Topic
Communication
Organisations consist of communication that connects to previous communication.
Information cannot be transmitted from a sender to a receiver. What can be transmitted are signs, data or utterances.
Communication occurs when information, utterance and understanding are synthesised.
Understanding refers to the distinction between information and utterance.
It requires neither agreement nor “shared understanding”.
Consequently, more messages, documentation or meetings do not automatically produce shared understanding. What matters is which distinctions are taken up and which subsequent communications or decisions connect to them.
Distinctions used
Utterance/Information/Understanding
What is said, and what distinction is selected from it?
Observation
- Phenomenon
- Many utterances produce neither shared understanding nor decisions that enable further communication.
- Insight
- More utterances do not automatically produce greater shared understanding.
- Blind spot
- The sender's intention does not explain which subsequent communications actually emerge.
Kanban intervention
- Intervention
- Connect feedback loops to concrete work events and decisions.
- Changed conditions
- Feedback becomes more timely and relates to observable work.
- Limits
- No communication format can guarantee understanding or agreement.