The Telephone Game

When I was a kid one of the popular party games was called the 'telephone game.' We'd all sit around in a circle. The first person would whisper a few short sentences in the ear of the next person. They would have to repeat it to the person next to them, and so on around the circle. When it got to the last person, they would announce what they heard. It never, ever, came close to the original message, and was usually so distorted that it would evoke belly laughs from all the players.

Funny kids game...

Of course, it never happens in the real adult world... does it?

Happens all the time! Every single message, every attempt at communication between any two beings suffers from the same problems and gets degraded in one way or another. Yet, we like to believe that it doesn't.

The president of the company decides that their strategic direction needs to be changed. He talks to the COO. The COO talks to the regional VPs. They talk to their direct reports. They talk to the mid-level managers. They talk to the individual managers. They talk to the employees. They talk to the customers and suppliers....