The Golden Rule is easy to figure out because you only have to know yourself. Outside-in thinking is not as simple as asking yourself what you would do if you were in the other’s place; you have to ask yourself what they would do. It requires the Platinum Rule: do unto others as they would be done unto. Faced with a choice of chocolate pie or pumpkin, I would go chocolate, but if my guest wants key lime, that’s what I will give them. Beyond seeing how they see, online outside-in thinking requires thinking how they think—and that takes work.
Want to be influential? Make it worthwhile for people to listen to you, by improving their return on time and effort. Because their time is precious and thinking is hard work, they will treasure those who give them what they need to hear with a minimal investment. If it’s too difficult or too long, they will tune out. It takes discipline and effort on your part, but put in the time and effort so that they don’t have to, and it will pay off big in the long run. More wins lead to greater influence which leads to more wins.
Lean communication is about adding value, briefly and clearly. You certainly don’t want to waste someone’s time, and you want to make sure that you are understood with a minimum of effort on the other’s part, but above all you must add value. If the other person gets value from the communication, they won’t begrudge the time and effort, and if they get no value, it does not matter how briefly and clearly you communicated. If the product is useless, they won’t care how little they spent or how conveniently it was packaged. Add value, and everything else will follow.
Robert Baden-Powell’s last message to Boy Scouts all over the world was: “Leave this world a little better than you found it.”
Strive to do the same thing for your audience every time you communicate, and you won’t fail to create value. In lean communication, value is defined as anything that improves business and or personal outcomes while preserving the relationship. You create value in communication by giving others information they can use for better decisions and more effective action. They will be better off, you will be better off, and the world will be better than you found it.
Note: This is the first in a new series of posts in which I impart Lean Communication philosophy and techniques in 100 words or less.
