Introducing the “80 Percent Theory of Communication” …
“A leader can transfer no more than 80% of his/her knowledge, standards, or vision through verbal communication.”
80% isn’t horrible. But when the process repeats one rung down the org chart? 80% of 80% = 64%
Ugh!
Next rung. 80% of 64% = 51.2%
Ugh!
With “x” rungs in your org chart? Y = 0.80(x)
Where Y is precisely “why” organizations struggle to maintain standards of sustained superior performance.
Solution? The written word.
If you care about quality and consistency, write it down! Write a policy, a procedure, a memo, an email, or a note on a napkin written with a broken red crayon.
We learned this in kindergarten. Remember the “telephone game”? Lesson learned: verbal communication sucks.
What if the game of telephone was played with a note instead of a whisper? Not much fun, huh?
