Client Loss That "Came Out of Nowhere"
You're blindsided. A key client pulls their business. Your team scrambles to figure out what went wrong. After some digging, you learn they felt "taken for granted." They didn’t feel heard. Maybe they gave subtle signals - emails that went unanswered too long, changes in tone - but no one picked up on it. That’s lack of communication.
Even worse? You had a quarterly business review scheduled, but it kept getting pushed. You had a chance to get ahead of the issue but you didn’t take it. You didn’t communicate your concerns.
This is where Butler Street’s principle of operating reality comes in. If we had paused, practiced active listening, and truly stepped into the client’s shoes, we could’ve seen it coming. Communication is not about checking boxes, it’s about connection. You stopped connecting.
The Spouse Story: You Heard Her, But Did You Really Listen?
Here’s a personal one most of us can relate to...
Your spouse says, “I just wish we had more time together.” You respond, “I get it, that’s why I’ve been working late—so we can take that long weekend in a few weeks.”
Seems thoughtful, right?
Only problem? That’s not what she meant. She didn’t say, “I want a long weekend.” She said, “more time together.” And what she really meant was: "I'd like to have dinner without phones or distractions once in a while."
That’s miscommunication, plain and simple and it all started with not listening to understand or as we call it "active listening".
If you'd used an exploratory question in an effort to seek to understand, you might’ve said, “When you say, ‘more time together,’ do you mean like now...during the week...or more like a weekend away?”
Boom! Now you're clarifying. You're in her operating reality. You're not assuming. You're aligning.
That’s the difference between “I heard you” and “I understand you.”
Whether it's your spouse, a client, or a colleague, miscommunication happens when we jump to conclusions instead of staying curious. And communication starts to break down when we assume understanding instead of checking for it.
At Butler Street, we train people to listen actively, clarify meaning, and always use response checks like:
“Do you see how that could be helpful for you?”
“Does that make sense based on what you’re trying to achieve?”
It’s simple. But it’s not easy. Communication takes practice. And like anything worth doing well, practice makes permanent.
Parenting in the Age of Distraction
Your teenager shuts down. You think they’re moody or lazy. They think you “don’t get it.” Neither of you is saying what you actually mean. That’s a blend of both miscommunication and lack of communication.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do is ask an open-ended question like, “Help me understand what you’re feeling. And/or “Why do you feel that way?” Seeking to understand. Now I am no psychologist, but I have made enough parenting mistakes to have wisdom. One of Cat Stevens (Yusuf) best songs was Father & Son where he tells a story from both the father (being directive) and the son wanting to be heard. “From the moment I could talk, I was ordered to listen.” Having grown up as the middle child of seven kids, I could relate. My Dad was a great father, but when you are 17, you don’t always see it that way. Active listening doesn’t cost anything (other than time), but you can pay a huge relationship price for not listening.
At Butler Street, our own Robert Reid brought an improv exercise to our training called last-word response. It’s a little comical, but powerful. One person says a sentence, and the other must begin their next sentence with the last word of what was just said.
Why do we do it? Because it forces you to stop planning your response while the other person is still talking. You have to stay present. You have to actually listen not just hear.
What It All Comes Down To
Here’s the truth:
If communication is weak, relationships suffer. Business relationships. Personal relationships. All of them.
That’s why at Butler Street; we put communication at the center of everything we do. We teach our team and our clients to:
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Understand other person’s operating reality
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Practice active listening with empathy
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Ask situation, insight, GAP and needs solution questions to uncover needs
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Validate assumptions through response checks before acting on them
Because when we communicate well, we build trust. And when we build trust, we grow; our teams, our client relationships, and yes, ourselves.
Final Thought:
If you’re dealing with a challenge right now, ask yourself:
“Is this a result of miscommunication, or lack of communication?”
Chances are, it’s one of the two.
Fix the communication—and you’ll start to fix the relationship. And if you’d like help strengthening communications skills within your organization, contact us to get started.
