A Bigger Voice: Are we speaking the same language?

While Simon Young is a new blogger for A Bigger Voice, he's not new to blogging or social media. Simon is our resident Kiwi and lead on technology for A Bigger Voice. I first met Simon after he posted a YouTube video, reporting on a geek camp in New Zealand. Within minutes, I could tell that Simon understood technology and used it to communicate at a human level. Simon also has a gift for choosing words that meet you half-way (in addition to his social media consultancy, he runs Simon Young Writers) and creating the simple metaphor that will explain the complex. A rare bird, indeed. Enjoy.

--Carol Ross

I've been reading a lot recently about the process of change and innovation, particularly in large organisations.

It's relatively easy for a Thomas Edison to innovate, all by himself in a workshop, or in control of a group of factory workers. But in the complex 21st century, how does change take root?

I believe it has a lot to do with speaking the same language.

In The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman tells the story of the Apache server, a piece of software that powers many websites today. It came about through people power, hundreds of developers contributing code voluntarily, with no recompense but the knowledge they were building something good.

It's an example of an organic community forming around a project, but it never would have gotten anywhere if the programmers involved didn't already have a common language. By that I mean their programming languages, but also the standard operating procedures they put in place.

When it came to A Bigger Voice, both consultants and clients came from across the board. Most of us were what Carol calls Boundary Crossers - people who bridge two or more areas of expertise without comfortably fitting in any one of them (at least, that's my definition!).

We began with no particular common language (except English!). We came from different states (or countries!), different industries and different frames of reference. And that was how it should be, because how can you get anything new from sameness?

But that diversity made it important to develop our common language before doing the doing. In retrospect, here's how it started:

Know the people. We learnt who our teammates were personally as well as professionally. We told our stories. We completed Strengths Finder profiles. And we felt accepted - we felt like we were already good enough for the role, and we had high standards to live up to.
Establish the framework. With Carol at the helm, we had a solid project management framework within which to be "organic". Of course, that framework shifted a few times as we saw the need, but without that framework in place - which included rituals like weekly meetings, "check-ins" at each meeting, and tools like Basecamp - nothing would happen.
Co-create the language. A lot of time was spent - and well spent - on reestablishing what we were about. It's like the story of the Blind Men and the Elephant - we all knew that A Bigger Voice was something special, but we didn't quite know what. Over time, we came up with concepts that Bill boiled down to Crystallize, Create Community, and Monetize.

With all three of our clients, we faced the same issue of how to communicate one person's story to another - heart to heart, not just words to ears.

It's a neverending journey, but when your story gathers just a few people around it, they begin to create the language with you. That, I hope, is what our clients are experiencing - and what I'm sure A Bigger Voice will continue to experience as you contribute your thoughts.

How does the elephant feel from where you are?