The Organizational Guide to Effective Business Communication
How NASA lost a spacecraft due to mismatched units 🧩 Causes of miscommunication 🧩 Benefits of effective communication 🧩 How to improve business communication in organizations
Miscommunication can lead to serious issues.
Imagine delivering a product that’s completely useless because you misunderstood the customers’ requirements. Such errors can turn otherwise successful projects into costly mistakes. Communication breakdowns can disrupt even the best of plans.
So, how can you ensure your communication stays clear and effective?
Keep reading 👇
🛸 NASA Losing a Spacecraft Due to Mismatched Units
In September 1999, NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter was destroyed after nearly ten months of travel, all because of a simple yet devastating mistake in unit conversion. The $125-million spacecraft, designed to study Mars' climate and act as a communications relay for the Mars Polar Lander, was built by Lockheed Martin using English units (inches, feet, and pounds). Meanwhile, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), responsible for navigation, worked in metric units (millimeters, meters, and newtons). When the measurements weren’t converted correctly, the orbiter ended up flying too low into Mars’ atmosphere, where it burned up.
This mistake showed just how risky miscommunication can be, especially in big space missions. Nobody caught the error during the orbiter’s long 461-million-mile journey to Mars, even though NASA’s rigorous quality control procedures were in place. As a result, the spacecraft entered the Martian atmosphere at a dangerously low altitude, leading to its destruction. This event, which should have been a moment of triumph for NASA, turned into a sobering lesson about the importance of precision and oversight in space exploration.
The Mars Climate Orbiter failure was part of a larger pattern of spaceflight mishaps during the late 1990s, often linked to cost-cutting, mismanagement, and insufficient quality control. While some pointed fingers at Lockheed Martin for providing data in English units, NASA officials acknowledged that the error was systemic and reflected broader issues within the space agency's operations. Investigations into the incident revealed gaps in coordination and communication that allowed such a basic discrepancy to go unnoticed, highlighting the need for better safeguards against human error.
This failure also raised concerns about future missions, like the Mars Polar Lander, which had planned to use the orbiter for communication. Analysts warned that the incident could diminish public confidence in NASA's capabilities, despite the agency's historical successes in navigating complex space missions like the Cassini probe. Ironically, while NASA has demonstrated the ability to collaborate effectively with international partners in space, this incident exposed significant challenges with communication and coordination within its own teams in the U.S. - underscoring the importance of consistency and attention to detail in even the most advanced space programs.
🚧 Barriers to Effective Business Communication
In any complex project, the smallest details can make or break the outcome. Misunderstandings or overlooked information, no matter how trivial they may seem, can lead to catastrophic consequences when not properly communicated.
Here’s a game we played as kids (although - as seen on the video - age is irrelevant):
⚠️ What does research show?
Miscommunication can significantly impact a business. According to a survey by Expert Market:
86% of employees cite the lack of effective collaboration and communication as the main cause of workplace failures.
Improving internal comms can improve organizational productivity by as much as 25%.
97% of employees believe communication impacts their task efficacy every day.
16% of managers feel uncomfortable speaking face-to-face with employees.
Poor communication is affecting trust for 45% of workers.
When employees are offered better communication technology and skills, productivity can increase by up to 30%.
28% of employees cite poor communication as the reason for not being able to deliver work on time.
Poor communication in the workplace reportedly accounts for a loss of 7.47 hours per employee, per week. For the average employee, earning a salary of $66,976, that amounts to $12,506 per employee per year in sunk costs. For the whole market, these losses are estimated to be around $37 billion a year.
In another report by Creative Communications & Training, the cost only of email blunders is estimated to range from $420,000 for a 100-people company to $21,000,000 for a 5k-people company.
⚠️ What prevents effective business communication?
