Clever Geek Handbook
5 March 2026

e-Learning 2.0

Recommendation

Training consultant Anita Rosen designed her book to resemble one of the “asynchronous e-learning courses” she describes within its pages. Her presentation on e-learning is exceptionally clear and is filled with very strong content. Rosen explains that you can’t make many of the decisions involved in developing e-learning courses too far in advance, because technology is changing so quickly and new tools are emerging constantly. That said, she does a great job of methodically covering the major aspects of e-learning. She explains current principles and practices, and sums them up at the end of the book in a guide for “subject matter experts” who design e-learning courses. BooksInShort recommends this book to corporate trainers, academic distance-learning developers, and anyone else who makes decisions about training.

Take-Aways

  • Both large corporations and small businesses can benefit from e-learning programs.
  • E-learning requires you to conceive and organize training in a new way.
  • E-learning can cut training expenses.
  • To organize e-learning, use the same principles that you use to organize Web sites.
  • “Synchronous e-learning” takes place in real-time. It works best for teaching material at a specific time or with a specific teacher.
  • “Asynchronous e-learning” students can access the course material and study without a guide. This learning works best for a workforce dispersed in time or space.
  • Web 2.0 technologies allow very specialized, personalized e-learning courses.
  • Too many graphics and audios can distract e-learning students.
  • Use short videos to explain and demonstrate how to do specific tasks.
  • To enhance learning, use graphics and multimedia functionally and legally, according to copyright rules.

Summary

The Advantages of E-Learning

Corporations are always looking for new and better ways to deliver training, and even small businesses want to find ways to keep their staffs up-to-date. E-learning offers powerful possibilities for both groups. Once you develop an e-learning program, it is always available. Participants don’t have to retain as much content as they do in a traditional classroom setting, because they can always review the course to refresh their memories. Trainers can develop courses that meet specific corporate needs or audiences.

“For more than a decade, e-learning has been touted as the next big thing in training. Yet most organizations are still trying to figure out how to make it work.”

Calculating the return on investment for an e-learning course is relatively easy: Compare the cost of developing the e-learning course (plus technical support costs) to the cost of the in-person training it would replace. Often, an e-learning course works out cheaper. Before engaging your firm in e-learning training, set definite, concrete goals that you want the training to achieve within a given time parameter. An example of such a specific goal is to “move 50% of all training courses to the Internet within eight quarters.”

The Five Stages of Technology Acceptance

Once you’ve identified your goals, evaluate them for feasibility, prioritize them and integrate them into your “existing organizational goals” as well as into your corporate communication patterns. Make sure the trainers, “subject matter experts” (SMEs) and employees who will use the training all support the training’s format and goals.

“Many organizations stop after identifying their goals and then don’t understand why their initiative doesn’t meet their expectations.”

Anticipate communication problems – they occur in any training situation. Managers want to implement training from the “top-down” and tend to look for broad solutions. They focus too much on the end-goal without providing guidelines on how to reach that destination. Trainers have the opposite problem: They get so involved in the finer details of creating an e-learning program that they lose sight of the final goal. To succeed, “all levels of the organization need to communicate using a shared vocabulary.”

“A Web course is a subset of a Web site.”

The introduction of new technology proceeds in five stages. In the past, corporate Web sites passed through each of these stages; e-learning is passing through them now:

  1. “Denial” – People resist new technology. Today, some organizations still rebuff the notion that they need e-learning.
  2. “Outsourcing” – People admit the change might be useful and hire outside experts to implement contained solutions. Some organizations admit e-learning might help them and hire course developers, or buy “generic courses” or software that allegedly enables them to implement e-learning immediately.
  3. “PowerPoint” – Managers include the new development in their presentations and budgets to show they’re on board.
  4. “Execution” – Now managers must actually act on their plans to use the new technology. Sometimes this stage looks the same as outsourcing, except that the organization has brought e-learning in-house.
  5. “Integration” – Everyone accepts the trend as the “expected way of doing business.” The organization uses e-learning easily and well. The firm’s management values the training and the experience learners gain in the process. It tries various approaches to find what works best. Everyone involved understands how e-learning differs from traditional training. It doesn’t stop with the answers that are easiest for the trainers or with course designs that are “creator-centric.”

