"Even pudding needs a theme." -- Winston Churchill ... by way of Dan Wallace (thanks, Dan!)
Last week, we had some thoughts stimulated by John Seely Brown's comments about conversation. He basically recommended creating an environment where "serendipitous types of conversations" occur. We asked you for your thoughts and got great responses. Thanks to everyone who shared.
Responses:
From Jack Ricchiuto
Writing "Accidental Conversations" woke me up to the innovative power of freedom in conversations: The more unplanned a conversation, the greater possibility there is for unplanned outcomes.
(Ed. We found this quote on the description of Jack's book on amazon.com -- "We fall in love, begin our best adventures, and discover our most significant resources in informal, quite unplanned conversations. They are expressions of life’s infinite capacity for surprise ... However much we try to surprise-proof the world with our goals, beliefs, and plans, life sustains change as its prime constant.")
From Brent Toellner:
At one company I used to work for we weren't allowed to make internal phone calls. We were required to walk away from our desk to talk to coleagues instead of emailing them or calling them. While maybe not horribly efficient for a very large company, our company of 100 always had people milling about, talking and discussion our business. A lot of good ideas came from these inpromptu conversations, and a lot of good friendships too -- which in this day and age are underrated in the workplace.
At first this seemed like a negative (not allowing internal calls). That was back in 1996-97 -- and they were dealing with everyone latching on to email in the workplace. It worked really well. People grumbled at first, but it really helped liven up the work environment there. In fact, I've yet to work for any other place where I've established as close of relationships as I did while I was there.
From Bruce Koren:
You ask how do we enable really interesting conversations. This is an important question because the answer is diametrically opposed to the basic tenants of business.
In business, we feel like we should follow the Boy Scout's motto and "Be Prepared." In developing new ideas through interesting conversations we need to relax, trust our own creativity, and have fun.
I know this from my experience as a Creative Director over the past 15 years. In our marketing agency the creative team met often to develop themes, strategies, delivery systems, packaging solutions, and all sorts of creative solutions to client problems. And while I needed to be prepared with a clear understanding of the client goals and needs, I never burdened the brainstorming group with anything more than a one-page Creative Workplan which outlined the goal, key message, tone and a few other items.
Our meetings had to be fun. There were always catalogs and magazines in the room for browsing. Not for stealing ideas, mind you but for stimulating thinking. There were also toys. That's right; toys in a business environment. My favorite was the Ball Blaster, a rapid-fire pump rifle that launched a flurry of multi-colored ping pong balls at members who were judgmental during brainstorming sessions, or who simply were not paying attention.
In addition to these fanciful props, these meetings always began with jokes and stories and some silliness that worked like a charm to loosen the group up. I know it's a proven fact that people who are having fun produce more ideas than those who are working too seriously at problem solving. But this group joked around for a few minutes and then began high-powered brainstorming sessions that produced tons of ideas for major clients like Bank of America, Apple Computer, DHL, Wells Fargo, Sutter Home Wines and scores of others.
In the end, I believe that a non-judgmental environment, and having fun are the keys to opening up people to interesting conversations. My team had the gift of trusting their own creativity and their own ability to solve any problem the account team delivered to them. Instead of fearing a blank piece of paper awaiting a solution, we savored it. We had fun playing "what if" and we knew that after an hour or so, the blank paper would be filled with enough concepts to keep the designers and writers busy producing on-target presentation materials for the client's approval.
I believe it was Michael J. Gelb, a pioneer of creative thinking, who said, "The road to 'Ah ha!' is paved with 'Ha ha.'" So don't be afraid to lighten up and let the really interesting conversation flow.
From Marian Thier:
One client keeps mindmaps in centrally located places for people to see and add to as new ideas come to mind.
From Randy Sims:
You've posed a very important question, and thanks for the opportunity to respond. Significant conversations and dialogue are essential if people are going to come together and create common cause. But often there are obstacles (both real and perceived) to those conversations and dialogues. So, "How do you enable really interesting conversations?"
Here at ChartHouse Learning, we spend a great deal of time thinking about and having conversations about conversations We are learning that conversations about possibilities, creativity, innovation and learning don't usually happen by accident: the working environment/organizational culture must be made conducive to bringing people together in an atmosphere of trust so those conversations can happen. But frankly, many organizations have yet to create such an atmosphere. Trust is often a scarce commodity in these companies. Customers don't trust the salespeople, salespeople don't trust the accountants, stockholders don't trust the management team, management doesn't trust the workers, co-workers don't trust each other, and--well, you get the idea.
But when trust between people is sought, encouraged, supported and reinforced, amazing things can occur. People can speak honestly to each other. Conversations can be open, frank and direct, yet still
respectful in their tone. People's ideas are taken seriously and given due consideration, whether a particular idea ends up being adopted or not. People support each other and build each other up instead of competing to tear each other down. Mutuality and respect become the rule rather than the exception. People don't feel they have to step on each other or diminish another person to get somewhere themselves. And when these things begin to happen, the level of trust begins to climb even higher. A new level of awareness begins to occur in terms of work relationships, in a sense of purpose, and in our individual selves. Now, trust is an elusive thing--it takes time, intent and hard work to develop, and it can be lost or destroyed very quickly. But when it's working and when people come to the table in good faith, trust can be the strongest, most effective catalyst for generating interesting, productive conversations.
