Comments

Funny you should mention collaboration.

I received a call from a Client the day before yesterday in the afternoon at 2 to come help her on something. She needed to also get her boss' approval to get me on the job. Well, we made a deal that I would travel to them and it would take a couple of hours of driving, and by then she should have got an answer from her boss (who's on another floor).

Well, I reached there, met her, had coffee and was about to start work with her, when her boss came in to "give his approval" on my working there. He's a friend of mine, and we had a good laugh about their speed of decision making...

Collaboration is indeed what you do and when you do it.. and the when is more important than the what! If you're seen as more responsive than the next guy, and you're going out on a limb for the Client, you stand a better chance of winning work!
...

Posted by Arun Sadhashivan at March 30, 2006 10:49 AM

Timing surely is an essence of most business communications.

Some clients that you have experience with want almost no time consuming contact since they trust you - whereas new clients seem to need frequent project planning-like critical path frequent visits.

Posted by Sean at March 30, 2006 11:35 AM

‘Timing’ is also how I think you get your message across most effectively. I have seen so many people 'jump in' to early - including myself on many occasions! - only to discover that if I had waited a little longer the answer would have presented itself to me. I also think in the ‘politics’ of organisational life that ‘timing’ is an acquired skill possessed by ONLY the most effective leaders. A great subject as usual from you Steve.

Posted by Trevor at March 30, 2006 11:46 AM

TIMING is important almost to anything that we do. One should NEVER 'jump the gun' but instead wait for the perfect 'tag hauer timing' moment to nail down the real issue under consideration. It’s jus the question of time and one must always USE time to one’s advantage rather than let it go by.

Poor timing could lead to a lot of confusion / chaos / embarrassment / shame / humiliation / mayhem / turmoil / anarchy / disorder…u name it & its there! Therefore, it is always important to know that half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.

Posted by K.Sriram at March 31, 2006 1:00 AM

Music as metaphor is so powerful here, thanks Steve.

Often, in the coaching world, I like to talk about the power between the notes. That if there were no silences between them, it wouldn't be music, it would be noise. (The majority of the greatest client growth is in between coaching sessions, not just on the calls themselves. That is if the calls were great to begin with.)

Think of the Beethoven's Fifth or Ninth - I can never remember which without looking - a big part of the greatness of the opening is the 'hang' after the first notes...

Ba na na naaaaa (hang)
Ba na na naaaa (hang)

One interpretation of the hang time (and notes) might seem mundane and fall flat. Another completely transportational.

"When" are you/we/i playing each phrase, in our businesses? Mmm.

Also...in thinking about music, if memory serves, there is a concept called 'attack' which I believe refers to the 'manner in which' a note or piece is played and that also applies to timing.

There is a difference in 'attack' in the Flight of the bumblebees and a lullaby for example...and a difference in timing of phrases in Jazz compared to square dance tunes. If my business sounded like a piece of music, what style, pace and inner rhythm would it have?

Off to set a metronome for my afternoon. ;)

Posted by Andrea J. Lee at March 31, 2006 4:50 PM

Andrea,

That is an amazing observation... Music is heavily influenced by timing -- drama wouldn't be so dramatic, if not for the pauses..

Ideas and actions wouldn't be so groundbreaking if not for an opportune moment.

However, I'd like to stress that "waiting" for an opportune moment is counterproductive.. even in communications.. One needs to communicate and communicate regularly, (without spamming) and stay in the "top of mind" of potential customers. They'll choose their opportune moment or "high note"...

Am I on the right note here or is this verbose cacaphony you all hear??? :-)))))))))))))))

Regards, Arun
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Posted by Arun Sadhashivan at April 1, 2006 1:55 PM

Trevor & K. ... I'll bet you're right, that more communication timing mistakes are made by jumping in too early than too later. Interesting. (Coming in too early means less listening)

Andrea - You're right. The white spaces, the silences, all of the "absences" ... are major parts of the communication. The empty places are as much a part of communication as are the places that aren't empty.

And .. It's Beethoven's 5th. On the timing issue with Beethoven's 5th, I heard Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Symphony, speak a few months ago and he talked about how most people conduct the 5th too slow. He felt Beethoven wanted it faster, and his recording of it at a quick tempo brings out a totally different mood. Again, the timing made a big difference. Listen to it and compare it to another great recording of the 5th (I highly recommend Carlos Kleiber's performance on Deutshe Grammophone with the Vienna Philharmonic) and see how much timing changes the piece. Not better or worse, but different.

Arun ... is more communication always better? Isn't your customer's attention a "rationed good" that needs to be used wisely? How does the difference between one way communicaiton and dialogue factor into your comments?

Posted by Steve Yastrow at April 2, 2006 2:53 AM

As Andrea suggests above, it's not just when you play the notes but also how you play them. I'd add another thought: it's if you play them at all. Sometimes, the gap between the notes (as all presenters as well as musicians can attest) speak volumes.

Posted by Mark JF at April 3, 2006 6:37 AM