E-Learning Design

E-learning depends on the Internet, and the rules governing Web site design apply to e-learning as well. For example:

  • The interface should be clear, clean and easy to use.
  • Users should be able to retrieve the information they need “within three clicks.”
  • The Web site should support “global navigation.” These are the buttons that feature on every page, for example, to access the home page. Designers should also facilitate “local navigation” by creating tools that allow users to glide smoothly through an individual page on the site, such as the scroll function.
  • The Web site should be “sticky,” giving visitors reasons to stay, and “ping-pong,” motivating visitors to bounce back to it.
  • Use HTML and XML to make content readable on a range of browsers.
  • Compress files and break them up so content loads quickly.
  • The design of the Web site should match that of your company’s brand.
  • The Web site should enable users to provide feedback.

“Synchronous” and “Asynchronous” E-Learning

E-learning programs can be either synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous e-learning takes place in real time. It is similar to traditional in-person training, and the trainer and students can provide one another with immediate feedback. Synchronous e-learning is appropriate when the content is “time sensitive” or “personality bound,” and depends on a particular context or speaker.

“Learners have no more patience than anyone else.”

Developing a synchronous e-learning program is easy. It may involve little more than distributing existing PowerPoint material and adding two-way communication. However, trainers don’t receive the “nonverbal feedback” they would receive in a traditional in-person class, and they miss nuances. Learners, meanwhile, are less likely to become deeply engaged or to collaborate.

“Interestingly, people rarely try to minimize the time it takes for learners to take training. Rather, they are more interested in minimizing the time it takes for course creators to create it.”

In asynchronous learning, the content is available on the Internet for students to access at will, and students determine the pace of their e-learning. Asynchronous training is especially useful for organizations with widely dispersed workforces, for organizations such as hospitals who must “constantly train and retrain employees,” and for firms that depend on volunteers or workers with shifting schedules.

“The most difficult aspect for a trainer giving synchronous e-learning is the lack of nonverbal feedback. Giving such a course is like talking to yourself.”

Asynchronous learning has two categories, “traditional e-learning” and rapid “e-learning.” In traditional e-learning, the content is preset and doesn’t change. Generally, it has a “long shelf-life.” Usually, these courses require large budgets, and presentation techniques include “simulations or 3D models.” However, often specialists produce these kinds of courses, and their interactions with your SMEs may be complicated.

“There are no absolute rules about which companies are better suited to rapid e-learning than for traditional e-learning.”

“Rapid e-learning” courses, with content you can continually update, use words alone for communication and are inexpensive. Just one or two people working for a few days can develop such courses. Rapid e-learning courses are appropriate for short-term situations, such as training staff to address a specific new problem. They also work in situations when the content “already exists in some other format” and you just need to adapt it for presentation.

The Possibilities of Web 2.0

Web 2.0 refers to these trends, which are coming together to increase personalization and specialization online:

  • “Application services” – Services that don’t live on your computer but rather elsewhere on the Internet. They replace or run alongside applications on your own machine.
  • “The Long Tail” – Online services such as Netflix, which serve niche markets. Learners in this category “don’t fall into the training department’s core market or [are] traditionally hard-to-reach learners.”
  • “Mashups” – Combinations of existing applications to create something new.
“No single tool can be used to create all the different elements found in e-learning.”

Web 2.0 provides these new services:

  • “RSS (rich site summary)” – Enables interested users to subscribe to Web sites. They receive notifications when new content appears. RSS is useful for online learning, because it enables learners to receive regular updates.
  • “Podcasts” – Audio and video broadcasts formatted for digital delivery, often to an iPod or similar device. These add new dimensions to e-learning.
“In the living, breathing, continuously changing page found on consumer social networking sites, acceptance among adults, as in the business world, is restrained and cautious.”

The flexibility of Web 2.0 services enables you to offer training sessions as short as 15 minutes, which you can distribute on smartphones as well as traditional computers (assuming your designers use graphics viewable on any platform and understand users’ phone practices).

Organizing an E-Learning Course

The average user needs one minute to read a page of content. Divide courses into 15–20 page blocks, which equal 15–20 minute units. Organize courses on four levels:

  1. Level 1: “Course” – A course outline is especially important for asynchronous learners, who won’t have a trainer at hand to guide them. Provide a “frame of reference,” such as a set of objectives.
  2. Level 2: “Chapters” – Provide a “services bar” that makes moving between sections of the course easy.
  3. Level 3: “Pages” – Each page should consist of a summary and “bulleted points,” in a format that is easy to read online. Include optional links to additional material.
  4. Level 4: “Subpages” – Include “drill-down” activities to reinforce learning, such as exercises, movies or supplemental reading. At this level you can personalize the course according to user needs.
“No one knows what the Web will look like in 10 years. Nor do we know what social phenomenon will push the Web in a new direction.”

