Difficult Conversations
This is the communication approach you should use when you disagree with someone but want to keep the conversation constructive.
What is diplomatic communication?
This describes people from different departments working together toward the same business objective.
What is cross functional collaboration?
A good meeting should ideally end with one of these three things: alignment, a decision, or this.
What are clear next steps
This acronym means Return on Investment.
What is ROI?
Instead of saying:
That's not our problem.
Say:
Let's
What is: Let's see how we can address this together
Instead of saying, We can't approve this, this phrase keeps the conversation open and focuses on possibilities.
What is Let's look at what options we have?
Before Finance can evaluate another department's request, this is one of the most useful questions to ask.
What is : What is your main goal or priority?
Before scheduling a meeting, this is one question you should ask yourself.
What is: What outcome do we need from this meeting?
This acronym means Key Performance Indicator.
What is KPI?
Instead of saying:
You're wrong."
Use this phrase to introduce a different perspective.
What is: I see it differently
When someone becomes defensive after you question their proposal, this is the first thing you should do before explaining your own position.
What is acknowledge their perspective/listen to their concern?
Engineering says Finance is slowing everything down. Instead of becoming defensive, Finance should first try to understand this.
What is Engineering's priority or business need?
A meeting ends with everyone saying Sounds good, but nobody knows who is doing what. This is what the meeting didn't have.
What is ownership?
This acronym refers to a company's Profit and Loss statement.
What is P&L?
Instead of saying:
We need more information.
This is a stronger way to communicate the same idea.
What is: Could you provide more information
This communication structure can help you disagree without creating conflict: acknowledge the other person's perspective, explain your
What is propose an alternative or next step?
Two departments want the same limited budget. Instead of splitting the money equally, finance should compare these three things.
What are priorities, business impact, and available resources
This is the difference between a meeting that simply shares information and a meeting that actually creates value.
What is a decision
This acronym means Annual Recurring Revenue, a metric particularly relevant to recurring revenue models.
What is ARR?
Julia strongly disagrees with your recommendation. Give one sentence that acknowledges her perspective without immediately giving up your position.
What is: I understand your concern, at the same time, based on the data
A Finance professional wants another department to reconsider an expensive proposal without saying no. This is the communication goal.
What is persuading without pressure?
Julia asks: This project costs $20,000, why should we approve it? This is the financial concept that the finance team should use to evaluate the value generated compared with the investment.
What is ROI?