‘Nothing but the facts’ approach just won’t work with business people
I’ve been talking lately about how IT and business people have trouble communicating. It goes beyond speaking different languages. The two groups really think differently. If you believe I’m overstating my case, then try this experiment. The next time you give a presentation to business people, do a follow-up a day or two later. You will likely find that nearly everyone in your audience completely missed your point. The reason we often bomb when it comes to presenting to business people is that we misunderstand how they tend to process presentations and information. We make the...
Read MoreTalking to the business: our problems, their visions
The first meeting for a project is a tense affair. There can be a lot of new things coming at you all at once. New co-workers. New technology. New processes. And, perhaps most problematic, new business partners. These meetings tend to follow predictable patterns. You, the technical person, want to stick to a process, gathering basic requirements that can be put into a document. So you ask some questions about what’s going on with the business and what problems need to be solved. The business person talks rather vaguely about what she wants to accomplish. She seems excited about...
Read MoreWhen techies speak, the devil’s in the details
Every IT professional has been here: A business person asks you a question, and your thorough answer just isn’t good enough. You try to give more specific information in an attempt to break through the communication barrier. But the more you try, the worse things seem to get. In the end, the business person is seething with impatience, so you start to get confused and angry. Both parties walk away from such encounters convinced that it’s hopeless to communicate with “those types” of people. They both say of the other, “They don’t get it.” And as a...
Read MoreBuilding a cabin in the field of dreams
Here’s a story from our friend Kyle Shannon, former Creative Director and Founder of Agency.com. It aptly illustrates his experience of the gap between geeks and non-geeks. It’s a fable, and even has a moral. Once upon a time there was an open field of wildflowers with a stream running through it and birds and insects and deer bounding around. And it was decreed that in this field Geeks and Non-geeks would live together. Soon, the Non-geeks are running around catching butterflies and splashing in the water. And the Geeks are rolling their eyes. They realize that...
Read MoreWhen objectivity is a trap
While the advantages of objectivity are well known and irrefutable, it’s important to consider that intuition has an important role to play at work, and respect for intuition is very important if you want to build relationships with non-mechanical people. In fact, an absolute adherence to objectivity can hurt your effectiveness in the workplace. For those of us who love things to be objectively verifiable, sometimes we need to be reminded that things aren’t black and white. If objectivity is good, it doesn’t make intuition bad. Nor does it make objectivity always good. This post...
Read MoreCollaboration’s fragility
We all know that collaborating with other departments is hard. We all have visceral memories of failed projects, outrageous behavior and painful betrayals. When my colleagues talk about these experiences, I can see the sadness and anger in their eyes. Even decades later, the wounds remain raw, the lessons learned fresh, and the resentments intact. But most of us have had great cross-functional collaborations as well. Ask about those magical projects when everyone pulled in one direction, unified, synchronized and coordinated, and eyes twinkle with excitement. When groups face tough problems...
Read MoreEn-lightening up on each other
The other day my friend Bob and I got into a warm discussion about discussion. We were both embodying a core difference between geeks and non-geeks, which Paul has called “The Problem with Problems.” Bob said that in order to seriously discuss something, a clear, concise, coherent problem-statement is required. I immediately recognized this (from having read Paul’s book) as a geek preference for framing the world as series of problems to be solved. Geeks like to start with a problem statement, identify the assumptions and constraints, and work toward a solution. It comes from rigorous...
Read MoreNEW BOOK: 8 Steps to Restoring Client Trust
We are pleased to announce the release of our new book.
At a neat 118 pages, this book is a succinct, no-nonsense set of instructions for what to do and what not to do when you have an unhappy client. It's especially prized by technical people who, when faced with emotionally charged situations, want a clear and concise set of rules to follow. When your client is really steamed, disappointed, or ready to give up, and your own instincts fail you, this book steps in to save the day.