For course navigation, provide both a tour that guides users through the entire course in a stream, and a “step-by-step” approach that lets users view each component, as in a flow chart.

Simulations provide active illustrations of course concepts, but they can be expensive to develop. Many trainers let their enthusiasm carry them away, putting in simulations because they are fun or impressive, rather than because they really support course goals.

“The advent of a technology does not mean that the old is bad and the new is good.”

Tests are an essential and often inexpensive element of good e-learning courses. Good tests engage learners, stimulate their thinking, reinforce retention of material, consolidate the stages of a course and prepare learners to continue. Tests tell managers which employees have completed the course, how well they’ve mastered the material and how well the course works.

Using Images and Sound

Poorly used images distract learners and slow their progress. Graphics come in a range of formats. The more colors and the higher the resolution, the slower the image will load. Reduce file size, resolution and colors whenever possible. Follow copyright law: Never take images from someone else’s Web site without permission, and if you photograph your employees, ask them to sign waivers. Placing images on the right side of the page makes processing the page easier, since English-speakers read left to right.

“One of the biggest mistakes course creators make is to try to make their courses more interesting just by adding simulations or games that do not directly support the learning objective.”

Use sound sparingly. Audio can be distracting, and most learners retain less from an audio format. Because having students read a passage themselves is faster than having a speaker read it to them, adding audio narration slows a course down. Video adds more than audio. Use short videos to give visual explanations and demonstrate how to do specific tasks.

Evaluating an E-Learning Course

The design of your course should enable you to use and reuse it, to rearrange the contents, to provide learners access at any time and to convert it easily from one format to another. Evaluate the “learning management system (LMS)” you choose according to how well it achieves these goals. Beyond that, choose your system based on your organization’s needs and what you want students to do. For example, will they be allowed to take tests repeatedly? If so, do later results overwrite earlier ones? Finally, make sure the LMS you select satisfies the Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements, so all employees can participate.

About the Author

Anita Rosen is president of ReadyGo Inc. and author of several books, including eCommerce a Question and Answer Book.

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e-Learning 2.0

Book e-Learning 2.0

Proven Practices and Emerging Technologies to Achieve Real Results

AMACOM,
 


5 March 2026

Procrastination

Recommendation

Approaching unwelcome tasks with an “I’ll do it tomorrow” mindset is not unusual behavior. The problem is, tomorrow quickly becomes today, so the procrastinator sets a new tomorrow goal. This tomorrow goal eventually becomes a next week goal, then a next month goal, then a next year goal – that is, a never goal. Time runs out for everyone, but it does so far more quickly for procrastinators. If you procrastinate, do you know why? Psychologists Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen outline the reasons and roots of procrastination. More importantly, they show you how to fix your vexing, life-sapping procrastination problem. BooksInShort suggests that anyone who procrastinates should buy this book. Now would be fine.

Take-Aways

  • Procrastination is the result of a mix of biological, emotional and experiential factors.
  • It can stem from poor self-confidence, lack of self-esteem or fear of failure.
  • Procrastinators often associate negative feelings with tasks they don’t like.
  • Though the tasks may be benign, procrastinators avoid them to dodge their depressed feelings.
  • Most procrastinators are unrealistic about how long tasks take.
  • To avoid procrastination, break projects into discrete steps and set short-term daily goals.
  • Routinely reward yourself as you proceed from step to step.
  • Adjust your goals or deadlines if you cannot achieve your objectives in a timely manner.
  • A “perfect” time to do something never exists. Just do it.
  • Ultimately, you are in charge of your life and your time. Make a conscious choice not to procrastinate – on a task-by-task basis.

Summary

Procrastination Isn’t a Laziness Issue

One in four adults tends to put things off until "tomorrow." Usually it does not stem from laziness, irresponsibility or lack of discipline. It comes from fear, emotion, lack of self-esteem, perfectionism, catastrophic thinking and even poor upbringing. Life’s challenges scare procrastinators, so they delay to shield themselves. This fear-generated thinking prevents them from moving ahead. Procrastination can involve unhelpful biological factors, including genetic inheritance, an inadequate sense of time or “wishful thinking.” Many procrastinators have mistaken ideas, such as, “I have to be perfect.” “Everything I do should go easily.” “I must avoid being challenged.” “It’s safer to do nothing than to take a risk and fail.” “If I do well this time, I must always do well.” Such all-or-nothing thinking constitutes the “Procrastinator’s Code.”

“Because procrastinators compromise their well-being in many ways, procrastination has serious consequences for health.”

