Looking for the “LUL” in the Conversation: The New Design Language

I just had a GREAT conversation this morning with my two fellow co-authors. This book is going to also be GREAT!

Combining the post meeting high, with the endorphins of a fabulous Sunday bike ride around Seattle, and you’ve got me cycling around Seattle in another fabulous creative thought-flow.

My two co-authors have a very different background than I do. We’re all techno-geeks of sorts, but Nick and Martin come from the land of IT and software architecture. We kid, we have fun, but we also get some truly great work done through some equally fabulous conversations.

Why are those conversations valuable? Well, as I focus on the visual interpretation and design of what can often be very complex information, we’re all focused on finding a way to help others tell their stories. The audience for our book is a wide group of people that are interested in the best strategies to build up a case, and convince their stakeholders to take action after viewing their presentations.

SO back to our conversation… Where I’m going here is that this situation is not unlike a situation that any consultant, freelancer or designer will experience. It’s about what happens in the conversation, and what you can do to drive a successful solution to completion. I realized I could actually break it down into a nice acronym—“LUL.”

When in consult with clients, stakeholders or collaborators try this on:

1. LISTEN: Resist the urge to comment and/or jump in as they describe their present challenges that need some change and/or resolution (you'll get better at this over time). Let them tell you their story, and try to be fully present as they describe it. Hear them, but pay attention to everything (verbal and non-verbal). Don’t be thinking of questions you may have while they’re talking—you might miss something in the process!
2. UNDERSTAND: When appropriate, ask questions (of course), and when possible, work some time into the equation.  That way you can come up with follow-up questions you may have after some time for reflection, and there will be more depth to your solutions. Understand what they’re trying to do, and the intent behind it as much as possible. I cannot understate how important time can be—it can change everything. YOU may have some deeper insights, but sometimes (more importantly) your client may too. That, and they may just like to change their mind. But seriously, they may understand their needs better next week! It happens to all of us!
3. LANGUAGE: This last part is really all about relating, but it’s a better acronym with “L” (oh I’m such a crafty devil). As a designer, I have my design-specific language and terminology. This may or may not mean anything to your client, so look for leverage points and intersections between designer, client and the language used. This part of creating dialog is probably the most important, because you’re actually creating a “new language” together, that describes what they need in a way you’ll understand it as well… so that you start to connect it with a solution. Don’t get me wrong, talking about visuals is often not overly productive—so sometimes you just need to try some things, and get them in front of the client—but getting all your ‘ducks in a row’ and getting your homework done upfront will take you a long way.

And it all comes back to creating a “LUL” in the conversation, so that you create the space necessary to really “hear” your client, collaborator, stakeholder, or even your best buddy who’s got a problem—It’s about really “hearing.”

Did this help in some way? If so tell me how, or tell me how you have already doing something like this, or plan on using this as an approach. You may already be doing it—I would never want to be presumptuous—but maybe I simply said it in a way that was helpful.

Be well!

m

Being Part of the Whole Solution

So summer in Seattle is finally here. Or is it? Yes it is. Wait… now it’s not… wait…

Anyway, you get the picture. Things seem to be changing all the time. Understanding, accepting and rebelling against it are all part of the picture… the whole picture.

The Whole Picture: Physical Analogy

So I’ve obviously got the ‘whole’ picture in my systemic brain again, and I’ve been thinking about the physical changes I have been going through over the last 5-6 months. 

A little background:

About 6 months ago I started changing my exercise patterns. I started changing the ‘how’ of what I was doing. More specifically, that meant that I was still doing things like running, biking and lifting weights, but I started focusing on overall body strength, something I always intended, but was failing at…

I was going to the gym and working on specific parts of my body (i.e. “today I’m going to focus on arms"). This is a great strategy for many people, as everyone’s body is different. Ideally, my body ‘wants’ to be more of a “runner’s build,’ one that is lean with somewhat low fat—but not a huge ‘bulky build.’ It’s just not what my body gravitates towards. All of a sudden… I started filling out. I was apparently becoming more balanced—imagine that!

Change Through a Different Perspective

It all started when I learned so much through a single, short meet at the gym with a trainer. She changed everything (thank you Stephanie, wherever you are now).

She taught me rather quickly that in order to do what I really wanted to do (like build overall strength, and not bulky, bigger muscles) I need to focus on a wider picture: muscle groups that are more inclusive to larger areas or “regions.” Basically, those regions are: legs, chest and back. Done correctly, with the right exercises, form, number of sets, reps, and wait periods, a 40-minute work out is a real BURNER, and it can also cover all the other muscles in the process! Yes, that’s right, more “bang for your buck” in less time. 

