One Monday morning, while taking a break at a conference, I wandered over to the golf practice range. I realized that the man hitting balls out of the practice sand trap was one of the world's premier golfers. He had just won the previous PGA tournament, in fact. I edged over and stood watching in awe as he pounded ball after ball up near the pin.

Then he decided to rest for a few moments and climbed out of the bunker. He walked over to me and we shook hands and chatted. He asked about my game. "Inconsistent is the word." I said. "I get six or seven pars in a round and the rest are not worth mentioning. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Hit a thousand balls a day," he said. "I haven't found any other way."

"Don't you have something you could sell me?" I asked. "How about some new clubs, or a pair of pants, or a ball warmer, or a magic glove?"

He laughed and patted me on the shoulder. "You left out motivation classes for the caddies," he said. "You know as well as I do that you are responsible for your own game. If you can par six or seven holes, you can par them all." He went back to work.

The truest form of communication is participation. I have noticed that many managers try to tell their people something without being an example of it themselves. This is particularly true of quality. Executives in particular think that they can spend some money and buy what is called TQM. This consists of a bunch of techniques, tools and classes intended to change the way people work. But the communication is not real. Management commitment cannot be demonstrated by anything else except the management being committed, in person.

I decided to take the advice of this obviously dedicated professional. Hitting a thousand balls a day is a little past my activity level, but I did take some lessons and began to work on what I was taught. I began to take the game more seriously, to make certain that I was lined up and set up properly. I thought about things. All of this didn't take any more time, but it certainly had its effect on my game. My handicap was the lowest it had been in 25 years.

Communication is getting the message to the areas that need it in a way that will be accepted and implemented. That requires both credibility of presentation and integrity of content.

Don't try to sell something you don't believe.

©1999 Philip Crosby Associates II, Inc.