People who fear life or are unsure of their abilities tend to avoid challenges by delaying them so they don’t have to deal with external – or internal – criticism if they fail. After all, you can’t mess up if you never try. Procrastinators are often perfectionists who cannot tolerate doing something wrong. They believe if you fail at a task, you fail as a human being. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” becomes “Nothing ventured, nothing failed.”

“The emotional roots of procrastination involve inner feelings, fears, hopes, memories, dreams, doubts and pressures.”

Procrastination even creates its own convenient reasons for failure: “I started the project late, so I didn’t have enough time for it. Therefore, my failure to complete it doesn’t count.” Such thinking allows procrastinators to see themselves as capable individuals who just never have enough time to perform up to their potential (because they always put things off). And yet, they feel like failures when they are unable to complete projects on time or up to standards. Procrastinators are motivated by another common, subtle and difficult to identify phobia – fear of achievement. This often manifests itself in these flawed mindsets:

  • “Competition” – When you compete (by doing something well and on time), you showcase your ambition. Avoid the spotlight.
  • “Commitment phobia” – If you proceed steadily toward your goal, you are liable to achieve it. What then? Are you sure this is what you really want?
  • “I’ll turn into a workaholic” – “If I stop fooling around, I will always have to work hard. I don’t want that.”
  • “Success is dangerous: Somebody always gets hurt” – Complete tasks on time and people may think you want to show off. So you lose. Or those who don’t accomplish what you do feel bad about their efforts and may retaliate in some way against you. So you also lose. If you always lose when you win, why win at all?
  • “I don’t deserve success” – “I was a rotten kid,” or “I am a bad adult.” Therefore, I deserve to suffer by being late.
  • “What if I’m too perfect?” – “I’ll make people jealous if I do well. I don’t want that.”
“Many people who procrastinate are apprehensive about being judged by others or by the critic who dwells within.”

Procrastinators are often control freaks who don’t like to be pushed. They tend to dig in their heels like stubborn mules when people expect them to do something on time. Typical thinking: “The electric bill is late? Fine. I’ll pay it when I’m good and ready.” Or, “My new client wants me to call her at 4 p.m. Who is she to dictate when I call her?” The procrastinator may respond unconsciously by just not calling until 4:15 p.m. Or, “I have asked my husband 10 times to clean out the garage, but he never does. I’m tired of begging him to do it.” The wife’s unconscious response to this conflict may be to hang back and be tardy when she and her husband go out. Procrastinators often are late out of a need to express their autonomy.

“We are more likely to pursue goals that are pleasurable and that we are likely to attain...and we will most likely procrastinate any tasks that are unpleasant in the present and offer recompense only in the distant future.” (Piers Steel, psychologist)

Some procrastinators exhibit their independence in relationships, including their fear of “being too close or too far away,” by not accomplishing things on time. For example, some individuals find it difficult to function well unless they have close friends or family members immediately available for help at all times. Others cause trouble by procrastinating as an S.O.S. to solicit assistance. Some people fear intimacy and connections. They procrastinate to keep others at a distance. For example, they are always late to meet friends because they worry that being on time will tie them too closely to other people. Procrastinators often don’t work to establish healthy – indeed, essential – boundaries in their most intimate, important relationships.

The Time Enigma, Neuroscience, Emotions and Upbringing

Even for philosophers and scientists, time is not concrete. Aristotle questioned if time even exists if people are not around to mark it. For Einstein, time was a muddle in which the past, present and future were mere illusions. Procrastinators have their own markedly different sense of time. Indeed, many procrastinators seem to regard clock time as beneath them. For some procrastinators, 7: 00 sharp means 7:10 or 7:20 or even later. Many procrastinators engage in “future discounting.” For example, since small children won’t need to go to college for many years, some parents don’t consider it important to start saving now. However, since the big game is on TV this weekend, they feel compelled to run out and buy a giant-screen television. Procrastinators must work with time so that it works for them.

“People who procrastinate may suffer internal consequences, feelings that range from irritation and regret to intense self-condemnation and despair.”

Procrastination has a neurological component. People who suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), chronic stress, sleep disorders or executive dysfunction (inability to coordinate thoughts and feelings with goal-directed actions) may also be procrastinators. The brain, an ever-changing biological entity, constantly builds new neural connections and disengages old ones. If you do something repeatedly (for example, if you are always late), the brain reorganizes itself to make this neurological action your “default” behavior. On the contrary, if you improve your tardiness, the brain will develop new neural pathways to establish punctuality as your default mode.

