Stop and Listen
When I wrote the first issue of this letter on 19 January 2020, I had no idea what would unfold over the next two years. As it turned out this letter, our conversation, has been a guiding light through tired moments. In the weeks where I have felt tired and uninspired, my commitment to share something with you each week, have kept me going. Your reading, sharing of, and commenting on this letter, has provided me energy and inspiration. Thank you.
As I reflected on what to write this week, it was the above thought that started to shape today’s letter. In reading, you are listening to me. Reading is a particular type of listening. As I write to you, I am free to formulate my thoughts, you’re not jumping into this sentence with suggestions or disagreements. I have space to formulate my thoughts. Many of you tell me that you have rituals for reading this letter. Without fail, they involve making space and quiet to read, to listen. You’re intentional about listening, about reading. You get more from the experience because you’re intentional about the reading. Equally, my writing is enabled both by your reading, and by the space in which I can formulate my thoughts.
In my coaching work, my clients often comment on how joyful it is to be listened to. One paused as she remembered a time of great creativity in her life. Her smile brought fire to her eyes as she traveled back to that moment. She exclaimed ‘this is so much fun.’ Her happiness lingered for the rest of our conversation. Another reflected on the power of voicing his thoughts, verbalizing all the different strands of his life, and as he did, he said that he could start to see patterns and possibilities.
And so today is about the power of listening, listening to others and listening to oneself.
Strategy
I am sure that many of you would’ve experienced the onslaught of various open innovation initiatives from around the mid-2000s. They have their roots in rich soil. Most famously, P&G’s Connect and Develop programme which at one point generated 35% of its new innovations. Corporate horror stories about how innovations had languished in corners of Kodak and other companies that came to be disrupted, came to capture the imagination of consultants everywhere and so, by the late 2000s, most of us in operations management were ploughing through dozens of ideas erupting out of some corporate-led innovation project. Ideas that had often already been tested and discarded years ago.
It was a well-intentioned initiative – to listen more – but in many corporate structures it was simply a way of seeming to be effective. One could point to an innovation project somewhere, but never truly do the hard work of restructuring business models, reworking processes, risking in new markets, integrating new people and new skills into a business. It often infuriated and perplexed me, hundreds of hours spent on processing ideas, vast sums spent on ‘innovation consultants’ and portals for user-generated innovation, ad yet the true innovation, that rested on systematically listening to customers and evolving business processes was rejected. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to articulate why until I read Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini’s Humanocracy.
Hamel and Zanini point to three reasons that we’re resistant to innovation. We discount discomforting facts – we don’t like to hear them. We’re often oblivious to facts that don’t fit our existing mental categories – we simply don’t hear them. We are often ‘consumed by the urgent’ – we’re too busy being busy to hear.
They argue that if we were more open, if we listened more intently, in other words if WE change, innovation becomes both more possible and more effective, because it is more closely aligned to the business’s skills, resources and customers. By listening you embrace the possibility of the new AND the power of your experience and resources.
They suggest four habits that we can practice to open ourselves to new possibilities.
Challenge unexamined assumptions. Of course, some assumptions are sound, so in their words how do we ‘distinguish between the laws of physics and the iron grip of dogma?’ First, spot the similarities. Because incumbents’ strategies tend to converge, by mapping what is similar you may spot opportunity in the shadows. Second, focus on what hasn’t changed – ‘legacy practices become invisible. Your job is to question whether those taken-for-granted practices still make sense.’ Third, go to extremes. Pick some parameter of performance – cost, speed, price – and ask what would happen if you aimed for a 5X or 10X improvement? What possibilities are opened for your business then? What happens if you bring the same process to how you live your life?
Be Alert to What’s Changing. I like the way they put it ‘give yourself the chance to be surprised.’ That’s quite hard is a world where cookie monsters try to curate what you see, but find ways to burst out, you’ll be delighted by what you discover.
Repurpose Skills and Assets. “You’re probably used to defining your business by what it makes or sells, but to see new opportunities, you have to look deeper. You need to ask, ‘What the skills that underpin our success?’ And then, ‘How might we use those skills to create new products and services?’ A small example is that I love reading. That love gave rise to this letter that you’re now reading.
The fourth and final habit, is Unearth the Unmet Needs. They make the point “You have to open your heart to open your mind. You’ve got to get close enough to customers to feel what they feel. Then you will see opportunities to transform the customer experience in ways that transform the human spirit.” It seems so simply – make your customers happy, but “bureaucracies value thinking over feeling. That’s why most businesses are astoundingly bad at reading customer emotions. Every day the irritate their customers in countless ways.” So, think about things that would please you. That might be a business. What brings joy to your customers? Amplify it. What irritates them? Take it away.
Each of these habits requires pausing, listening and being curious. To do that you need to be refreshed and have time. I hope that you will be getting some of that over the next few weeks.
Self
In Nancy Kline’s most recent book, The Promise That Changes Everything: I Won’t Interrupt You she reflects on the work of organisation development specialist Ken Sergi who estimates that we think seven times faster than we speak. So, if we interrupt someone mid-sentence, we may be cutting off the flow of the 85% of wisdom that sits behind their spoke words. Creating the space, time and relationship for listening can help others unlock their wisdom.
As families and friends gather for the end of the year, the temptation is always to offer advice and solutions, occasionally triggering unexpected conflict. Try to remember this, what you’ve heard represents only the tip of your loved one’s thinking, give them the space, the time, and the attention to allow them to share the rest of their thinking. Pause, listen to them, hear their ideas, ask what else they’ve got to say or feel about the topic at hand. Know that your attention will be valuable to them and will help them think better. When they ask for advice, gently ask what thoughts they’ve had. Perhaps share stories of how different people have handled similar problems. Try to use diverse examples. Enrich their world don’t tell them what to do. Remember the ask for advice is actually something more profound. It is a request that says ‘help me think about this’. It is a request that says, ‘inspire me to find new possibilities.’
Soul
Sometimes listening is about observing. Watch this toddler get down with Rampage the Dancer. You’ll start your week smiling.
Next week will be the last letter of the year.
Whoops, I nearly left you without some art to inspire your soul. Sorry!
Who knows what a baboon, Black Label beers and a skull are doing together in a painting? Colbert Mashile does. He is without doubt one of my favourite artists. His work compels me to pause and listen, and my world is richer because of it.
Best wishes
Karl
PS: You can learn more about my coaching practice here and connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram. If this is the first time you’re reading strategy, soul, & self, you can subscribe here.