Thursday, October 2, 2014

Our 3-D World is Very Grey

There is only grey. Lots of it and all shades, but there really is no black and white. I found myself thinking this tonight after another supply management debate. People want to believe the world is either one way or it is the complete opposite. They think if its this way, then there is that effect and if not, then all hell will rain down.

It's so not that simple. Every issue is a complex and tangled web of connections and consequences, making no answer a clear 'right' or 'wrong'. It is all grey.

This is one thing my MBA has helped me understand. I am also consciously aware that I think in "layers", perhaps as a result of my MBA or I am just more aware of it today than I was two years ago. It also is the challenge many leaders face; you see the problem or opportunity at hand in 3 dimensions and people want to think it's one. Leaders need to hone not their persuasion skills, but their ability to converge these two vantage points into one that people can not only easily understand, but also want to engage in because they see a direct benefit in doing so. Often that benefit needs to be personal.

That takes great communication. According to Robert McKee, that takes a story. I don't think a story can be told in 140 characters either, so Twitter is a great communication channel but is it the place to engage and tell your story? If not, then how else are you going to capture that audience? 

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