“You have a choice. You can delay or you can act.”

For whatever reasons (some tracing back to childhood), many procrastinators associate painful emotions, negative thoughts or sad memories with certain tasks, so they put those chores off, even if they involve activities that most people would find pleasant and perfectly enjoyable.

Your parents’ influence may be partly to blame for your procrastination. As a child, did they insist that you meet unrealistically high expectations? Do you constantly feel burdened to meet such lofty standards today? If so, do you assume the burden of too many tasks and responsibilities, making it impossible to achieve everything on time?

“Get your ideas and plans out of your head and down in writing in a place that works for you.”

Or did your parents always undermine you, making you feel like a failure before you even began working toward a goal? If these feelings carry over into your adult life, they may explain why you put things off, perhaps believing deep down that you can’t accomplish anything anyway. Procrastination can, in effect, be hardwired in your brain by your upbringing.

Overcoming Procrastination

If procrastination is a major problem in your life, you may be addressing your internal and external pressures with a flawed defense mechanism that has deep psychological roots. Most people procrastinate because of four primary factors:

  1. “Low confidence” – Choose realistic objectives that you can definitely accomplish.
  2. “Task aversiveness” – Just because you don’t like a task doesn’t make it onerous. You may fear the negative feelings tied up with the task. Deal with those emotions and you may enjoy the tasks you delayed. If not, set specific time limits to get the task done.
  3. “The goal or reward is too far away” – Establish work intervals for all long-range tasks and reward yourself in some way at each interval.
  4. “Difficulties in self-regulation” – You stand a better chance of attaining goals in a timely manner when your mind and body are relaxed.
“You do not have to be perfect to be of value.”

Give the following techniques an honest chance. Don’t expect to change overnight – change is a process, not an event. If you don’t achieve what you want right away, don’t give up. Try again.

  • Choose a “behavioral goal” – Clearly define your objectives. Not: “I will stop procrastinating,” instead: “I will prepare the marketing report by June 1.”
  • Don’t aim too high at the start – Begin with one goal at a time. This goal should be “minimally acceptable,” not lofty, ambitious or difficult-to-reach. Not: “I will lose 75 pounds.” Rather: “I will lose two pounds this week.” Be flexible. Maybe two pounds is too ambitious – be prepared to adjust your goals.
  • “Make a public commitment” – Use family, friends and even Internet support groups to commit to change. Look for help and support online.
  • “Optimize your chances” – If your goal is to write a novel, don’t try to work in a noisy lunchroom or beside a blaring TV. Find a work space that works for and not against you.
  • “Break your goal down into small, specific mini-goals” – Huge enterprises can be foreboding, so break goals down into a series of discrete, manageable tasks. List all necessary steps. Start with those you can quickly complete so you achieve positive results from the start. Build from there.
  • “Visualize your progress” – If positive imagery works for athletes and entertainers, it can work for you, too. See yourself achieving the steps to your goal, as well as the goal itself.
  • “Don’t wait until you feel like it” – You may never feel like it. Plunge in anyway.
  • “Be realistic (rather than wishful) about time” – Procrastinators tend to minimize the time that tasks and activities take. Inevitably, things take longer than anticipated, so set realistic deadlines and allow yourself time to meet them.
  • “Just get started” – “Little by little” should be the procrastinator’s philosophy. Take one step at a time. Not: “I must finish this job now.” Instead: “What is my first step?”
  • “Use the next 15 minutes” – No matter how much you hate a task, you should be able to do it for 15 minutes. With numerous 15-minute work sessions, you can accomplish a great deal. Not: “I can only spend 15 minutes on this, so I won’t bother to start.” Instead: “I can do something worthwhile in 15 minutes.”
  • Expect setbacks – In life, things seldom go smoothly. Expect roadblocks and obstacles, but don’t let them stop you. Keep moving forward.
  • Delegate – If someone else can do a portion of the job, assign the task out. And ask yourself: “Is it vital to complete this task?” If not, dump it.
  • Guard your time – Sometimes, it’s best to say “no” if people ask you to do things.
  • Plan your time wisely – Don’t set a goal of 30 minutes of exercise in the morning if you’re not a morning person. Set yourself up to achieve goals, not to fail at them.
  • Avoid excuses – Stop making excuses about never getting anything done on time. Not: “I am really worried, anxious and depressed, so I’m not going to work.” Instead: “I am exhausted, so I will work for 15 minutes then take a quick break.”
  • Reward yourself – “Focus on effort, not outcome.” Not: “I won’t stop until I complete this job.” Instead: “I am moving ahead nicely. So, I’ll take a break, have a nice lunch, nap for 20 minutes and then start again.”
  • Look beyond the procrastination – When you procrastinate, ask yourself why. Get in touch with your feelings. Feelings are often everything to procrastinators. Learn what is really going on inside. Not: “I hate myself because I procrastinate.” Instead: “Why do I feel the need to procrastinate right now? What is this really all about?”
  • If you suffer from ADHD or executive dysfunction – Keep track of your immediate tasks with visual reminders, such as Post-It notes and lists. Your brain works faster than others’, so “think like a waiter.” Focus on one task, then the next. Stay on track.

