Working Conversations Episode 65:

Jeff Bezos has Communication All Wrong

“Communication is a sign of dysfunction. It means people aren’t working together in a close, organic way.  We should be trying to figure out a way for teams to communicate less with each other, not more.” Jeff Bezos

What?! Dysfunction?

Well, if anyone has a direct connection to Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, kindly let him know that I totally disagree with his perspective on communication as a sign of dysfunction.

I deeply believe that we need to communicate at work. It’s essential.

In this episode, I break down Bezos’ quote sentence by sentence and examine it to show you how the founder of the online retail giant misses the mark on communication at work.

You’ll also learn what effective communication is using the formula of “Information x Presence = Communication,” and what possible questions to ask someone from your organization that will help you build and maintain relationships that foster trust, respect, and increased engagement through communication.

Listen and catch the full episode here or wherever you listen to podcasts. .  If you come across any workplace communication myths (or quotes like this one from Bezos) that you’d like me to analyze or dissect here on the podcast, send them my way!

And here’s my take on communication revising Jeff Bezos’ quote: “Communication is neutral at worst and positive at best. When it’s effective, it means people are working together in a close, organic way.  We should be trying to figure out a way for teams to have more meaningful, effective communication with each other, and fewer urgent decision making and problem solving interactions.”

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