Here are my thoughts on how to enable interesting conversations:
1. The first thing we must do is become aware of the obstacles to those conversations. What are the obstacles, and what is their nature? Such obstacles can be either real or perceived (and sometimes the perceived obstacles can be even more difficult to overcome than the real ones.) They can exist in the form of old paradigms, traditional/ stodgy modes of thinking and acting, wounded relationships, a lack of support by management, a lack of strong models to emulate, a toxic organizational culture that drains energy and deflates enthusiasm, and so on. Look around you--how does your organization promote or minimize opportunities for significant conversations? Once we have specifically identified what the obstacles are, we can take effective action to surmount them.
2. Next, we must think of/develop ways to remove (or at least minimize the negative effect of) those real or perceived obstacles. This is the really difficult part, but it's not impossible. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without inspiration, so we must find some way to get at least a couple of people inspired to take action. From inspiration will come an energy and a desire to create change. You don't need a thousand people to create change: it only takes a few dedicated, motivated individuals to start the ball rolling. People can begin to imagine possibilities when they're inspired--but inspiration without a means of expression leads only to frustration. That's why we must look hard for ways to express the hopes, dreams, and imaginations that live inside us. We must give ourselves permission to begin dreaming out loud, for in so doing we will begin removing the barriers that keep us from building trusting, respectful relationships where important conversations can flourish.
3. Once the way has been cleared (at least to some degree), we can get on with the business of talking to each other and holding the conversations that lead to innovation. Margaret Wheatley has said, "I believe we can change the world if we start listening to one another again...Simple, truthful conversation where we each have a chance to speak, we each feel heard, and we each listen well." From such conversations--rooted in truth, respect and trust--will surely come ideas and energy that lead to productive change, learning and growth.
There have been many books written on the importance of conversation as a culture-shaping tool. Margaret J. Wheatley's "Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future" and "A Simpler Way" are excellent places to begin. I'd also recommend "Dialogue: Rediscover The Transforming Power of Conversation," by Linda Ellinor and Glenna Gerard. Books like these can point the way to a stronger understanding of why and how to create interesting, meaningful conversations that will move us forward.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this critical and highly significant question, one that is becoming more important for people and organizations every day. I eagerly look forward to seeing what others have to contribute.
From Susan Miner:
I think in order to enable conversations for new ideas with cross- functional disciplines; the organization needs to foster a culture in valuing such conversations. My management experience suggests that associates look to the leaders in an organization in setting the culture or climate for operations of a business. Hence, leaders can participate and explicitly state the value of having such conversations. Incorporating these conversations into product and services really builds the trust in that these ideas and process are taken seriously within the business.
From John Lopuszanski:
I have had success a few times with "string email". An idea is sent to a group via email, who in turn, add to the idea, comment, suggest, rebut, and just simply brain storm. The pluses to this :
It allows everyone to make comments without intimidation,
Everyone is heard,
Distance is not an issue,
Finding a meeting room is not needed
Time is given between ideas/comments so people can ponder and work out their thoughts
Excellent side ideas can be spun off and start a new string.
The big down side of this is that is very little, if any, face to face interaction. (Some people think this as a big plus!!) I personally enjoy the occasional group brainstorming session to feed off the positive energy that can be created.
(Ed: I was particularly interested in this idea and asked John to clarify the technique.)
Yes, everyone sees the statements, no one is excluded, and everyone is invited to reply/comment as a "reply to all". It's a continuous long email . We limited it the people involved on a project with a facilitator. One time we had about 20, but not all were active. There was a major flurry of activity initially over the first few days, then it slows down until a new concept is introduced and again there's major action. This is continued until the time frame expires (a few weeks). It doesn't seem to be an overabundance of email, just scattered replies throughout the day. I got a kick when I noticed that some of the better replies came late in the evening from home computers.
From Jack and Gloria Bunting:
When talking with someone you must be a good listener, find out what that person's interests are and the rest is history.
From Jack Hipple:
First, by providing the surroundings, places, and mechanisms. Much is known about this already, though not much is well practiced. You do need the open areas, the coffee pots, the informal meeting rooms, etc. to create the possibility of conversations.
Second, and maybe not as well recognized, is something to talk about (you can't have a conversation without that can you?). So how do you catalyze this? By getting people to talk about their problems, not their successes. Success and recognition parties honor hard work and achievement, but don't cause conversation. Depending upon how we feel about someone, we can tune out on success stories almost
immediately, but if it's a problem, then we become engaged. Why? Because that's the nature of most people--they are curious and they frequently think that they could solve the problem better than someone else. It's difficult for people to do this, because it strikes at our ego. It's a lot more fun to talk about successes. A second person may or may not have the answer to the problem, but what we want is a conversation to start. So encourage people to talk about problems! That will start the conversation.
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