Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind. Those six words from Brene Brown contain the entire philosophy of Communication in the C8. Ambiguity is not politeness. It is cruelty disguised as caution.
Communication is critical at MEDDICC because it is a remote company. There is no hallway conversation to clear up a confusing email. There is no body language to soften a vague Slack message. Every word carries weight. Every sentence needs to land. In a remote-first environment, communication is not a nice-to-have. It is the oxygen of the business.
The C8 standard for Communication demands clarity, respect, and conciseness. Say what you mean. Mean what you say. Use fewer words. Eliminate jargon. Kill ambiguity. If someone has to re-read your message to understand it, you have failed.
Listening is as important as speaking. Great communicators listen before they respond. They read between the lines. They pick up on non-verbal cues, even in a remote setting. They have the emotional intelligence to know when to push, when to pull back, and when to simply be present. And they are prompt and responsive. Silence is not neutral in a remote team. Silence is a signal.
The Churchill standard applies here. Winston Churchill was famous for his ability to communicate complex ideas with devastating simplicity. He stripped away the unnecessary. He made every word count. That is the standard. Not eloquence for its own sake. Clarity in service of action.
The test: read their written communication. Is it clear? Is it concise? Does it have a call to action? Now watch them speak. Do they get to the point or do they orbit it? Communication reveals itself instantly. There is nowhere to hide.
