The topic of communication is a complex one, and there are many factors that contribute to its success or failure in organizations. The underlying problem is that most organizations don’t understand the complexities tied to lines of communication. With 3 individuals their are only 3 possible lines of communication as people are added the communication exponentially becomes more complicated that with 10 people their are 45 possible lines of communication. Research shows the average prospect needs to hear a message seven times before they take action. Employees don’t need quite this same attention their number is probably closer to three to five times.

With all of these factors at play, it’s no wonder that communication in organizations often fails. In order to fix this problem, organizations need to start by understanding the complexities of communication and then put systems in place to ensure that messages are getting consistent, and transparent, with as many repetitions as necessary to make the message stick.