Deficit Communication

Not a day passes when all of us do not receive a direct or indirect reminder of some sort of the economic challenges that we as individuals currently face. Because of the enormous debt that our nation has run up over the past 20-30 years, all of us are confronting and, in some cases, being confronted by the harsh reality that being fiscally irresponsible has serious and even debilitating consequences. Spending and saving need to be in sync. Doing lots of spending without comparable saving puts anyone - and any nation for that matter - on a slippery slope that does not lead to anything good. The same is true when one partakes in irresponsible communication. Specifically, when one talks at more than they talk with others, then the results can and often do range from rejection, misunderstandings, and a life filled with doing little else but taking one step forward and two steps back.

I ran across a good example of this kind of deficit communication not too long ago while reading some articles about President Woodrow Wilson and his vision of the League of Nations. While today such an organization may seem a bit passe, at the time the world had never known such an entity. It was Wilson's dream to create a body comprised of nations throughout the world that would gather to discuss issues of mutual concern and, most importantly, seek ways to avoid war and conflict. At least in theory, the United Nations fits this bill today. Wilson pushed the concept of a world body very hard. Unfortunately, in doing so, the well-meaning former university president and scholar failed to appreciate that others might have different perspectives about such an organization and, therefore, have a need to raise questions and discuss them before giving this proposal and Wilson their support. Wilson assumed the mere articulation of his vision would be enough to satisfy any concerns others might have. The result of this unfortunate assumption, as we know, was that the United States Senate failed to give Wilson the approval needed to allow our country to become a member of the League of Nations. It is a decision that in all likelihood would not have happened if Wilson had made as much of an effort to listen as he did to talk.

Every day are checkbooks, savings accounts and even our wallets give us a sense of how we are doing in balancing what we spend with what we save. Granted, particularly in these times of so much economic uncertainty and instability, such a balance is difficult to achieve. At the same time, it is a goal that all of us, including our elected officials, need to continue to pursue. The same holds true for communicate. It is advisable not to speak unless one has saved or collected input in the form of gathering information and learning other perspectives. The better one listens or saves information, the more apt they are to be heard and followed when they do speak. Much like balancing a checkbook, it is simple math.