DT | Solving the "Communication Problem" (Finally!) - 11:45 a.m.

For generations, people have been trying to solve “The Communication Problem” through books, seminars, techniques, instruments and courses, but nothing has worked to eliminate miscommunication — because these efforts all try to solve the wrong problem!  There is a fundamentally different way of thinking about communication that enables people at work to remove the barriers inherent in communication, and to accomplish incredible results.
 
Managers all over the world, and in all walks of life, agree: the most common challenge in getting results every day is communicating effectively so that people work cooperatively.  Communication breakdowns — misunderstandings, misinterpretations, flawed assumptions, unclear expectations — lead to more dysfunction at work than anything else.  In fact, miscommunication is so prevalent that most people just accept it as a “necessary evil” of trying to work together.
 
This session presents an overview of why communication breaks down, the impact this has on cooperation, and what can be done to help people achieve great things despite the inherent challenges of communication.

Kirk Hardcastle has worked in management, marketing, public relations and adult education for more than 25 years.  He is a partner and president of LeaderPoint, an executive development firm that focuses on providing business leadership with an approach that significantly improves business results. Since 1999, as a session facilitator and executive coach, he has worked with senior managers representing more than 1,000 companies. He has published monographs on business leadership and management since 2004. He also manages LeaderPoint’s marketing initiatives.
 
As adjunct professor in Rockhurst University’s EMBA Executive Fellows curriculum, he teaches several management, leadership and marketing courses. He founded LeaderScope, an executive coaching firm, in 2013. He founded Tricycle Design, a digital marketing and design studio, in 2005.
                   
As president of Tricycle Design, he has developed marketing strategies and targeted communications tools for clients in all sectors, from technology to healthcare to manufacturing to finance. He has created corporate identity and marketing materials for companies in all industries. His programs have been awarded numerous local, regional and national awards, including Echo, ARC, PRISM and AMBIT Best of Show awards.
 
He founded Hardcastle Communications, a strategic marketing firm, in 1993, and was the founding editor of EXPLORE Kansas City, a local news magazine, in 1997. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he worked as a political strategist, lobbyist and campaign consultant at the local, county, state and national levels.