There was a wise old lady who went to the bank on a weekly basis to deposit huge sums of money.
She already had USD 10M in her bank account, and it just kept on growing.
Because of her regular visits, she became a familiar face to the bank manager.
One day, a regulation got implemented requiring the wise old lady to explain the source of her income.
So on the wise old lady’s next visit, the bank manager decided to personally handle the situation.
Bank manager: May I ask what your source of income is?
Wise old lady: I made this money betting.
Bank manager: I couldn’t help myself but seriously, betting!? How can you be so lucky to always keep a winning streak? You visit us regularly to deposit money. Don’t you ever lose?
Wise old lady: Alright son, I’ll bet you 1,000 dollars that by the time I drop by here tomorrow, your balls will turn into squares. I’ll bring a male friend of mine to take a look.
Bank manager: Hah! Bring it on. I’m confident that I’m going to win, because it’s literally impossible for my balls to turn into squares.
The next day, the wise old lady came by as agreed, with a male friend.
The bank manager dropped his pants to prove that his balls didn’t turn into squares. And of course, the wise old lady paid the bank manager the 1,000 dollars as promised.
On the next visit, the wise old lady came by, again with even more money to deposit.
So the bank manager decided to ask the wise old lady.
Bank manager: I thought you lost our bet. Why are you back depositing even more money?
Wise old lady: Because I also had a 10,000 dollar bet with my male friend that I can make a bank manager show me his balls.
Though this is a funny controversial story, it is obviously a joke. But why am I sharing this with you?
Because this story actually teaches a lesson in communication.
You see, communication isn’t what you think. It’s not about you just trying to get your message across.
Communication is:
- Message sent
- Message received and understood
- Message acted upon along with feedback
Communication is not one-way.
It’s also such a powerful tool, you can use it to influence people to do things in order for you to get what you want.
But there’s a right way of using it.
For instance, if a task is not acted upon based on the expectation of the one sending the message, it is not the fault of the the receiver. It is the fault of the one who gave the instruction.
Why? Because the sender should have ensured it was not just received, but also understood by the receiver.
As I said, communication is not one-way.
So in this particular scenario, how do you ensure that it is understood by the receiver?
By getting feedback.
A great example I can share with you is something that I learned from one of my mentors.
What he would do is after giving the instruction, he would ask the receiver to repeat the instruction as well as the expected output.
Moreover, if it is a significant task, he would ask for a sample or even a portion of the expected output.
That way, he could provide immediate feedback and correction if needed, before continuing with the rest of the task.
That’s why for me, communication is the most powerful skill you must learn and harness in order for you to become successful in your career, and in life.
This is also a crucial skill for you to be be able to optimize your business with great effect.
If you want to learn how to optimize your business, download your FREE (for a limited time only) copy of my book – The Business Optimization Blueprint, where I show you a simple 5-Step Process how to transform your business and take it to the next level.
If you want to learn continuous process improvement, check out our courses at https://robbieagustin.com/courses.
RobbieAgustin.com
I help transform businesses and take them to the next level with my expertise in Agile, Lean Six Sigma, Operational Excellence, and Intelligent Automation. Author of The Business Optimization Blueprint.