THEN, I rolled out the same approach to running. My long runs, and my running approach in general were about burning calories (I ran one consistent speed, and since I had plateaued, I only raised my heart rate significantly when I would take on the hills or mountains). Right now I am running for 30-40 minutes (instead of 60 or more) and doing intervals (short 30 second ‘bursts’ of speed every minute or two). The same experience… a real burner in less time, I raise my heart rate, and boy do my legs feel it!

The result: within weeks I felt and saw many benefits. My weight appears more ‘distributed,’ and I seem to have a bit more definition. Oh yeah… and I FEEL better and stronger. Hey, this is hard work, but it’s also fun!

Anyway, my point is: to get what we want, we have to pay careful attention to how we intend to get what we want. Let’s assume you know what you want (I think my intention was eventually clarified. Being teased by a trainer witnessing me doing weight training that was about isolating muscles for bulk, was a little humbling).

Wait a minute, aren’t abs supposed to be flat, not big?

From Physical Exercise to Business Delivery Plans 

Said another way, if we intend to actually be part of the solution—whether in your personal fitness, or in collaboration with others to deliver a solution—you really have to be part of the whole solution. Even though fixing a problem is a common reality in many situations—and very appropriate—try to leave the band aids at home and see how everything ‘fits.’

“If you’re not the solution, you’re part of the problem.”

Getting it Straight: In Business and in Life

Intention is a truly fabulous concept, but if it remains that—a concept—it is not an active part of the solution. When it’s an idealistic thought or a wild dream, it’s simply dead…it’s not doing anything for anyone. So if you have your intention down, pay attention to how you want to hit those goals. 

Being part of the whole solution may involve some careful study, and sometimes more importantly—some time to fully flesh out an understanding of what can work or not work. That’s also called trial-and-error, or just “trying things.” Please don’t keep trying the same things expecting different results—that’s the definition of insanity! 

Ok, maybe I was guilty of that with this whole fitness thing.

Enjoy the Place, Enjoy the Moment, Enjoy the System

In my case, I was in a great place physically, but I had plateaued. I was bored and ready for the “next level.” My intention had desire, but apparently no motivation to search out a solution (that was probably due to my winter depression—who knows).

Thinking more “systemically” can be a natural part of life, and for many people it’s intuitive, but it still seems to require some training or conscious awareness and trial and error. 

Systemic solutions can sometimes be counter-intuitive on the surface. Maybe more on that in another post, let’s not get too far off topic.

Whatever your situation—whether personal or professional—watch the ‘how’ of your approach, and see what works. Being part of the whole solution requires not only intention, but awareness of the bigger operating system of stakeholders, products, services, target audience, long-term and short-term goals, intended (and unintended) consequences—and so on.

Nothing’s really in “Isolation”

At the end of the day, when it comes to fitness: no one muscle really ever works alone, and the strength of one muscle is affected by the others around it—it’s a system that branches outward in all directions—strength in numbers, or is it strength built up by those around it. Hmmm… muscular collaboration! 

;)

Thanks Steph—I think I’m starting to get it. Now… on to the next challenge!

m

Go hike that mountain... SNOW on Rainier!

"Acronymic" Beauty

The IRA…

What does it stand for? Is it an Individual Retirement Account? The equivalent of an IPA with automatic weapons—you know, the India Red Ale? Which lead me to: maybe it’s just the Irish Republican Army?

Last night I was out with some new (and some not-so-new) friends when I found an IRA (of the beer variety) on the menu. Spurred by curiosity, and one of our beer drinkers spouting the ‘automatic weapons’ remark (thank you Sean), I started reflecting on the use of acronyms…

Hmmm... what will it be today, an IPA, or an IPL?

Uses of acronyms are everywhere, and they affect us constantly (whether we realize it or not). Whether it’s the sudden realization that you’re interviewing with the big head-honcho (CEO), or you’re just really angry at someone in traffic, but too tired to speak all the words (S-O-B), they are all around us, and they can make our life easier, making us sound more ‘sophisticated’… or does it just complicate things too much?

Two areas in which I use them: my beer interests, and my work in “IT.” The latter primarily being Microsoft. So whether it’s IPAs or CDAs, BDNs or VPNs, I just can’t get away from acronyms!

I know at MS, it seems like the more you use them, the more people take you seriously… there’s this subtle respect and intelligence that seems to be connected to their use while working with the big software giant, and with so many IT processes to consider, using them is so unavoidable… otherwise, with all those acronyms spoken in full, a 5-minute conversation could easily be 20!

