Have you ever noticed that people sometimes react in an unusual way to the things that you have said?

The message that is being sent is modified by recipients based on their emotions, their beliefs and even the environment in which they hear the message.

You might be a busy Chief Executive or a Head of Service Improvement and want to transmit something quickly - maybe just cutting to the chase and giving the main elements (the meat) of the message - but the message might be heard as an order or be taken that you are annoyed (because normally you chat) or even a form of bullying.

In a Lean Programme if you are a senior manager or director, and especially if you are the Improvement Champion, then sending the right message is very important. If you get the message wrong you can seriously undermine your programme - for example, turning a successful drive to transform an sub-team culture and create an environment that supports continuous improvement into one to cut costs quickly - the former will generate benefits that far outstrip the other approach and will be sustainable and the latter will yield quick and small and unsustainable results - so the benefits of getting the message right (and the way it is delivered) are obvious!!

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