Communication and collaboration are the keys that unlock the doors to our success. 

When we are talking with another person, personally or professionally, do we think they know everything we know? Just because someone is shaking their head in a nonchalant agreement, it does not mean they understand what we are saying as clearly as we might want them to understand us. If what we are saying has value, we need to communicate clearly with ourselves and our audience. Even if our audience is just a best friend from our past school days or our spouse. 

OK, sure, we go to happy hour on Friday afternoon, we are enjoying our favorite beverage and we may not be as clear in our conversation as we think we are! It is simply happy hour. Everyone is laughing and nodding their heads in agreement so everyone understands, right? Hmm, No.

I am not saying that happy hour is not an enjoyable time to talk but we must remember that what we say, even during happy hours, can be remembered on Monday morning by someone that is listening, including our best friends, and the whole point of what we said can be taken out of context.

At the office or during a meeting or at home, how well do we understand the person that is speaking? Too many people in leadership positions think the audience understands what they are saying when they, themselves, are not clear on their points. 

Let me break it down. If someone is talking to us one on one or in a meeting with others, or at happy hour, and we are not clear on what they are saying, what do we do? Most of the time, we continue to nod our head as if we understand and then attempt to complete whatever was asked, or requested, with gaps in our understanding.  

Too many times, these gaps, the lack of communication and understanding, creates issues with co-workers, our best of friends and spouses. What can we do to eliminate issues, personally or professionally, that might be creating those gaps that must be addressed later by building a bridge over the gap we created? 

One fun way to think about our conversations is to BID-WID-RID-GID™! We can Break It Down, Write It Down, Review Its Dependencies and Get It Done! 

Ok, first, do I do this consistently when I am just talking with my old high school friend at happy hour? No! 😁🤣 UNLESS the person I am talking with has expectations from me later.

For example, if my best friend wants me to do something as simple as talk to another one of our friends about an issue or accomplishing a GOTRA™ (Goal, Objective, Task, Responsibility or Accountability), then I want to be clear about my friend’s expectations. 

I can quickly ask my friend to Break It Down (BID™). What are the issues, items or steps that are most important to my friend for us to create success? 

Next, Write It Down (WID™). If you do not have a physical pen and paper, send yourself a text on your mobile phone using voice to text. It is better to take a minute to write the details down in some way than to forget about them later and miss a crucial step. The missed step may be the most important item or step to your friend, or boss or spouse! 

Are there dependencies in this request? Do you need someone or something else to complete the request? If so, review them. Review Its Dependencies (RID™). This can be an enjoyable time to clarify dependencies and, if any of them are large enough, the dependency may be another full request that also needs to be broken down and written down. 

Once you have the request, or issue, broken down, written down and the dependencies logged, it is time to Get It Done (GID™)!

This is the most fun! Once you have an issue or problem broken down into an achievable GOTRA, each step can be completed and quickly shown as done. Don’t we all feel better when we accomplish a goal or objective?

Each one of those steps that you complete show you are completing your, or their, top priority. Each step can show beneficial progress. The communication and collaboration that you have completed by Breaking It Down, Writing It Dwon, Reviewing Its Dependencies and Getting It Done have unlocked another door to your success.

Once you have unlocked another door of success, you can now open that door and walk though it while standing tall as you are ready to accept credit and congratulations during the next business meeting or happy hour! 

If you, or someone you know, is encountering roadblocks with completing their goals or objectives and would like to learn more about transforming the challenges of today into a better tomorrow, please schedule time with me immediately. I coach and collaborate with individuals, parents, groups, corporations and enterprises as a Sr. Transformational Coach to develop new habits and sustainable improvements as we resolve issues by creating solutions at home, in the office and socially.  

I would also be honored to speak at your next event on “Achieving Unity: It is not Rocket Science; we can stay grounded.” I want to collaborate with you to speak to as many Associations, Corporations and Colleges/Universities as possible. Do you, or someone you know, schedule speaking events? Please let me know.

I am looking forward to talking with you today at 303-362-8733 (303-Focused) or another communication channel that works best for you. 

Email: [email protected] 

Website: http://www.AchievingUnity.com/ 

Calendar: https://www.Calendly.com/MarkEntrekin 

Today is yours. Make it awesome. Achieve your priorities today, personally and professionally.