31 COMMUNICATION ISSUE Communication in the 21st Century is more than R&D JERRY SENK President Equipment Manufacturers International, Inc. ARTICLE TAKEAWAYS: • How to get R&D projects off the ground with data • A company’s dedication to improvement requires buy-in from the top • Every project must have a written goal and plan Communication is probably the most general term ever defined. From the first time Alexander Gram Bell first uttered “Mary has a little lamb” which started in-person communication at a spooky distance. The art of the sale we all understand to be communication. Countries safety, and prevention of conflict rely on this most important tenet of humanity. How many personal conflicts have started with the simple phrase “What did you say?” In today’s marketing world, it’s almost more important that you don’t say something. When we try to define this, is this the old-fashioned pick up the phone, walk down and speak in person, text, WhatsApp, post, email, spread sheets, Gantt chart, Facebook, Twitter, Tic Tok or You Tube channels of communication? Maybe sooner than later our Doppelganger AI substitute will be running the show as we are off on a much-needed vacation. Over the years, when polling our employees on how we can improve our operations, the number 1 answers is always to improve “Communication.” When you have almost unlimited methods to communicate, it really comes down to what information you actually put into a pipeline. I would venture to guess that most companies are internally wired with fiber optic like channels of communication when it comes to important things like golf outings, office romance and bonus pools. So, the hardwired communication infrastructure is clearly present in companies, yet the employees clamor for ‘more communication.’ All companies are set up on a pyramid of hierarchy. Starts at the top, and trickles down to the bottom, is the foundation of every company. We love to say that the buck stops at the top, but we know that this is not quite how a dam works. But doesn’t that interconnecting hierarchy have the capability to work in both directions? There should be no- check-valves between layers to restrict the free flow of information. Information—must be the equivalent of electrons running through the conduit of communication. What other purpose, other than sharing your weekend follies with coworkers over a cup of coffee could be the point of setting up such an elaborate and effective system. In order to perform to the best of our abilities, we must know the goal. And in order to achieve a goal, and not redefine it into a dream, we need a plan. And in order to effectively execute this plan, we need to know what the plan is. One of the greatest litmus tests for companies to understand the overall effectiveness of their communication is when the company engages on an R&D project. The R&D efforts are put into practice in manufacturing companies worldwide. Yet, how many of these efforts end in success, and not in a corner collecting dust, and providing a clerical write-off? How do we start an R&D project? Where does this impetus come from? A shop floor assembler gets the courage to tell their engineers how archaic a design or assembly is? Does the new engineer after reviewing hundreds of designs embedded in the old adage of “That’s how we always have done it” suggest an out-of-the-box grand scheme? The sales guy during a three-martini lunch (old days) comes back with feedback from Continued on next page
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