How to Use Synergy to Communicate with the FINESSE Fishbone Diagram
- JD Solomon
- 17 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Synergy is the second “S” in the FINESSE Fishbone Diagram, and it may be the most misunderstood. Many technical professionals focus on individual personalities, but when the stakes are high and the uncertainty is real, individual traits take a back seat. Group effects dominate. Decisions are shaped not by one person’s logic but by the gravitational pull of an inner circle. If you want to communicate effectively in these environments, you must understand Synergy and, more importantly, work with it rather than against it.
Why Synergy Matters More Than You Think
In complex decisions, no one—no matter how smart—can process everything objectively. Decision makers rely on trusted advisors to help them interpret the noise. That inner circle becomes the filter through which information flows, and the group’s collective behavior becomes the real audience for your message.
This is why Synergy sits on the bottom fin of FINESSE, alongside Empathy and Structure. These three bones are all about the audience. They remind us that communication is not about what we say; it’s about how the group receives, interprets, and reinforces it.
If you’ve ever watched a technically sound recommendation fall apart because one influential participant wasn’t on board, you’ve seen Synergy in action.
Three Group Effects That Shape Synergy
Recent FINESSE posts on Frame and Illustrate emphasize clarity, simplicity, and the discipline of staying focused on what matters. Synergy builds on those same principles by helping you understand the forces that shape group behavior.
Here are three group effects that matter most:
1. Loyalty
Loyalty is the price of admission to the inner circle. It protects the organization from external threats, but it also slows change. Alliances form. Members “stick together.” A technically superior solution can be lost simply because it disrupts existing loyalties.
What to do: Identify the influencers early. If you can’t get the decision maker, get the person the decision maker trusts.
2. The Planning Fallacy
Groups routinely talk themselves into unrealistic expectations—budgets that have never been achieved, schedules that have never been met, and performance levels that defy historical evidence.
What to do: Use Illustrate (the second bone of FINESSE) principles. Show the historical record visually. Make the unrealistic obvious.
3. Performance Culture
As organizations grow, the focus shifts from individual work ethic to group norms, political considerations, and survival instincts. People align with the group to stay in the group.
What to do: Frame the decision in terms of organizational priorities, not technical logic. Show how your recommendation supports the group’s shared interests.
Why Advocacy Fails—and Dialogue Works
One of the strongest messages from Facilitating with FINESSE is that advocacy rarely works in complex decisions. A team spends months developing a recommendation, presents it once, and hopes the group adopts it. But the group hasn’t processed the information together. They haven’t reinforced it among themselves. They haven’t built Synergy.
A dialogue decision process works better because it brings the group along. It gives them time to absorb, question, and share information between milestones. It acknowledges that advisors change, politics shift, and uncertainty evolves.
Dialogue builds Synergy. Advocacy breaks it.
How to Use Synergy in Your FINESSE Communication
Here are three practical ways to apply Synergy when using the FINESSE Fishbone Diagram:
Engage the inner circle early. Don’t wait for the final presentation. Build relationships before you need them.
Communicate through influencers. Outsiders are often seen as invaders. Insiders carry messages farther and faster.
Give the group time. Big decisions require social reinforcement. Rushing the process creates resistance.
The Bottom Line
Synergy reminds us that communication is not a solo act. It is a group performance shaped by loyalty, norms, and shared experience. When you understand these dynamics—and design your communication to work within them—you move from presenting information to facilitating decisions. That is the essence of Communicating with FINESSE.
The elements of the FINESSE Fishbone Diagram® are Frame, Illustrate, Noise reduction, Empathy, Structure, Synergy, and Ethics.
JD Solomon Inc. provides solutions for program development, asset management, and facilitation at the nexus of facilities, infrastructure, and the environment.
JD Solomon writes and speaks on decision-making, reliability, risk, and communication for leaders and technical professionals. His work connects technical disciplines with human understanding to help people make better decisions and build stronger systems. Learn more at www.jdsolomonsolutions.com and www.communicatingwithfinesse.com
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