Fierce

How Susan Scott is changing the conversation—literally—around communication in the workplace.

- Laura Close

What is the hardest part of your job? For some, it’s back-breaking labor. For others, it’s the challenging pace of business that can’t be maintained. But I think we can all agree that one of the most difficult components of any job is effective, and truthful, communication.

It can be a constant roadblock to productivity. It can get in the way of achieving goals. Communication is hard, and can be even harder in workplaces that do not encourage openness and transparency.

A whopping 97 percent of employees and executives in a ClearCompany survey believe that a lack of alignment within a team impacts the outcome of a task or project. A lack of collaboration or ineffective communication were cited by 86 percent of respondents for workplace failures.

In a marketplace where you can email, Google, Slack, tweet, message, and livestream, why is good communication so difficult? Wouldn’t it be great if there was a company that focused only on improving conversations—that could help get those difficult conversations started?

Leadership development companies don’t usually focus solely on conversations, but that’s what separates Fierce Inc. from the rest of the noise. The company’s survey about the trustworthiness of U.S. corporations and the U.S. government alike piqued our interest (more on this later), but after learning more about this women-run business, its founder, and its mission, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get an inside look.

Before founding Fierce Inc., Scott spent 13 years running think tanks for CEOs. She didn’t have a consulting background, and her business background didn’t prepare her for working with strong opinions and egos. Scott has to figure out a way to have productive conversations to help her clients reach their goals.