Roger Lam

On Communication

I've been running into a lot of great posts on communication and here are some highlights.

Wes Kao - Become a better communicator

Wes Kao, founder turned communications coach, was on Lenny's Pod. She had a lot of practical advice on communicating with senior leaders and leveraging this skill more broadly in the workplace. I'm keeping two tips in mind. Small, achievable steps. Wes also goes deeper here.

  1. Give feedback using "strategy, not self expression"
  2. CEDAF delegation framework

Strategy, not self expression

Simply put, "strategy means only saying things that get you closer to changing the person's behavior."

While "self-expression is venting, having the last word, or trying to teach someone a lesson... Anything that isn't 100% going to encourage the person to improve goes into the self-expression bucket"

And to do this: Mentally forgive the person, identify what is most likely to motivate them to change, say only the 10% that will actually change behavior, keep your eye on the prize.

CEDAF delegation framework

It's centered around setting expectations, giving context, and working together.

C: Comprehension - Are you explaining so this is easy to understand?

E: Excitement / Buy-in - Are you getting the person excited?

D: De-risk - Are you addressing obvious risks?

A: Align - Are you giving them a change to speak up?

F: Feedback loop - Are you creating the shortest feedback loop possible?

Personal Take

Feels like good things to keep in mind. I prefer to have a more personable approach to conversations but I'm sure in high-stakes conversations you need to be extra sharp.

Kevin Weil - OpenAI’s CPO on how AI changes must-have skills, moats, coding, startup playbooks, more

Another Lenny's Pod. Mostly about AI/LLMs but this quote stood out to me.

"Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable" - Eisenhower

Boz - Communication is The Job

A oldie blog post from Boz in 2016(!) that I'm just now seeing.

8 points and I'll repost here but worth a 5 minute read when you're waiting in line for something.

  1. Layer Your Message.
  2. Consider the Second Order Audience.
  3. Communicate Defensively.
  4. Repetition is Key.
  5. Use Multiple Channels.
  6. Maintain Channels.
  7. Communicate Early and Often.
  8. Debug Miscommunication.

Will Larson - Constraints on giving feedback.

This post by Will Larson starts with focusing on using feedback and communication to achieve meaningful outcomes. Too much leads to alienation. Smaller deltas are realistic deltas. Don't focus too much on the format but still try to improve.

Also about a 10 minute read - good for pulling up when you feel bored.

Stay SaaSy - The Precise Language of Good Management

A more practical guide with example on how to tighten up language. More data oriented. Be specific and avoid words that can be ambiguous or relative. A good reference.

Goals

Don’t: “That’ll get done next quarter.” Do: “Our target date for that is March 1st.”

Performance assessments

Don’t: “always”, “great”, “unbelievable” Do: “consistently”, “outstanding”, “leader amongst their cohort.”