Number 10 of 52 Lifelong Communication Lessons: Future Proofing
March 09, 2015 |
| 1978 Volkswagen Beetle |
The year was 1978.
The last Beetle made in Germany leaves Volkswagen's plant in Emden. Sony releases the Walkman prototype. Jack Webster starts doing interviews on television. (I had a red bug with a rainbow on the back, a walkman and the privilege of being hung up on by Jack Webster.)
I was just starting to embark on my business career. I was beginning to find my way in the corporate jungle. It was the perfect time for me to find the book that would impact my life forever.
My zest for new things and ideas had not yet been dampened but the pressure to not make dramatic changes to my work was creeping in. I loved looking at my tasks from a different angle and creating new methods for getting the work done, faster and easier. Selling my bosses on anything new was a Herculean effort. The two gents in the top jobs were risk adverse and quite comfortable with the status quo. I had incorporated a couple of new things and while they resisted, I was able to make modest changes to systems and processes.
It was discouraging at times and I contemplated making it easier on myself by just going with the flow. Then, I read Future Shock. Bingo. My fate was sealed. The author, Alvin Toffler nailed it, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ” To heck with those bosses stuck in their ways, I was going keep on reinventing so I did not become a victim of Future Shock. The book also helped me understand the higher-ups. They were frightened and in shock. The world was starting to change and their comfy plan for the next decade or two was about to dramatically shift. And, I was symbolic of that change.
A young woman with little fear of failure and a strong desire to shake up the norm. I was probably their worst nightmare. On the other hand, I was pretty good at getting things done and they knew they had a hard worker. What I had to learn was how to convince them that my changes would bring more benefits than bloopers.
Technology was just starting to emerge. Part of my job at the time was the production of thousands of personalized letters asking for money. I had to line up the body of the letter and type in the recipient's name, company and salutation. We had IBM Selectrics but it was still no picnic. There were so many letters we subcontracted half of the list to a typing service. Sitting there typing hundreds of these got me thinking there must be a better way. I started checking out equipment and found the first version of a word processor from Olivetti. It was expensive and would take months to program but it was exactly what we needed. It was the size of a small desk, required special paper and was a noisy contraption. But, I was determined to get it.
Now, how to sell my bosses. First, I built the financial case taking the money we paid for the typist and then amortizing out the overall cost over three years. I knew a rational argument was not going to dissipate their fears so I found sample letters of what we could do, mocked up more creative letters and then pitched them with the possibility our new machine would bring. Then, I presented the kicker. I committed my own sweat equity of free overtime to implement the new system and data in record time. I would also commit to put my neck on the line with the Board by making the pitch to my Chairperson. That way I would take the heat if it failed. They bit.
After a lot of stress and late nights, the system worked. We named it GIGO as we quickly learned the reality of that acronym. Garbage in, Garbage out. After some failures we finally got the bugs out and it was a huge success.
At that point, I promised myself to never let fear hold me back. After all, what would be the worst thing that could happen? I would rather get fired than end up stale and frightened.
I still quote Alvin Toffler in my sessions, particularly the social media workshops. We are constantly reworking, updating and completely changing our sessions. I see the same resistance and fears among some business associates and work hard to create safe places for people to learn and embrace change.
We get our lessons from many sources and I have gleaned plenty from books I have read but none have ever topped Future Shock.
Thanks, Alvin.
Communication lessons:
- The methods of communicating will continue to change. You don't have to use them all but understanding them will keep you current.
- Avoiding risk can be a huge risk in itself. Being obsolete and out of touch is high risk in most businesses.
- Listening to younger people might just be the thing to do.
Fast forward to 2015. Think of all of the people you know who are in shock as the world passes them by. Who is Twitter?
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