In public speaking, far too many of us inadvertently transform passion for our own ideas into a blanket contempt for those of others. That may be how you feel, and the deeper you look into the matter, the more justified you may believe yourself to be in this. But if you simply blast your audience with this attitude, you may inadvertently be revealing a contempt for them as well. . .
Have you ever been to a sporting event, and seen someone try to initiate a wave around the stadium by himself (it’s always a “he”)? Looked pretty silly, didn’t he? Sometimes he will become indignant at the unresponsiveness, and attempt to motivate the crowd, first with passionate exhortations, then with scolding reproaches, and finally with desperate pleading. At last he resumes his seat, surrounded by averted glances and embarrassed silence. Wave over. . .
The fellow had been conversing with an executive at a business gathering. Someone approached them, and the executive introduced the fellow, describing him, in all sincerity, as the smartest guy in the room. But the thing is, he hadn’t really said anything . . .
Fads wash over many areas of life. Most are harmless – even fun; others are downright irritating; some even dangerous. The management field has its share of all of these, but one area that requires constant watching is the faddish use of business language. This drains most affected words of any meaning, leaving behind only a mind-numbing droning sound in our ears that blocks any meaningful communication that may have otherwise been present in what was being said. . .
Does your organization know what it is? Do its various parts know their roles in the larger enterprise, or does each one think the others revolve around it? Is it possible that everyone in the outfit is blind this way, and no one really understands that they are supposed to make up something greater than themselves? There is real potential for intra-organizational misperceptions about its identity. . .
Earlier this week, David Letterman, in his nightly comedy monologue, was discussing a meeting of one of the major US political parties. “The theme of this year’s convention is unity,” he noted, adding, “Unfortunately they can’t agree on how it works.” That’s not so unusual, is it? Whether we are talking about unity or leadership, or any buzzword in between . . .
The Economist magazine has a periodic feature in which it offers a summary of an article from one of its own books, “The Economist Guide to Management Ideas and Gurus.” This week’s was about crisis management. What comes to your mind when you, a manager, think of crisis management?
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