Language barriers - differences in language, vocabulary, or level of language proficiency
Cultural barriers - variations in national/cultural norms, beliefs, and practices
Physical barriers - environmental factors like noise, distance, or poor technology (e.g. losing Internet connection)
Emotional barriers - personal feelings such as stress, anger, anxiety, or lack of interest (e.g. one hates their job)
Perceptual barriers - individual perceptions, preconceived opinions, or biases (incl. towards people)
Psychological barriers - lack of ability to read non-verbal cues; mental health issues (e.g. ADHD, ASD) or cognitive conditions (e.g. lack of sleep)
Organizational barriers - hierarchical structures, rigid protocols, work in silos, lack of transparency and fierce competition as overall corporate culture
Lack of clarity - vague or ambiguous messages (e.g. lack of context)
Information overload - receiving too much information at once
Poor/selective listening/reading - inattentive or distracted (e.g. playing with the mobile phone or reading emails during meetings); focusing only on parts of the message while ignoring others
Wrong communication channel/medium - using an inappropriate channel for the message (e.g. writing instead of talking)
🍀 Benefits of Effective Business Communication
✅ What is business communication?
Business communication is the exchange of information and ideas between individuals within and outside the organization. It’s the process of creating, sharing, listening, and understanding business messages between different groups of people through written and verbal forms. Its goal is to facilitate smooth operations and foster positive relationships within and outside the company to achieve the business objectives.
✅ What are the different types of Business Communication?
Business communication splits into the following types:
Internal - within the organization
Top-down - managers to their subordinates
Bottom-up - subordinates to their managers
Lateral - coworkers on the same hierarchical level (or independent of it)
External - between the organization and its customers or other outside parties
✅ Why is business communication important?
Business communication directly impacts various aspects of an organization’s performance and success. Effective business communication has the following benefits:
Improved Decision-Making - Clear and accurate communication provides the necessary information for informed and timely decisions.
Enhanced Collaboration - Effective communication fosters teamwork and cooperation by ensuring that team members understand their roles and responsibilities.
Increased Productivity - Streamlined communication helps reduce misunderstandings and errors, leading to more efficient work processes.
Improved Diversity and Inclusion - Clear and open communication fosters an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued, encouraging collaboration and ensuring that all voices are heard and respected within the organization.
Better Problem-Solving - Open communication channels enable quick identification and resolution of issues.
Better Planning - Effective communication ensures that all necessary information is shared and understood, enabling the development of well-informed and coordinated plans that align with the business goals.
Fewer Conflicts - Clear communication minimizes the risk of misunderstandings and errors, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
Effective Conflict Resolution - Addressing concerns and conflicts through clear communication can lead to more constructive and amicable solutions.
Strengthened Relationships - Positive and transparent communication builds trust and rapport with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders.
Greater Employee Engagement - Clear communication helps employees understand organizational goals and their contributions, boosting motivation and job satisfaction.
Enhanced Reputation - Consistent and professional communication improves the organization’s public image and credibility.
Informed Stakeholders - Keeping stakeholders updated ensures alignment and support for business initiatives and strategies.
💞 How Organizations Can Improve Their Business Communication
🎀 Official Strategy & Channels
It all starts with establishing official communication channels. If we don’t, the non-official communication channels (aka gossiping) will flourish. People talk, so we might as well direct the discussion, rather than leave it to chance, or worse - try to swim against the flow.
These are some simple steps of how to establish official company communication:
Create an internal and external Communication Strategy (usually, that’s handled by a dedicated team that also deals with e.g. Branding and Public Relations).
Don’t overload people with information. Instead, focus on the essence and the best channel to deliver it (which is what the Communications Strategy should be all about).
Furthermore, consider establishing a transparent company culture in general.
A company I worked at had a Communications Strategy and a software tool for internal discussions. But employees were constantly bombarded by all-hands meetings on all levels (e.g. team, department, project, entire company). All kinds of topics were discussed non-stop. Moreover, people who clearly had a lot of free time on their hands were starting various discussions in the internal tool every day. However, the majority of the organization, i.e. the ones who were busy working, didn’t have the time to read the discussions in the tool or attend all-hands meetings that didn’t add value (i.e. didn’t clarify how their work is being impacted). So let’s just say that the Communications Strategy of this company was not very successful.
🎀 Additional Tips
Promoting a Communication Culture - Encouraging a work environment that values openness, feedback, and continuous dialogue.
