One business tip

Let’s begin with some context and inspiration for this blog article. Whilst watching Japan V’s Spain at The World Cup 2022 (football), Japan scored a goal, but it looked like the ball may have gone out of play just before the goal was scored – meaning that if the ball was out of play, then the goal should not stand. This was super important, not only for the game in general but as it could lead to Spain being knocked out of the World Cup if they lost the match.

As the situation evolved, in the midst of the did the ball cross the line, or didn’t it debate – I had a few thoughts about technology and communication.

First up, I don’t think technology is the issue. With all of the cameras/goal line technology/VAR etc – these systems would have captured the position of the ball, and it will have quickly shown if the ball was all the way across the line or not.

The issue was communication.

We (as the viewers) didn’t get to see all the angles and footage that they used to review this. It wasn’t even quickly apparent they were checking it at all, to begin with.

If they had communicated quickly to the stadium and the viewers, that they were reviewing first, and then showed the footage that made them reach their conclusion, then the debate and fallout would not have ensued.

And this is where we link this into the business world… over-communicate, all the time. Tell people what’s happening, when it’s happening, why it’s happening and in terms that they understand.

Do this, and do it well, and it will set you apart from others.

People will often ask you in business what makes you different or something along those lines (and more often than not, they’re trying to catch you out). It’s easy to go down the route of saying, we do this thing that competitor X doesn’t do, or our widget is better than the other widgets.

But, none of that actually matters. If you can communicate well, deliver on what you said you would deliver (and go beyond it) and take ownership of the task at hand – this will see you through time and time again. And, spoiler alert, it will lead to repeat business, time and time again.

There’s no magic here, there’s no subscribing to my seminar for £999 and I’ll show you all my secrets – honestly, it’s that simple, just over-communicate.

Gavin Moorhouse is the owner and chief communicator at Lucid Computer Solutions, an IT Support and Cloud Solutions specialist based in Worcestershire. He is now over communicating he would like a Flat White and Chocolate Orange muffin.