Three Buckets
The meeting was dragging on and on. The leader was notorious for going off point, blurting out random ideas, and rambling. Their stream of consciousness approach resulted in few decisions being made and issues left unresolved. Worse, participants lost interest and tuned out. Sound familiar? We’ve all been in those meetings.
Disciplined communication, according to Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase CEO, is a leadership skill all employees should master. Failure to do so can lead to poor management decisions. Influential leaders structure their thinking and communication intentionally and organize their ideas beforehand.
Dimon is on to something. Exercising discipline in communicating forces an individual to take their time, organize their thoughts, think and talk more clearly, and sharpen their arguments—or concerns—before expressing them. The outcome—faster and smarter decision making.
The article caught my attention on a day I was preparing for a podcast interview. I never like to go into these interviews cold if I can avoid it.
The most successful interviews often involve questions provided in advance, so you are not caught off-guard. Many have a theme to them providing a similar advantage—an opportunity to organize your thinking beforehand and have some talking points in mind.
The rule of three. A framework that Dimon suggests for organizing your thinking is the rule of three. You present three options and weigh each before making a choice. This is a timeless rule of persuasive communication because people process, remember, and act on information that is organized into three structured buckets.
Not all communication is for the purpose of making a decision. Often communication—whether it’s oral or written—takes place for informational purposes only. Regardless the reason, breaking information into specific, structured categories or buckets makes sense. It keeps the information on point and well organized and the recipients stay interested and engaged.
It is hard to refute organized and carefully crafted information, especially if persuasion is the goal. Structured information strengthens the individual’s position.
Takeaway: Sloppy communication reflects sloppy thinking and leadership whereas disciplined communication leads to better decisions, earns trust, and inspires confidence.