Example: Company “town hall” meetings where employees are encouraged to ask questions, share updates, or offer suggestions, fostering openness and dialogue.
Providing Training and Development - Offering communication skills training, including active listening, conflict resolution, and presentation skills.
Example: HR providing workshops on active listening, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution to improve communication skills across all levels of the organization.
Encouraging Leadership Communication - Ensuring leaders model effective communication by being clear, transparent, and approachable.
Example: Leaders holding regular “open door” hours or sending out weekly video messages to transparently discuss company goals and updates.
Conducting Regular Check-ins - Holding regular team meetings and one-on-ones to address ongoing issues, align on objectives, and maintain engagement.
Example: Managers scheduling one-on-one meetings with team members to discuss progress, address concerns, and align on goals.
I picked up a best practice for how to establish a constant communication flow from one of my managers - I always set up these two types of meetings:
One-on-One Sync (1 hour weekly or bi-weekly) - This is the time the manager gives to each of their employees. The employee is free to use this time however they want. Some employees talk about how they feel, others provide their tasks status or escalate, others discuss their career progression, others give feedback on their managers performance and ask for changes - it could be literally anything.
Team Sync (1 hour weekly or bi-weekly) - This is the time for the manager to provide an executive summary of everything important that’s been happening on their level for the past week - meetings with stakeholders, changes in strategic direction, gossips and speculations floating around, etc. Some managers use this meeting for running through the tasks of each employee, but I find this unnecessary - if the discussion circulates around the strategic objectives, everyone will know enough about what everyone else is doing, without having to sit through all the boring details that don’t affect them in any way.
Creating Clear Information Flow - Establishing a system where important information flows easily from top to bottom and across departments.
Example: Having a protocol where all company-wide updates are communicated via official channels, like internal newsletters or announcements highlighting achievements, upcoming events, employee success stories, etc.
Fostering Cross-Departmental Cooperation - Breaking down silos by encouraging interdepartmental collaboration and communication on shared projects.
Example: Setting up cross-functional teams, bringing together departments like marketing, sales, and product development to work collaboratively on projects.
Promoting Employee Engagement - Encouraging employees to share ideas, participate in decision-making, and be part of shaping the organization’s culture.
Example: A suggestion box or online platform could be set up where employees contribute ideas or feedback anonymously, helping shape company policies. See more here.
Recognizing and Rewarding Good Communication - Celebrating employees who excel in communication, making it clear that it’s a valued skill.
Example: Establishing a "Communicator of the Month" award to recognize employees who demonstrate excellent communication skills, like teamwork and conflict resolution.
Surveying Employees - Regularly surveying staff to gather feedback on company-wide practices and incorporating their suggestions into improvements.
Example: Sending anonymous surveys to employees to evaluate areas for improvement, with management using the feedback to make continuous improvements.
Company-wide surveys must follow a process:
Think hard about the type of information you want to receive and ask open (not leading!) questions.
Run the survey and gather the data/insights.
Analyze the data/insights and decide on the improvement initiatives that are needed.
Get the buy-in, appointed people, and additional resources for the improvement initiatives.
Communicate to everyone the results of the survey, the analysis, and the improvement initiatives to be kicked off.
Run the improvement initiatives.
Create transparency on the improvement initiatives, so everyone can see the real-time progress and who to contact for more details.
Upon completion, verify that each improvement initiative indeed solves the issues that were initially raised.
When companies talk about employee surveys, they usually talk about steps 2, 3, and 5. Steps 1, 4, and 6 happen rarely or not thoroughly enough. And steps 7 and 8 never happen. However, if we don’t improve, then knowing what needs improving adds no value. It actually wastes time, effort, and money, which leaves everyone frustrated. Moreover, skipping the last three steps is the fastest way to make employees lose trust in us as leaders because we're saying that we care when our actions prove we don't. Therefore, we either must do the full process, as described above, or not even start.
And that’s how we prevent miscommunication from occurring. And by doing so, we establish open, honest, trusting, and long-lasting relationships with our employees, customers, and all other stakeholders that can weather us through any business storm.
Next, see how to improve your personal communication skills:
Thank you for reading 💝
Till next time,
Irina
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