Communication is the key!

Hello World!

I'll start this off with a definition. 

According to merriam-webster - Communication: 1: an act or instance of transmitting 2a : information transmitted or conveyed b : a verbal or written message 3a : a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior <the function of pheromones in insect communication>; also : exchange of information b : personal rapport <a lack of communication between old and young persons>
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This is a short one today and I know it's been awhile since I've elated your eyes with wonderful craziness!  I am an admin assistant by day and Film/Video aka aspiring sound engineer student during the night and some weekends depending on the semester. *GO GSU*  So the other day at my day job, I was away from my desk and an executive/managerial type person left an empty Pentel box on my desk with a written message stating "order me a couple of boxes of these".  (for those that do not know, Pentel is a pen manufacturer)  Now on the box is Pentel in big red letters, nothing else.  So i look up the bar code on the bottom it brought up a Pentel Rolling Writer (black), there was also another barcode on stickers all over the box and that number brought up a Pentel Rolling Writer (red).  Mystery solved, right? WRONG!!  Ok, when it comes to office supplies, if someone needs a specific item right away, they will sometimes lookup the item number or barcode and shoot me an email and say I need THIS one right away.  So him leaving the box with the barcodes and message was no problem, the problem is that he didn't want the Pentel Rolling Writer. 

*Travel with me down crazy lane....*

I've been doing admin support type work for about 20 years now and what I find is that some people simply do not know how to communicate anything clearly to the next person.  Instead they are using information in their head, meaning only info that they know, not realizing that it's never been verbalized to anyone else.  So they approach and begin a conversation as if everyone has been included in this one person conversation and decision that's probably been going on for quite some time in their head.  (you ever had that happen to you?)

Ok, so immediately I send him an email and say "hey, these barcodes are pulling up Pentel Rolling Writer red and black and your message said to get you a couple of boxes, so I want to verify that you want two boxes of each.  Is that correct?"  His reply "well no actually I wanted the Pentel Sign Pens." (another type of pen)  My reply "Ok.  So you want two boxes of red and black Pentel sign pens?"  His reply "no actually I want assorted colors." me looking at the email: O_o

I felt like I'd just left the dentist's chair!!  Jesus!! How hard is it to send an email requesting 2 boxes of assorted colored Pentel Sign pens?????????  *wooooo sah!!!*

yeah so....uuuh.  this person is getting paid a six-figure salary to do some, i'm sure, major multi-million/billion dollar work for this firm which means LOTS of communication to others that will report to him and let's not forget prospective clients, yet he could not communicate to me clearly on ordering some pens.  I've seen this scenario hundreds of times and it used to bother me to the hilt. But now I just have a 2-second moment (sometimes 3 seconds),  pray for them and their loved ones and move on because if they communicate that poorly with me at the job, I can imagine what type of family life they have.  Sad to say.

So the moral of this story is COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY!!!!

*peace and blessings*