While hard to believe, there is still a feeling among many in the corporate and political worlds that believe that “soft skills” are not nearly as important as other skills when determining profitability and business success. Communicating verbally, you know, falls in this category.
The “Big 3 Bailout” was all but a done deal with no effort until the leaders of Chrysler, GM and Ford showed up on Capitol Hill armed with plenty of aides and plenty of facts but precious little when it came to communication ability. The Big 3 may have gotten some form of bailout, but it wasn’t the $25 billion with very little oversight they were being given initially, and it wasn’t without tremendous collateral and brand damage.
Bernie Madoff made $50 billion disappear, shocking everyone. What is shocking is that Warren Buffett, widely considered one of the greatest investing minds of all times, holds Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meetings in Omaha where people are turned away, and information is plentiful, and at the same time billions of dollars were invested with Mr. Madoff with little more than occasional written communications with minimal information, and NO verbal communication.
Caroline Kennedy has declared her interest in the soon-to-be vacant New York Senate Seat,and has had what can only be described as a tumultuous early campaign. Caroline Kennedy may very well prove to be the next Senator from the great state of New York. While her campaign has been extremely rocky, to say the least, I do not believe she has been given a fair opportunity to make her case.
That being said, when the opportunity finally presented itself in the form of a very brief New York Times interview, Caroline proceeded to say “you know” over 140 times. Over 140 times. Over 140 times.
Her platform and number one issue is education. Her background and qualifications center greatly on what she has accomplished with the New York City public schools. What message does 140 “you knows” send? How would a NYC student be graded if he or she said “you know” over 100 times during an oral presentation?
What would happen if you, as a business owner, interviewed a potential CEO who said “you know” over 140 times in his or her interview? Would a banker (if there are any left) lend a few hundred thousand dollars to a small business owner who came in and, you know, said he needed, you know, $150k for, you know, new equipment? What would, you know, happen to, you know, a valedictorian, who, you know, said you know over 100 times in a graduation speech?
Caroline Kennedy is a very educated, very talented woman — she needs communications training, and it is a shame her handlers did not recognize that before she was put in this position. Poor communications cost businesses billions, yes billions, of dollars a year, and routinely costs candidates elections (for both political and corporate office). A lot of this is not quantifiable because it comes in lost sales, lost production, and customers (and voters) who simply turn their backs and walk away.
Of course, none of this matters because, you know, communication skills do not matter!
