First published 30 August 2021 on Your Best Year Starts Here with Nigel Risner.
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Nigel switched his BT router to save £600 a year and didn't tell anyone at home the new Wi-Fi code. Then he went off to speak at an event, phone nowhere near him (he'd listened to last week's episode), while the texts got more and more urgent. Nothing in the house would connect. Worst of all, nobody could watch Love Island.
His point was a serious one. When something changes, tell people, even if it seems too small to matter. He's going back into organisations where some of the team were hired during lockdown and have never met, and he reckons "I thought everyone knew" should be banned for good. I did give him the fix, for the record. Set the new router up with the old name and password and everything carries on working. Bit late for him.
A couple of days before, I'd spoken to someone whose manager sent out a complete change of plans less than 24 hours before it kicked in, then got annoyed when the team couldn't just fit in. Nigel's take was that the manager had been mulling it over for weeks, so of course it felt fine to him. And it's often the people closest to us we assume the most about.
Then I had to admit I've been watching Love Island. First time ever, honest. Nigel couldn't get over the fact I'd skipped the Olympics for it. When we recorded, the producers had sent the girls a postcard of stills showing the boys cuddled up with new girls, and you could watch the doubt grow as they talked it over. Teams do the same when nobody explains anything, and before long the boss is off on a yacht somewhere in the Mediterranean.
My friend Sam Asser in Australia, who I interviewed for my One Conversation Away summit, says fear is like drawing a scary monster, sticking it on your wall and scaring yourself every time you walk in. So take the picture down. Nigel finished with an exercise he used to run, taking people up an imaginary lift to the 98th floor and getting them to put their toes over the edge of a roof with no railings. People gripped their chairs. Then he'd ask what would've happened if they'd pictured a jet pack instead.
What I'd pass on
- If you change something, tell the people it affects, even when it seems too small to bother.
- If you've been thinking about a change for weeks, remember your team has only just heard about it.
- When you swap your router, give the new one the old Wi-Fi name and password so everything keeps connecting.
- When there's a gap in the story, check it with a quick call or text before you start colouring the monster in.
But they're not Mystic Meg, you know what I mean? They don't know what's going on unless you tell them.
Neil Martin
Communication is so important on stuff that you think doesn't matter.
Nigel Risner
