Keep it Simple
“I normally try to find three or four strategic concepts that sum up the direction in which the company should be moving, build up an organization that believes in these concepts, and then repeat, repeat, and repeat them throughout the organization. I am convinced that communication is a very powerful tool for running large organizations such as this one. It works fine if people know exactly where they are going, but in order to know this they need to be able to grasp some easy concepts. If it takes more than one minute to explain a strategy, something is wrong. In my view, it has to be that simple. Successful things are simple; I have never seen successful things that are very complicated. You provide simple guidelines and repeat them throughout the organization.”
(Paolo Scaroni, CEO of Eni, SpA, in “Leading Change: An Interview With The CEO Of Eni,” by Giancarlo Ghislanzoni. The McKinsey Quarterly. New York: 2006., Iss. 3; pg. 54)
2 comments:
There is a time and place for everything. When discussing something with a large group of people having varying education and experience backgrounds, simplicity would be the way to go. On the other hand, if you're talking to a group of senior managers--I would think you could get much more technical and complex.
I'm not so sure that the call for simplicity comes simply from a need to make the material understandable. Simplicity has an inner power that transcends the classic view of effective communication. Simplicity breeds efficiency into communication as well by stripping the message down to its core concepts. I think this is the kind of Simplicity that Scaroni is talking about.
If senior managers use technical and complex communication it is often a symptom of defensiveness. If I can say something that you don't understand then you are not able to attack my ideas. Unless you refuse to play my game and counter with a powerful, simple message.
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