Your business signal to noise ratio impacts your professional credibility, no two ways about it. I use this phrase in reference to the quality of insights and information you provide clients.
TO DO: First, rate your overall professional credibility on a 1-10 scale, from lowest to highest rating. Then, compare your self-rating with the actual, client- and colleague-perceived quality of insights you offer. Finally, compare your professional credibility self-rating with the amount of unsubstantial, meaningless promotion thrown at clients as well as the less-than-satisfactory outcomes you produce.
Like I said, your business signal to noise ratio impacts your clients’ and colleagues’ perception of your professional credibility.
Signal to noise ratio is a scientific and engineering measurement.
OK. Let’s get for-real scientific and use a credible (think STEM) measurement instead of any pseudo-science. This ratio compares the level of background noise to the level of a desired signal.
If the ratio of signal power (measured in decibels) is large, then the signal created is strong and continuous. Think of a rock concert when you stand close to the stage and the sound system. When signal power is equal to or greater than 1:1, you successfully create more signal than you do noise.
That 1:1 ratio is your professional goal. However, this goal is elusive.
Did you ever wonder why it took scientists so much time to discover signals from the Big Bang amidst all the background noise of cosmic radiation?
So, why is your business signal to noise ratio so important?
Let’s get serious here. Are you creating monumental professional background noise for your clients or an outstanding and constant signal?
- If you have a large signal to noise ratio, you offer clients and colleagues relevant information that translates into business value.
- However, when you have a small signal to noise ratio (e.g., 1 in 10 high-quality pieces of content or 1 in 10 engineering projects which succeed), then you become commoditized.
- Then, current and prospective clients are less inclined to invite you to sit at their business tables.
As a result, when you and your organization lack credibility, you compete with the rest of the mediocre folks out there. Consequently, you become a source of digital chaos and distraction.
Alternatively, wouldn’t you rather impart wisdom that influences solid business decision-making? It’s a no-brainer that takes process and discipline. While no professional shortcuts are involved, tremendous professional satisfaction and customer success are achieved.
Do you signal strong, consistent and trustworthy professional credibility to clients? On the other hand, do you simply represent a lot of flavor-of-the-month business or technical noise?
Some folks on both the business and technical side of the fence love to sling around professional-sounding terminology. Think about it.
Chew on this now. On the one hand, if you do not understand the science behind the terms you use, why risk jeopardizing your professional credibility if queried about these concepts? On the other hand, if 80% of your conversation is composed of really long, technical words that decision-makers and influencers cannot understand, what’s the value in that tack? Either way, you end up talking yourself out of a contract.
Consider the long-term professional value of developing a strong portfolio of soft skills that you are comfortable articulating across the organization: yours and your clients’.
Here’s a strong business signal for you to chew on. If you work in the industrial Internet of Things space like I do (and, realistically, who doesn’t these days?), you are long overdue for a professional tune-up influencing mindset and skillset.
Isn’t it time to move beyond clicking on links embedded in this article? Now is a great time to (finally) take action and move beyond wrestling with professional noise.
Contact me and let’s discuss how I can catalyze you into becoming one of the strongest signals in your clients’ professional portfolios. I promise I don’t bite. 😉
Babette Ten Haken is a STEM-trained catalyst, corporate strategist, storyteller and facilitator. Her focus? How collaboration revolutionizes and humanizes the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) value chain. The results? Increased customer loyalty, customer success and customer retention.
Babette’s One Millimeter Mindset™ programs draw from her background as a scientist, sales professional, enterprise-level facilitator, Six Sigma Green Belt and certified DFSS Voice of the Customer practitioner. Her playbook of IIoT team collaboration hacks, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon. What are the Top 5 Negative Customer Retention Scenarios? Find out here.
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