Ducks in a Row: Dark Side of Communications
by Miki Saxon
Did you know ‘communications’ are like the Force, with both a light and dark side?
Communications may be used to engage, enlighten and clarify.
Communications may be used to confuse, coerce and obfuscate.
I usually write about the light side of communications.
Dark-side communications are what brought the economy down and are still popular, most recently at JP Morgan.
Consider the following presentation written by Bruno Iksil, the whale himself, on Jan. 26, 2012, as the losses were growing. He called for executing “the trades that make sense.”
He proposed to “sell the forward spread and buy protection on the tightening move,” “use indices and add to existing position,” “go long risk on some belly tranches especially where defaults may realize” and “buy protection on HY and Xover in rallies and turn the position over to monetize volatility.”
Confusing? Don’t feel alone; that was the finding of the Senate investigation report.
“This proposal encompassed multiple, complex credit trading strategies, using jargon that even the relevant actors and regulators could not understand.”
Companies of all sizes have a responsibility to communicate so their customers understand.
Bosses have a responsibility to communicate in ways their people understand.
Not that you’d know it listening to them or reading the content they produce—it’s full of jargon and jargon is the bane of clarity.
So which side are you on—light or dark?
By the way, that choice carries into your personal life in the way you choose to communicate with your family, friends, pets and all other constant or random interactions with anything that breathes.
Flickr image credit: Marina Avila
