“It’s the easiest shot in golf because you don’t have to hit the ball.” *
I perked up when veteran golf pro Tim Katanski said that to me. While I have been playing golf for decades — and, of course, I knew that you don’t strike the ball directly when it’s resting on the sand — I had never heard it expressed so clearly.
My point is not to impart a golf lesson. That would be malpractice. [When asked what my “handicap” is, I reply. Myself!] The lesson of the sand shot is to find ways to explicate, elucidate and teach with simplicity. Use similes and metaphors that make the complicated less so and, in the process, make it more accessible.
Strive for clarity
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” is a phrase attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. As a true Renaissance man — an innovator, scientist, and artist — Leonardo sought to understand the world around him, applying his intellect and talents to interpret what he observed and to devise new methodologies.
Complexity is the bedevilment of our culture. As the adage goes, it’s easy to make things complicated and more challenging to make them simpler. Simplicity is the act of reduction, not elimination. You want to make what you say understandable to make it easier to comprehend, thereby increasing accessibility and ultimately making it more actionable.
The challenge for managers is to communicate with clarity and often with brevity.
Consider the following truisms:
- Know your purpose. Find your path.
- Managers mind the details. Leaders inspire their followers.
- Process is a way of doing. Principles are a way of being.
- Discern, decide and delegate.
- One team. One heartbeat.
Create your simple statements
Each one is simple and direct. The secret to formulating your own is to frame your issue. What is happening? What do you need people to do? Why do you need them to do it? For example, your competitor is launching a new product. Formulate your response. Make it short and pithy. “Our edge is the people who build and serve our products.”
Or budget cuts are challenging. You do more with less. Try this. “Do the best we can with what we have.” It’s not a rah-rah statement; it’s an iteration of reality that frames performance not as a limitation but as an aspiration.
Simplicity is the essence of knowledge. Striving for it is seldom easy, but achieving it can be rewarding. Just like a well-struck sand shot!
*Caveat: This instruction applies to green side sand shots. If the ball is in a fairway bunker – well away from the green — you sweep it out, making direct contact with the ball.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
____________________________________
Take advantage of SmartBrief’s FREE email newsletters on leadership and business transformation, among the company’s more than 250 industry-focused newsletters.