From 4db4a492158f25fda1dd887891b49e2951600a38 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Danny Guo Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2024 22:58:35 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Add a draft for Beat the Drum --- src/pages/blog/beat-the-drum.md | 78 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 78 insertions(+) create mode 100644 src/pages/blog/beat-the-drum.md diff --git a/src/pages/blog/beat-the-drum.md b/src/pages/blog/beat-the-drum.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cbabb20 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/pages/blog/beat-the-drum.md @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ +--- +layout: ../../layouts/BlogPostLayout.astro +categories: + - communication +date: "2024-08-24" +unlisted: true +title: Beat the Drum +--- + +My former COO gave me a piece of advice when I became a manager. He said that +leaders have to deliver the same message again and again and again +to make sure it actually gets through to everyone in the organization. +Sometimes, it's also necessary to simplify the message and lose some nuance for +it to actually sink in. The advice made sense to me at the time, but it became +more concrete to me as I tried to apply it and as I noticed when leaders above +me failed to do it. I brought it up to my former COO recently, and he put it in +a fantastically pithy way by saying "yep, you have to beat the drum." + +In [old military situations, +drums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_drums) were used as a form of +communication. They kept armies aligned on messages as simple as "advance" and +"retreat." Similary, organizations need their leaders to continuously +communicate to keep people aligned. + +The larger the organization, the more important this idea is. In a startup with +a few people, it's easy for everyone to stay on the same page. In a massive +company with thousands of people, everyone getting out of sync from each other +is the default outcome. It takes active work to get everyone to even hear a +particular message, more work to get them to remember it, and even more work to +get them to act on it. + +This may seem wrong. If the CEO wants to send a message to everyone, they just +need to send a company-wide email or mention it in an all-hands meeting, right? +Nope, because there are so many ways for such a simple thing to fail. + +One person only skims their emails and didn't bother reading the CEO's detailed +email. + +Another person was on vacation during the all-hands and never bothered to try to +catch up on it. + +Another person was out sick and does want to catch up, but the all-hands wasn't +recorded, and nobody took notes. The person asked someone else what the CEO +said, resulting in a [game of +telephone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers) and a distorted +message. + +Another person got the message but then forgot it a few days later. This is the +[forgetting curve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgetting_curve) at work. If +the CEO doesn't repeat the message regularly, the memory of that message +disappears. + +Another person disagreed with the message, ignored it, and nobody cared. This +person eventually learned to just disregard everything the CEO says. + +Another person doesn't have all the industry knowledge that the CEO does and +doesn't really understand what the CEO said as a result. + +There are so many failure modes, even though the message is coming from the CEO, +the person who should have the easiest time getting a message across. Even the +CEO needs to repeat a message multiple times and figure out how to word it so +that people truly get it. + +I think one reason it's actually hard for leaders to do this (beyond the fact +that it takes work) is that it's an exercise in empathy. When you come up with a +message, it's easy to remember it and understand it because it's your own +creation. Ego is also a factor. Leaders have a tendency to believe that what +they say is particularly important. But you have to put yourself in the mindset +of the people you're trying to communicate to. If you spend weeks coming up with +detailed goals and plans for your team, of course you're going to know them in +and out. But someone who hears them for the first time is unlikely to +immediately internalize them. You need to repeat them and put them somewhere for +people to reference. + +It's a simple concept but takes discipline to apply. Figure out what's +important for people to know. Say it. Say it again. Say it in a different +medium. Say it more simply. Say it to different people. Just don't stop beating +the drum.