Values ·
MPC Values | Communication
COMMUNICATION |
Ahh, communication. The social process by which we attempt to share words, ideas and meaning. Not just verbally either. Yea, words matter, but so does our way of expressing said words. And nowadays, we’ve evolved to do so much of this (or lack thereof) on the interwebs of billionaire’s “social” apps … no wonder we can’t seem to reach any understanding or hear each other – which is hard enough as it is!
I’ve always been fascinated with communication. Maybe it started by having four adopted Russian kids thrown into my life at age 11 who didn’t speak English. But after travelling extensively, and attempting to learn more than 5 languages over the years (don’t be impressed, I can *maybe* speak one on a very novice level), I’ve always sought to improve my ability to communicate, and arguably even more importantly, listen.
Let’s be clear, I am no expert. I fail often. Sure, I’ve grown and gotten better. But I see this being an on-going pursuit for the rest of my life. For me, one arena that I’ve come to believe pretty strongly in is that how we communicate, and how we receive communication, is a direct tie to our own bullshit.
Why is this important for business or coffee?
Well for one, we’re participating in a global commodity that spans thousands of cultures, peoples and languages.
But also, how a business is run, and the healthiness of its people tends to be tied to communication, at least at the root level (which IMO is true for any real relationship, intimate or otherwise). And because I want to see Mad Priest develop in the most holistic way possible, it requires the foundation to be strong. From how we communicate internally, to our consumers, to our coffee partners. And again, this has been a serious learning curve over the years as I realized how poorly I communicated, or how my own mess or insecurities fed into how I did, or did not, communicate. I mean hell, considering Tarig barely spoke much English when we hired him, we had to incorporate some real communication guidelines early on real quick!
So in attempts to see us flourish, and to see relationships grow and thrive, we incorporate these ideas:
Ask questions.
Be curious.
Listen generously.
Speak straight.
Assume positive intent.
And the most important rule that we discuss internally is to never presume. Always go directly to the person and be willing to share feelings. We attempt to have a 48 hours rule which means communicate sooner rather than later.
These are all really hard things. Because our instincts are to protect ourselves. And seeking clarity is a level of vulnerability that can be scary. It also takes time and energy. The alternative? Classical power and control dynamics. Top down power structures. Patriarchy. And maybe these things have the ability to make a bunch of money, maintain control or not have to be held accountable, but for what? And to whose expense?
So like most of our values, they are all tied together and synergistic. And so as I wrote about sustainability last week, this is how I view communication. I would rather sacrifice speedy growth or margins for something that lasts and seeks integrity. Something that can actually become a full eco-system where we work together to build something for ourselves and those that come after us. It won’t always work. And there will still be gaps in understanding or hard decisions to be made, but we can at least be evaluating where we contribute to poor communication or understanding as we ALL approach every situation with our own lens, bias and perception.
So to conclude – I will communicate as directly as possible – go buy some yummy coffee. ;)
Get Mad. Stay Blessed.
+Michael
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