Communicating Vision

This post is guest authored by Annie Eaton. Annie is the founder and CEO of the extended reality-focused company Futurus, which produces training and product visualization applications and provides technology consulting for various organizations and non-profits. Annie recently released her first book, The Extended Reality Blueprint, in an effort to demystify the AR/VR production process. She stays involved in her local Atlanta technology community and serves on multiple industry advisory boards. She has been recognized by various organizations for her work in tech, including Women in Technology’s Woman of the Year Award, Women in IT’s Rising Star Award, and Technology Association of Georgia’s Young Professionals’ Technologist of the Year Award. Information about how to connect with Annie is included at the bottom of her article.

By Annie Eaton:

I've never had trouble talking - any of my friends or family members can tell you that. But communicating as a business leader has been something I've had to work at and continue to improve upon as I run my company, Futurus. Luckily, my #1 Clifton Strength is Communication. I remember learning early on in my CliftonStrengths journey that our strengths are exactly that, strengths — but sometimes they are so strong that they can have negative implications.

In my role as CEO of a company that produces virtual reality training simulations for companies like Walmart, Delta Air Lines, Mars Wrigley, and more, I want to brainstorm, be creative, and talk things out. But I've found over the last decade of running my company that in many cases I can get more done by listening than talking. That's one thing I had to learn —communicating isn't just about talking. It's a two-way street with the act of listening just as important as talking, writing, etc. Once I learned that, I truly believe I became a stronger manager to my team members, and better vendor to my customers.

My business is encountering a new challenge this year. We are launching our first productized solution, XR Industrial. After seeing a gap in the market for a solution that delivers virtual reality safety training content, with a way for trainers to configure those lessons to fit their organizations' existing safety programs, we built it. It's been a communication challenge, to say the least, both internally and externally. Instead of having one client per project to have final executive power in decision making, that responsibility now falls to me. And I want to make sure I'm making those decisions with as much knowledge as I can gather. That becomes a slippery slope because with everyone's great ideas and strong opinions, product development can't be a democracy - we've tried it before and failed. So, I'm approaching this product a little differently, knowing that I do have be confident in those decisions while still ensuring my team knows that I value their contributions and opinions. It's taken some practice, but I feel like we're finally getting into a good groove where the team does research and prototyping, they present it, we evaluate all of the possibilities and considerations, a decision is made, and we move on.

I am honest with my team and I think that's what makes this whole thing work. Honesty has created an environment of mutual trust and openness, where innovation thrives. When the time is right, I deliver information, my vision, and the company's challenges and successes to them, and then I listen. My team typically has no shortage of questions and I appreciate that they challenge me. I've made it clear that I will listen and then make the most informed decision for the business. My decision is not what they always want to hear, but I explain my "why" behind it if I don't agree with their suggestion and that's what works for us. It's not an extremely polished process, it's driven by my people, who I deeply care about, and my gut - the perfect combination of my head and my heart.