Why effective and influential leaders focus on direct communication

The opinions expressed by entrepreneurs contributors are their own.

With a vast amount of tutorials, gurus, and productivity tactics, many companies are constantly looking to be more efficient by optimizing their internal processes. It is well known that for a business to run more smoothly and efficiently, there must be a continuous adaptation of flexibility, speed and cooperation. Another thing that should be an area of ​​focus is friction removal. If you look at all the top startups, brands and their products, you can see that the more friction they remove, the better their product or service is, and the more widespread market adoption it gets.

Removing friction doesn't just happen in SaaS products or on the side. This also happens with the company and the employees. In this article, I'll share several ideas that I think people should pay attention to, even if they seem weird or unconventional at first.

Related: Great Leaders' Most Overlooked Communication Skill

How to use secretaries and assistants the right way

We have all seen and encountered one of the most resonant "status symbols" of business people: the secretary. How many times have you heard the following phrases?

"Let me talk to my secretary."

"You can schedule a call with me directly with my assistant."

"Please my assistants, and they'll take care of it."

"I'm very busy. Please check with my assistant."

I bet you've heard these phrases many times. I want to share with you my personal opinion on this. Listen, I work with many top entrepreneurs and investors, and what stands out when I analyze the most effective ones is that they never use these phrases. They never back out of the conversation. They may have assistants who help them with certain things, but that usually happens behind the scenes. Effective leaders are usually exceptional communicators, and they know how important every moment of interaction is.

Let me give you some examples. One of my dear friends is tech influencer Hillel Fuld; when people talk about him, they often mention his incredible productivity and time management skills. They don't understand how he is able to meet so many people and respond so quickly to messages and emails, while making sure to use the "Inbox Zero" approach. People might think he has an array of assistants following him around. But no. He does every moment of communication by himself, and he loves it. He knows it gives him an advantage.

Another example is the CEO of , . If you read articles about him, you understand that this man is a communication machine. Journalists constantly admire his quick responses to inquiries, as well as the constant availability of direct communication with him. This led him to become one of the most dominant opinion leaders.

The mistake that many entrepreneurs make is that they decide to entrust direct communication to their assistants. They are so preoccupied with time management that they forget to think about the other side – the other person interacting with them. By letting their assistant take over the conversation, they may be more efficient over time, but they forget that in business, being efficient and influential is far more important than to be efficient.

Related: Become a Better Leader by Improving Your Communication Skills

The demo, the seller and the one who wants a solution

Some companies try to automate their demo process. Instead of reaching out to a specific salesperson with each incoming demo request, they try to automate and streamline the process by sending more than one 30-minute demo video and three or four jargon-filled PDFs to the prospect. Sorry, but that's ridiculous.

Think about it, these companies spend so much money on , and when they start getting leads (you know, real people interested in their product), they decide to take it to a