Clarity in Communication Model

Power and Velocity

What would it be worth to you and your firm if every communication was delivered and

received in a clear and impeccable manner? How much would it save your firm if

misunderstandings were reduced to near zero? What has it cost you and your firm in

time, energy, morale, and money to have had less than optimal communication noth

within the firm and with clients? These are not rhetorical questions. Actually stop, right

now, and take an assessment of what it has cost your firm. Assess the costs of

misunderstandings that have taken place in the areas of employee to employee, manager

to staff, staff to manager, and anyone to your client.

Some of the costs that our clients have reported are; deadlines not met, lost clients, the

same work done by two people, work having to be redone, products having to be

reproduced, complaining and gossiping by upset employees, loss of good employees due

to frustration with poor communication. Have any of these happened in your firm?

Now that you have taken a hard look at your firm’s communication problems, take a

look at this simple solution. The Clarity In Communication (CIC) Model, if used

consistently, can help eliminate a large number of problems within your firm. With

continued use, it will become a natural and important part of your firm culture.

There are five major components that comprise the CIC Model:

Requests

When making a request, one needs to make sure that the request is specific, measurable

and time bound. Instead of asking, "Will you finish this brief for me as quickly as

possible," you would say, "I request that you finish this brief for me by two o’clock

tomorrow and place it in the completed projects box at that time," or, "Please complete

the initial report for the partners by five o’clock on Friday and put it on my desk." And

then ask, "Will you do that?" This final question triggers the next step in the model.

Accepting or Declining a Request

If you choose to accept a request you should:

1. Be aware of what, specifically, you are agreeing to do and the

ramifications that come with accepting the request.

2. Repeat to the person making the request that to which you are agreeing.

3. Restate by when you will have the request fulfilled.

You would say, "Yes, I will complete the brief for you by two o'clock tomorrow and put

it in the completed projects box at that time." In some firms it is part of the culture to

never say no to a request, especially if it is coming from your boss or anyone "above"

you in the company. However, if it is acceptable in your company, be sure to decline

respectfully and if possible, offer alternative suggestions and counter-offers to the other

person.

Counter-Offers

The fear of saying no to a request often leads people to say yes when they really can’t

fulfill the request. Counter-offers are designed into this model to ensure that the request

gets fulfilled within an acceptable timeframe to the person making the request.

A counter-offer can alter any or all of the components of a request. Some components of

a request that are commonly counter-offered are:

1. The scope of the request.

2. The amount of work to be done.

3. The completion time.

4. The amount of people needed to fulfill upon the request.

In creating a counter-offer, make sure that you are specific about the difference between

what you are offering and the initial request. Also, when coming up with a counter-

offer, propose one that truly works for you, not what you think the other person wants to

hear. Your counter-offer may not be accepted, but it is important that you express and

make clear the limitations around the initial request. It is also important that when

making a counter-offer it is from a place of partnership and commitment to the other

person and not because you don’t "feel" like doing it by the time or in the way they have

requested.

Following our example, a counter-offer might be, "I can’t finish that brief for you

tomorrow by two, due to another project I’m working on, but I can get it done and in the

completed projects box the following day by five. Will that work for you?"… Counter-

Offer to a Counter-Offer…

The purpose of a counter-offer to a counter-offer is to negotiate aspects of the request

and to get very clear about what the final agreement will be. Although counter-offers

can go back and forth several times it is recommended that they be kept to a minimum.

This will happen when each person is, once again, coming from a place of partnership. A

counter-offer to the initial counter-offer might sound like this, "I appreciate all the work

you have to do. However, the day after tomorrow by five will be too late for me to

review the brief, make revisions, and then have it ready for the client I’m having dinner

with that evening. So, I request that you have it back to me by ten Friday morning

instead. Will you do that?" Generally, at this point the person would need to decline or

accept the counter-offer to the counter-offer.

Directive

In certain situations it is more appropriate to give a directive rather than make a request.

There is, however, a difference between a directive and a demand. A demand tends to be

delivered with a lack of respect and a tone of superiority. A directive, although not open

for debate, decline, or counter-offer, is delivered in a straightforward manner with

respect and partnership in mind. An example would be, "It is critical that report be on my

desk tomorrow by ten o’clock in the morning. Will you make sure it is?" Then make

sure they say they will have it on your desk by that time. A demand would be, "I want

that report on my desk by tomorrow at ten o’clock in the morning. Do you hear me?"

Closing the Loop

The concept of Closing the Loop is a simple, common sense practice and will decrease

the number of misunderstandings beyond what you can imagine. It is simply reporting to

anyone who needs to be informed that the requested task or project has been completed,

along with any other pertinent information. Following our example: Since the request

was that the report be put in the completed projects box, once the report is put in the

box, most people would consider this complete. To Close the Loop, it is important that

the person fulfilling the request makes sure that the person making the request knows it

has been completed. A simple email or phone call letting them know it has been

completed will suffice, but is still critical to provide complete and clear communication.

This step becomes even more important when a request or project has several

components to it. For example; if a request was made of you that you contact a client on

behalf of your boss, produce a particular result on the call, and send the client a follow-

up email on the conversation, it would be important that you let your boss know when

you have spoken to the client, what the specific results of the conversation were, and

that you completed the email to them and by when you did each one of these things. If

ever in doubt of when it is appropriate to Close the Loop or not, follow this simple rule:

unless otherwise requested, communicate that you have done what you have promised as

soon as you have finished it. Any pertinent changes or new information will no doubt be

appreciated. The bottom line is… Follow the model and bring clarity in communication

into your world.

If you would like to ensure that this model becomes a part of your life, take on the

following exercise:

For the next two weeks, utilize the Clarity In Communication Model at least once per

day. Make sure to use any and all necessary components of the model to produce the

result that you want. Before you use the model identify and write down the results you

want to produce and with whom you want to produce them.

If you are in a management position and would like to have this model become a part of

the culture of your department and/or firm, take on the following:

Share the model with all of your direct reports and request that everyone, including you,

completes the above assignment. As a team you can bring this model into your firm and

begin to decrease misunderstandings and create partnership and clarity in

communication. Please let us know of your successes in using the Clarity In

Communication Model within your firm. If you have any questions or any problems

in using the model please feel free to contact us at : 1-866-791-7757 for a free

consultation.