Breaking Free from Procrastination

The choices you make are your own. This means that “you can delay or you can act.” So act, even if you feel strange or uncomfortable. Put away the Procrastinator’s Code. Adopt a different, constructive standard – a “Freedom From Procrastination Code.” Some of its most important tenets include: “It is not possible to be perfect.” “Making an effort is a good thing.” “Failure is not dangerous.” “Challenge will help me grow.” And, “the real failure is not living.”

“Got everything done. Died anyway.” (Epitaph)

Life is about taking risks. You may fail. You may do well. Whatever happens, at least you are moving gallantly ahead. No one can ask you to do more. Don’t hide behind the false protection of procrastination. Put this flawed tactic aside and engage with the world around you. Make your life as relevant and meaningful as possible. Start today – not tomorrow, next week, next month or next year. Come what may, it’s time to live your life fully.

About the Authors

Jane B. Burka, Ph.D., and Lenora M. Yuen, Ph.D., are psychologists who organized the first U.S. procrastination treatment group at the University of California at Berkeley.

Read summary...
Procrastination

Book Procrastination

Why You Do It, What to Do About It

Da Capo Press,
First Edition:1983
 


5 March 2026

Authentic Conversations

Recommendation

A simple, honest conversation has the power to change the way your staff members think and even to shape your corporate culture. Effective work environments encourage employees to act according to their individual sense of responsibility and to pull together to make the business as good as it can be. This beats ordering people to do their best, then watching them like a hawk to make sure they don’t make mistakes. To promote a spirit of accountability among your staff members, communication and corporate-culture experts Jamie and Maren Showkeir recommend engaging them in “authentic conversations” and avoiding the parent-child discourses common in many firms. In this thoughtful, inspiring book, they explain how to foster positive conversations. BooksInShort recommends it to all leaders, from top executives to human resources professionals, supervisors and coaches.

Take-Aways

  • Be honest and direct when you communicate with people; don’t manipulate them.
  • Having an “authentic conversation” is challenging, but it is worth the extra effort.
  • Managers often talk to their employees using a parental tone, as if their staff members were children.
  • This absolves workers of individual responsibility and accountability.
  • Conversations shape reality; they can reinforce or alter the meaning of events.
  • Executives often assume that their value statements define the corporate culture, but hallway, shop floor and water cooler conversations are far more influential.
  • “Inauthentic conversations” at work can quickly kill change initiatives.
  • Workplace command-and-control structures rob employees of choice, dampen individual initiative, and breed resentment and cynicism.
  • Allowing your people to think for themselves and make their own decisions helps them feel more committed to the organization.
  • Authentic conversations depend on sincerity, openness, hopefulness and goodwill.

Summary

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say

A large U.S. East Coast newspaper was experiencing the problems that confront many major newspapers: increasing costs, decreasing circulation and shrinking ad revenues. Workers feared layoffs. Morale was at an all-time low. The publisher scheduled a series of small-group meetings with employees. His message: “We will get re-established. We will develop new strategies to build circulation and advertising.” Translation: “Don’t worry, I’m going to make you safe.”

“Being accountable, motivated and committed is a choice people make, not a mandate with which they comply.”

Unfortunately, despite his good motives, the publisher was delivering the wrong message to his troubled workers. He was not being straight with them. Instead, he was trying to assume responsibility for them, or caretaking, an all-too-common management tactic. Plus, by taking it upon himself to promise to save the sinking ship, the publisher was relieving the employees of any responsibility to help make things better. In effect, he was treating them like children.

“Change the conversation, change the culture.”

The business consultants who explained this to the publisher told him that his communication style was actually making things worse. They advised him to quit sugarcoating reality, since he probably could not single-handedly provide a rosy professional future for his workers. The consultants recommended that the publisher tell his staff members that they would all have to pitch in to turn things around. In short, they advised him to engage in “authentic conversations” with his employees.

