I have been close with two ex-military guys. The first, a former Intelligence officer for the Navy, is my longtime good friend. The second, a former Special Forces leader, was my right-hand guy who helped me build & run a sales team. I’ve worked side-by-side with dozens of ex-military men throughout my career in technology and have worked peripherally with many more.
With few exceptions, I was impressed with these men.
Something I’ve noticed with all of these ex-military guys is their excellent communication skills. They listen attentively, speak concisely and precisely, and confirm understanding of orders.
I never sent a text or email to someone and wondered “did they get my message…or do they understand?” because they always responded after receiving a message with Roger That or Copy That.
At first, I thought their Roger/Copy was just habit. Over time, I realized it meant more.
- Copy That meant – I received the message and understand.
- Roger That meant – I received the message, understand and will take the appropriate action.
With civilians, in both business and personal messaging, 95% of my messages go unacknowledged. I have no idea if a person received, understood or took action based on my message. The rare exception to this is if they need me to send them money.
I didn’t learn how to communicate from the military. I learned it from my boss at the Pizza Shop who taught me about customer service. I learned it in sales, where I relied on my follow-ups, persistence and over-communication to compensate for my mediocre sales ability. I learned it in middle management, where I understood that my job was to eliminate problems for my bosses while making their lives easier. One of the quickest ways to do this was to Roger That and then confirm when I had completed the specific task. One guy I worked for called this “closing the loop”.
I am really good at closing the loop.
Most people suck at closing the loop. Which is too bad, because it takes very little effort to send a text or email. You just have to care and have some type of organization system to remind you. I’ve used task lists, paper lists, sticky notes, calendar reminders and even a special folder for “unclosed” emails.
It makes you stand out above 95% of everyone else – whether they are coworkers, competitors, friends, customers or vendors.
What would you do to be seen as better than almost anyone else?
Why not try closing the loop?
This post was prompted after I had a dozen communications with different businesses this past month and not a single one contacted me to close the loop. All of these were people with whom I had spent a significant amount of money with too. None of my messages were complaints or concerns.
I’ll still buy from these businesses because I like the quality of their work. Still, I’m amazed how they will bombard me with unsolicited marketing SPAM yet neglect the opportunity to truly connect me with 1-on-1 to cement a relationship.