In no particular order, here are my thoughts…

Note - sales and listening have their entire own section

<aside> 💡 Principle 1: keep it simple: the real skill is being able to communicate what you need to in as few words as possible, in as basic language as possible

</aside>

• Human attention spans are short, in particular in the world of mobile phones & endless distractions (see article)
• Those who use too many words to explain something often do not understand it. The beauty of communication is using as few words as possible to explain something
• Equally, a lesson from the e-commerce aggregator was to not use jargon when explaining thing e.g. most people do not know what “EBITDA” or “SDE” so simply use “operating profit”
• Models of communication help do this e.g. The Rule of 3, The Pyramid Principle

<aside> 💡 Principle 2: over-communicate.

</aside>

• Lesson from founder of the Propetch company I worked at who over-communicated rather than under-communicated on everything that was going on, even on “sensitive” topics such as fundraising which made people feel far more part of the journey & managed their expectations
• Note - this goes hand-in-hand with sharing the concept that often decisions made higher up are done with more context so disagree & commit (lesson from CEO of US e-commerce company I worked at)

<aside> 💡 Principle 3: start with why; “context is key”

</aside>

• “People don’t buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it.” - Simon Sinek
• The most effective leaders always win the heart first, and then the mind. And the only chance you have to win the heart if you start with WHY
  • This is CONTEXT - it applies to when somebody has just joined the company, to when we’re asking people to do things in a certain way e.g. at the Proptech company I was at, telling customers the story of WHY the founder started the company or doing the same in onboarding

<aside> 💡 Principle 4: repetition is key. Repetition is key. Repetition is key.

</aside>

• Lesson from founder of the Propetch company I worked at; “The bigger risk is not being clear, not of repeating yourself"
• Repetition can be annoying, so just tell people you’re going to repeat yourself and why...(the reason above)