“We have all grown up in a culture where conversation is often viewed as a tool for getting what we want, for winning others over to our point of view.”

Showing character and courage, the publisher met with the newspaper’s employees again, this time in one large group and with a starkly different message. He told them that his earlier statement that he would solve the business’s problems was a false claim and not helpful at all. He explained the company’s dilemmas and said everyone at the paper would have to cooperate to address them. He then asked the workers to assume responsibility for their work-related anxieties and emotions.

“Messages are transmitted both in the words we use and in the relationship dynamics that drive how we talk to each other.”

Afterward, his staff members rose from their seats and applauded the publisher. Someone from the executive suite had finally spoken to them as adults and not as children. The publisher had shown them respect by dealing with them in a relevant, honest manner. It was a groundbreaking moment for the employees – and for the publisher.

“Conversations Create Culture”

Conversations are incredibly important. They are the building blocks people use to communicate their versions of reality, and to extend invitations to share their visions of how things are or should be. These exchanges can reinforce or alter the meaning of events. They possess a remarkable potential to define corporate culture, the “shared basic assumptions” within an organization. If the conversations in your company are positive and hopeful, your corporate culture will be, too. If they are negative and cynical, they will have a harmful impact on how your employees think.

“Organizations have been built on the notion that people must be held accountable and that someone else is in charge of doing that.”

Conversations inside your organization also shape issues of responsibility and accountability. In companies with a command-and-control management style, communication is often stilted. It tends to resemble parent-child discourse. For example, an employee might say, “When my boss tells me to do something, even if it doesn’t make sense to me, I don’t push back.” Or, “When my morale is low, it’s management’s job to figure out what’s wrong, and fix it.”

“In today’s demanding business environment, an entrenched parent-child culture in the workplace won’t lead to the best results.”

In contrast, an empowered employee might say, “When I see something is wrong, I want to solve it. I am expected to attend to it and I am accountable for it.” This sense of mutual responsibility can exist only in a business that values and champions these principles:

  • “Business literacy” – Every employee in the firm understands “the business of the business” and knows what to prioritize to help the company. Each individual comprehends his or her role in ensuring that the organization prospers.
  • “Choice” – Employees can make independent decisions “in service to the business and customers” without having to get approval from many levels of management.
  • “Accountability” – Employees feel responsible for the actions they take on behalf of the business, and they accept the consequences.
“Cynicism breeds harmful negativity.”

Because conversations are so influential, the wrong kind can quickly damage or kill any change initiative. Don’t assume that what executives say to each other in boardrooms, auditoriums or meetings rooms, or what they post on company bulletin boards, determines the scope of corporate discourses. The most powerful exchanges take place in bathrooms, on factory floors, in hallways, in restaurants, at bars after work and in other informal settings. These conversations define your firm’s culture. To have a positive impact on how people think and act at your company, foster meaningful conversations among employees and top leaders. Don’t expect to improve your business without taking this step.

“While [authentic] conversations themselves are relatively simple and straightforward, they are not for the fainthearted.”

Promoting authentic conversations in your company honors choice, which is vital to your staff members’ happiness and satisfaction. Employees who believe they have a say at work feel engaged and committed. If you rob your people of choice (e.g., by commanding, “Do it my way, or else!”), they will quickly turn into embittered cynics. They may goldbrick at work, pilfer from the organization, come in late or leave early. They might speak out against the company to anyone who will listen. As a result, turnover at your firm could increase, and morale, productivity and customer service could deteriorate. To avoid such problems, have open, honest conversations with the people on your staff. In work as in life, being straight with others is always best.

Creating New Conversations

Initiating authentic conversations takes courage. A genuine discourse requires you to follow the path of most resistance. Manipulating, cajoling and persuading are easy in comparison. In those cases, speakers use language to get their way. They may rhetorically box other people in or even batter them with claims of superior logic or undeniable facts.

“Critical connections are made when a relatively small number of people shift their views and behavior.”

