How to edit your boss without getting fired

How to pare down, punch up and otherwise influence your executive communication

Let’s just say it and get it out of the way.

Written communication from the executive office isn’t very good, and much of the time it stinks. It’s the 500-pound gorilla.

You know it’s bad, the employees know it (at least when they bother to read anything from the boss, which isn’t often), even the yes men know it, though they will never admit anything is wrong.

The only person who doesn’t seem to get it is the boss himself, though we’re not even sure about that. Many bosses pay lip service to the idea that good communication is good management, and some actually walk the talk. But very few have the time to focus on it, and thus depend on the very people who aren’t telling them the truth.

Ahem. That’s your cue. You’ve got to stand up and wave your arms.

When the most important messages are the least consumed, you’ve got a serious communication problem. When those messages are discounted by your employees, you’ve got a leadership problem.

This is a tragedy on several levels: