Modern Business Life - The Blog of Author and Analyst Bradley J. Martin

As I have made mention several times on this blog, I am a HUGE fan of the band U2.  As a songwriter/guitarist myself, I am drawn to the band’s emotional, energetic, and charismatic songs.  Every now and then however, I catch a string of U2 lyrics that are worth discussing in the context of business/self improvement.  This may not be their original intent, but they can be applied to this field none-the-less.  The song titled “Cedars of Lebanon“, from the “No Line on the Horizon” release contains such a line:

“The worst of us are a long drawn out confession, The best of us are geniuses of compression”

I listen to these lyrics, and can not help but think how true this is in the context of business.  There is something very true to be said about being precise with your words, especially when speaking with executives.  Giving extraneous information about something to a business executive, boss, or manager is many times simply uncalled for.  When asked a question about something, choose your words carefully and give the most important information.  Do not give excessive information, as this will simply dilute the the important parts of what you are saying, and your message will be lost. 

Being precise with your words not only makes you appear confident and certain, but they will executives will appreciate you respecting their time.  Have you ever noticed how we tend to babble about something when we are unsure, nervous, or not confident?  It is like we are trying to fill in the holes in our story with more words.  As Bono says, “The worst of us are a long drawn out confession“.

Donald Trump discusses this point in his 2009 book titled, “Think Like a Champion”.  He discussed how he once worked with a promising young associate, but every time Trump asked him for an update about something, he would babble on for ages.  This made Trump dread talking with him, and eventually ended the working relationship.  “The Donald” stressed the importance of getting right to the point. 

Become a “genius of compression”, and answer with additional information only as requested.  Don’t babble, or offer excessive information that will add no value to the conversation.  Executives will thank you for it by continuing to come to you for updates, and it will make you appear to respect everyone else’s time much more.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!