Cambridge Business Association
Communication Catalyst
Book

Communication Catalyst

The Fast (But Not Stupid) Track to Value for Customers, Investors, and Employees

Mickey Connolly and Richard Rianoshek
Kaplan Publishing, 2002
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Editorial Rating

7

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Recommendation

Like the sadistic prison guard in the movie Cool Hand Luke who told his prisoners, “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate,” managers often attribute unrealized plans, missed goals and unsuccessful projects to a lack of good communication. Most don’t recognize that even casual conversations around the water cooler have the power to affect results far down the road. Communications consultants Mickey Connolly and Richard Rianoshek advise you to use conversations to add value to all your interactions. Their points are useful, if fairly general and well known. The authors use extended quotes, examples and even a fictional running story to crystallize their book’s messages. getAbstract sees their guide as a good refresher course about the power of the spoken word and recommends it to recent graduates, business-world newcomers, and those who want to boost their conversational skills and draw more out of every chat.

Summary

Talk Is Cheap, but Consider the Alternatives

If you believe time is money, then you may think that taking time to talk, converse, explain, chat or discuss is too expensive. The reality is far different: Investing in the social aspects of conversation to advance your business agenda may save you money and make your business more profitable. The trick is to craft “high-performance conversation,” which is “well-designed listening and speaking that creates high-velocity value.”

Value is anything “customers or investors are willing to pay for, that employees are willing and able to provide”; but business doesn’t demand only value, it demands speed, so you need high-torque value – and conversation is the best managerial tool for finding it. Well-structured, purposeful talk is not just a “soft” skill; it’s as critical as your company’s technology and know-how. For example, one firm struggled with its products’ lagging time to market. Analysis revealed that more than 80% of the blockages it faced resulted from social issues needing better communication. By implementing high-performance conversation techniques, the firm cut its product development time in half; managers estimated...

About the Authors

Mickey Connolly and Richard Rianoshek co-founded Conversant, a consulting firm specializing in communications.

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