One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned working with lower-middle-market companies — whether as a board member or part of the leadership team — is to continually ask a simple question: What signals might we be missing? What signals need to be clarified further?
What is a signal? Every email, meeting, board presentation and hallway conversation carries both signal and noise. Signal is the idea that matters. Noise is everything else: jargon, defensiveness, over-explanation and PowerPoint slides that look impressive but say little. This idea of signal, which is mostly a measure of clarity, is based on a framework Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism, discusses. That framework is Clarity = Signal/Noise. The higher the signal, the clearer the message. I’ve found this concept to be quite useful in business and leadership.
The illusion of communication
George Bernard Shaw once noted, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” This illusion is fueled by noise. We often assume we have communicated because words were spoken, yet the message never truly landed. In organizations, this sometimes manifests as endless meetings without results.
Psychologist Carl Rogers viewed “noise” as anything blocking real connection — defensiveness, assumptions or an inability to listen. If a listener is skeptical or distracted, even the cleanest signal is lost. What interferes with understanding, he argued, is rarely the absence of words. It’s the presence of distortion — assumptions, ego, distraction or the simple failure to listen.
Noise is often disguised as wordiness or technical jargon. Consider the difference between a long, qualifying email and a direct one:
■ Noisy: “I wanted to reach out and let you know that the final report will be sent to you by the end of the business day tomorrow, unless there are any unforeseen circumstances.”
■ Signal: “You’ll have the final report by tomorrow evening.”
Blaise Pascal famously noted, “I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter.” Polishing a message is hard work, but failing to do so only grows the noise.
Case in Point: Satya Nadella. When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he faced a “know-it-all” culture weighed down by bureaucracy. He bypassed corporate buzzwords with one simple question: “Are we learning fast enough?” This shifted the mindset from “know-it-alls” to “learn-it-alls.” Within two years, employee engagement scores and perceptions of company culture improved by over 10 percent. Clarity plus humility amplified his signal.
To strengthen your messaging, follow this progression:
1) Keep it simple. Find the core truth and remove anything that doesn’t support it. As Einstein suggested, make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
2) Guard attention. Choosing brevity is an act of consideration. A one-page summary is often more effective than a dense slide deck.
3) Tailor the message. Adapt how the truth is shared based on the audience. Engineers generally want precision, while leadership executives want clarity, and teams in crisis need reassurance.
A high signal-to-noise ratio builds trust and speed. When communication is clear, people align faster and decisions require less effort. Conversely, when noise dominates, progress slows and trust breaks down.
The next time you prepare an important message or are having a difficult conversation, ask: What’s the signal here? Let that mantra guide you. ●
Sanjay Singh is a Board Advisor and Private Investor
