Last year I took the biggest risk of my life and invested a fairly large sum of money in real estate in Brazil.
It has been an interesting ride so far, and I have learned or been reminded of many business lessons along the way. These lessons have a parallel with the internal audit profession. And one of these lessons just happened yesterday.
But before I get into that, let me give you a little more background.
As part of what I would call my “investment operations” in Brazil I’ve been contacting, collaborating, and partnering with builders, realtors, and lawyers.
Yes, lawyers.
You (unfortunately) can’t escape them in the real estate business.
I’ve hired and not re-hired a few but have finally found one that I think will work long term.
There are two main things that I like about that specific lawyer:
Eager to make things happen
Great communication skills - keeps me posted on progress by giving me detailed reports from time to time (more on that later)
Many (if not most) lawyers are eager to take your money but less eager to make things happen.
She is the opposite. And that’s why I think things may work in the long run.
But one thing that she could probably improve is her method of reporting information. She provides overly detailed reports.
Let me give you an example. Yesterday I had a touch base call with her. The call started at 5:14pm. She had told me prior to the call what the topic was, but did not want to disclose, quite yet, the outcome of her findings.
She started the call with some pleasantries, which was fine, and then started talking about the research she had done on a specific topic and the course of action she was recommending.
At 5:32pm, yes 18 minutes later, she was finally getting into what I really wanted to hear.
She failed to follow the BLUF, or bottom line upfront, approach of communication.
Gary Bandy, aka The Articulated Accountant, shared this approach on my podcast last year, episode here → https://tinyurl.com/2v8bh52k
When communicating results, GET TO THE POINT.
Internal auditors need to learn that. Get to the bottom line.
I can tell you from the experience yesterday that people don’t necessarily want the details. If they want it, they will ask for it. They want you to get to the point.
What best practices can you share in using the BLUF approach? When have you used that in your career?
P.S. apologies for not using the BLUF approach for this article, at least I’m not bluffing on the story.
P.S. #2 - No, my lawyer is not charging by the hour, so she had no incentive to make the call longer than necessary.