By no means is this post intended as a rant. Call it humorous reflection, as I totally ‘get’ the validity of their use; or just call this some “acronym awareness,” the big AA. Or is that acronym already taken?

Where the use often gets messy for me:

1. When their meaning gets lost in conversation, and we assume we all understand (such as when someone in conversation uses multiple acronyms in the same sentence, and our heads get so befuddled just trying to ‘track’ and follow the speaker of those aforementioned cursed letters as we struggle to parse their code) or…
2. They have multiple meanings that depend on the context of their use (like the IRA). Then it just gets silly!

So how do they affect our experience? Do they make situations more memorable? 

Sometimes we even create a process, service or product based on how it will sound as an acronym. That could be just to sound ‘cool,’ or better yet, to get the letter to ‘stick,’ and actually be memorable as a process.

When the letters ‘stick,’ does it actually help? It seems to for me. Training processes such as “ADDIE” will never be forgotten now!

I think this week I don’t have a Major Message (aka “MM”), other than to try to pay attention to their use, and the intention behind them. It’s interesting to consider how much we rely on language and the use of letters to communicate. Do acronyms deepen the value of your communication? When do they help, and when do they hinder? Do you need to carry your abbreviation list wherever you go? Do you have to record conversations to be able to reply and parse their code? Maybe you know certain letter combinations so well that it’s not a problem. For many, I’m sure that’s the case.

What works best for you, so that the language used actually benefits your communication, making it more meaningful? 

Ok, that’s all I’ve got for now. I know I’m not the only one out there that gets lost, confused, frustrated or pleasantly amused when engaged in conversations of this nature. Ultimately, maybe the big ‘value-add’ for this particular post may involve the use of a little SEO, so the world will be able to locate all the “infinite value” in my writing this week. 

;)

See you soon-

m

P.S. Some parsed code, for those who may need it…
SEO = Search Engine Optimization.

The Static on Your Frequency

Holy COW!

June is here… summer came… directly from winter. It’s a springtime revolt, and I am feeling truly a part of the northwest madness known as summer sanity!

ANYWAY…

Thanks as always for reading.

An interesting musical reflection this week:

So just the other day I was headed out for a run (no surprise) headphones strapped on, iPhone in tow, and I was listening away to some great ‘motivational’ running music.

As I settled in to my “70s classic rock mix,” The song “Kashimir” by Led Zeppelin started playing, after a nice sampling of The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Supertramp—oh how I miss the classics!

And then… yes, some “transcendent” observations started to happen… yes, I know… AGAIN!

I was like, “wait a minute, what’s that I hear in the background? A synthesizer? A trombone? A sax?” Well, when you wear headphones, you hear all kinds of things in the stereo mix that would never come to the forefront of the music, unless you really listened for it. I heard something low in the mix, almost undetectable, but now, suddenly revealed—naked in the cacophony of sounds known as Zepp.

When we take a moment to really “hear,” do we find what is really there, or only what we are looking for?

This whole thought got me thinking about the ‘nasty’ FM adaptor I am using to get my iPod or iPhone usable in my car… apparently in 2006 Toyota was not making USB adaptors, so that the digital signal of my iPhone would truly be ‘pure.’

Arghhhhhhhhh

The point IS, I will often hear radio static in the pure signal pumped out by my iTunes play list. And to really break it down, there’s always some kind of static in there, depending on how hard we listen.

It’s part of the mix.

I’ll go a step further… at some level; it is a part of who we are.

The static in your frequency can sometimes be an annoying part of life, like my iPhone adaptor, or a brilliant addition to your life, like the buoyant “horn” of the Zeppelin song. The key is knowing it’s there and accepting it as part of you. It seems like that is what creates ALL of you.

If you have an awareness of the whole picture, you can even appreciate and accept yourself much better. Then you can “get on with it,” and enjoy life with some kind of objectivity.

Knowing the static that exists under your fingertips, and the power you wield, allows you the honest transparency of knowing what you bring to the table—others can only grant that as authentic.

Take a few moments here and there, in your own private space to consider everything that might be a part of you. Your strengths, your weaknesses, your beauty, your flaws… it’s all there, no matter what you do. No matter where you go or what you do, you’re still there… and there you are again.

You can change whenever you want, but it’s virtually worthless if you don’t have a starting point.

True genius, beauty, authenticity and the seeds of creativity lie in the confidence of knowing what you bring to the table (the starting point) and the strength to pursue what you contribute, and where it might go… with a vengeance. You’re the subtlety that lies in the whole picture.

Just listen for the static.

Have a good week!

m