequences for business are quite stark: ignoring the cultural context for our business communication, just as with flying planes, can lead to disaster.
Specifically, two primary lessons emerged from our review of this topic. Firstly, clarity of communication is vital. It’s important to be clear and unambiguous in our communications to our colleagues and to our customers. It is critical to remember that the effectiveness of communication is measured by how well the receiver understands the message, not how good we feel about delivering it.
Secondly, we need to be wary of the dangers in making assumptions. We often assume that other people know what we mean. We often assume that because we have given an instruction that someone will comply precisely. We often assume that customers understand our value proposition because we believe we’ve communicated it. All of this is dangerous and potentially damaging to our businesses.
Let’s stay aware of the cultural differences that exist amongst us. And don’t forget that it’s how our message lands with the recipient that really counts.