The problem is that most people would rather make up their minds independently. They have opinions and they resent one-sided communication. Put away such tactics as “selling, bartering [and] convincing.” Be direct with your employees. Make “eight personal commitments” to be sure you make a point of:

  1. “Recognizing others as free and accountable” – Get rid of the time clocks, the rigid personnel policies and the performance evaluations. They send the wrong message to your employees. Your workers aren’t irresponsible children you must monitor, coerce and control. Respect your people enough to let them be accountable for their actions at work.
  2. “Choosing engagement over manipulation” – People are not objects you can control. Always communicate with others openly. Sincerely engage with them; don’t be manipulative. Make your watchword “collaboration,” not “selling” or “winning.”
  3. “Using language for disclosure over effect” – Do you use language to communicate or to deceive? Are you upfront about your goals or do you try to hide your agenda? To achieve authentic conversations with others, “put it all on the table.” People won’t help you if they don’t trust you. Earn their cooperation by being honest and direct.
  4. “Choosing consent and commitment over compliance” – If you believe you are forcing employees to think and act as you want, you are fooling yourself. You may think you are in charge when you try controlling others through “manipulation and mandates,” but it is an illusion. People always choose how to respond to pressure. Many times, they will rebel or even sabotage your efforts. Instead of using command-and-control tactics, give staffers the opportunity to decide how to conduct themselves at work. This shows that you respect them, and it’s the best way to win their commitment to the firm’s policies.
  5. “Putting the relationship at risk” – Being open with others is tough. Some people cannot handle honest relationships. This is particularly true in work environments that have a flawed “parent-child culture.” In those organizations, managers operate under the illusion that employees are unreliable children they must discipline and control. Workers mistakenly believe they have no personal responsibility to help their companies. Over time, such attitudes become deeply ingrained within the corporate culture. Shedding these illusions can be disconcerting. Work relationships may suffer or even break. Often, that is the price of honesty.
  6. “Choosing contribution and worth over self-interest and cynicism” – The road to authentic engagement is paved with disappointment. Thus, becoming cynical is easy. Despite setbacks, don’t quit trying to communicate openly with others.
  7. “Embracing accountability for the whole” – If managers view employees as partners, and if staffers share that perspective, everyone within the organization will take a proprietary interest in achieving its goals. As a result, everyone will be willing to make a contribution so the company can prosper.
  8. “Willingness to grieve and let go” – All employees should see themselves as independent, responsible people who are accountable for their actions. That is your organizational goal. Achieve it through honest conversations. At the same time, staffers must begin to understand that the company cannot guarantee outcomes. Even though they may have good attitudes and work hard, they might not achieve the rewards they expect. Staff members and their managers must accept the fact that sometimes things do not work out as hoped and planned.

Structuring an Authentic Conversation

Authentic conversations are not easy. They require “conscious intention, constant attention and regular use.” Like most skills, you must work at being honest to achieve proficiency.

“Conversations are our primary method for creating and sustaining change.”

Avoid slipping into such harmful conversational habits as “manipulating information, threatening, blaming, caretaking, arguing and prescribing.” Instead, be sure to “extend goodwill” to the other person.

That step is the bedrock of all authentic conversations. Be “clear and direct... listen actively and stay connected.” Pay attention to your emotions and the other person’s. Heed these steps:

  • “State the reason for the conversation or meeting” – For example, “We’re meeting to talk about circumstances surrounding the project, which have become difficult.”
  • “State your intention to resolve the issue” – “My intention for getting us together is to figure out a way we can make this work.”
  • “Name the difficult issues clearly and directly, without judgment” – “As I see it, you are disappointed with the way this project is proceeding. I’ve heard from others that you believe I am the cause of the difficulty. Tell me more about how you view the situation.”
  • “Own your contribution to the difficult issues” – “I neglected to address the strain in our relationship when we missed the first deadline. In addition, I’ve been blaming you for not coming to me.”
  • “Invite engagement and request the help of the other person” – “I want to work this out together.”
  • “Ask for the other person’s viewpoint” – “What is your point of view about what has happened with our relationship and its impact on the project?”
  • “Shift responsibility by asking how the other person wants to proceed” – “It sounds like you do think this is my fault and you are still angry with me. How do you think we should proceed?”
“If you can’t choose hope and optimism, you can’t expect that of others.”

Authentic conversations are not magic bullets, but they can be transformative. These honest adult discourses are meaningful because the participants do not sugarcoat information. They help you and your co-workers mutually face difficult problems in a mature, constructive way.

Acknowledge and respect everyone’s viewpoints in conversations with your co-workers. Resolve difficult issues and improve problematic relationships by encouraging employees with different perspectives to voice their thoughts openly. Foster a new sense of shared purpose. Build your feelings of “hope and commitment,” and resist becoming cynical or retreating. See each authentic conversation as an opportunity to improve the culture of your company.

About the Authors

Jamie Showkeir and Maren Showkeir are principals of a consulting firm that helps businesses create collaborative cultures that emphasize personal commitment. Their clients include major American and U.K. corporations.

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