Bringing Teams Together by Translating Metaphor

Managing a diverse group of people can be a tough job.  Most managers would prefer to be able to pick and choose their team members, and choose people who will support the cause and be able to work well together.  Rarely is this the case, and management usually have a range of different personalities and agendas represented throughout their teams.

Often managers will favour their team members who are most like themselves, or most like the business that they are part of.  In businesses which are metaphorically like a journey, the risk taking adventurers are usually revered.  While on the other hand, businesses which are metaphorically more like architecture, the "old guard" and those who protect the status quo are often favoured.

But usually it's not so cut and dry.  A team might be made up of adventurous types, father figures, the old guard, farmer types, and the list goes on.  Such team members might find a way of working together in peace and harmony but more often such a situation creates conflict and division within the team into "sub-teams" with distinct agendas.

The solution that many managers and many businesses attempt, is to try to train those who they don't like to be like those who they like.  Adventurous companies try to train their "old guard" to be more adventurous, and more rigid and static companies try to train their adventurous types to be more cautious and protective.  This rarely has long-term results.  Another approach commonly taken is to teach their team members generic communication skills, in the hope that they'll then be able to understand each others' differences and work well together.  While good communication training can be useful, it often doesn't get to the crux of dealing with peoples' core differences.

I suggest another approach which involves discovering the larger metaphor of what each team member is "like", and then analysing how those metaphor might work well together.  For instance, let's consider a situation where one team members is like an "old guard", and the other is like an "adventurer".  Consider how an old guard would be useful to an adventurer, and how an adventurer would be useful to an old guard.  Consider how an adventurer would best communicate and deal with an old guard, and vice versa.  Following this would be analysis of how such metaphoric discoveries would translate back to the real life situation.

Having each team member translate between their metaphor and the metaphor of others shows real understanding and helps people appreciate the mutual benefits that each can give the other.  What previously seemed like annoying behaviours because of differences in metaphor can now be understood.

I am currently analysing these ideas further with the view of coming up with a structure that could be use to easily facilitate such an activity.  I will share whatever I come up with.

Richard Lindesay

Logical Fallacies at Work

Lately I have been paying attention to logical fallacies that come up again and again in business situations.  Logical fallacies are flaws in reasoning and logic, which are often used in cunning ways to reduce the apparent validity of arguments and making them seem less appealing.  The intentional use of logical fallacies in this way often leads to the promotion of bad ideas over good ideas.

Here are the top 8 logical fallacies I notice frequently in business.

Black or White
In business, two alternatives ideas are often presented as potential solutions to a problem.  The alternatives are often rather opposing, and sometimes completely opposite.  While many other options exist, they are not considered as people are too busy considering and arguing the initial two options.  Often those who bring up additional options are considered disruptive, as it introduces the fear that the whole thing will get even more complex and difficult for people to follow.  This often leads to one of two bad decisions being made, while a third and better option is ignored.

Bandwagon
This is very common in business, the popularity contest.  Often if someone wants their idea progressed they will try to get as many people on board with it as possible, often in less than professional and logical ways.  Therefore the idea that is marketed the best and backed with the most favours, often gets chosen over other ideas which are more valid but not so well promoted.

Appeal to Authority
This can cause more problems than any other logical fallacy in business.  Two people come up with good ideas, logical, thought through, sensible.  All of a sudden someone in authority mentions a third idea, and although they don't have the background and information to form a valid option, their idea is chosen because of their standing.  Often the person in authority didn't mean for this to happen, and would rather that their idea was analysed and shot down if invalid.  But many people find it difficult to tell someone in authority that they are wrong, and authority can be a compelling force behind an argument.

Strawman
Strawman is when someone misrepresents someone else's argument in order for it to be easier to argue against.  This usually happens in peoples' absence so they cannot correct the misrepresentation, and by the time the impact is known it is often either very difficult or too late to correct.  For instance, "So we are here to talk about Simon's unproven and risky new strategies", brings to attention the element of risk involved and the fact that they haven't been done before.  This framing of the argument can get people very defensive of the idea and go down a path of proving that it's a bad idea.

Tu Quoque
This often happens when people are discussing opposing ideas.  One person attacks the others' idea, pointing out weaknesses in it.  The other party then gets defensive, and immediately attacks back pointing out the weaknesses in the opposing idea.  So instead of focusing on which idea could be the most suitable, the argument continues back and forth about the weaknesses of each.  This can be hard to get out of, as any idea has it's weaker points.

Personal Incredulity
Often when presenting complex ideas, the ideas are attacked and ruled out because they seem complicated.  Those who don't understand the ideas either get the wrong idea and go around in circles with invalid arguments or simply put the idea down because they don't get it and and argue that it should be made simpler.  Simplicity is a nice aim, but there are situations where ideas need to be complex and cannot be simplified.

Middle Ground
This is related somewhat to black or white.  Two ideas are presented which are at somewhat opposite ends of a spectrum.  Neither argument can be agreed on, so it's therefore agreed that a middle ground is most appropriate.  Both parties are then somewhat happy, or at least appeased.  But if both ideas are not suitable, then seldom is the middle ground any good either.  A compromise between two bad ideas is seldom a better option than a third properly thought through idea.

Fallacy Fallacy
Often a good idea can be argued badly, and fallacies can be made, sometimes accidental.  The fallacy fallacy is when people completely write off an idea because of bad argument, rather than looking into the idea to check it's validity.  Often really good ideas, sometimes the best options, can be dismissed because of this.  The more polished and more experienced person can often get a bad idea put forward due to the finesse in presentation, while a less experienced person with a less polished presentation of a great idea can be ignored.

Just knowing about such logical fallacies can arm people against them.  The more you pay attention to these, the more you'll likely see them pop up in day to day business situations and be able to stop them in their tracks before the damage is done.

Richard Lindesay

Business vs Employment

I've recently enjoyed watching several small business TV shows.  It has been most interesting seeing many often humble folk do really well with relatively little knowledge and a bunch of hard work.  It makes me wonder why starting off in business is seldom encouraged to youngsters, or anyone for that matter.

I would gather that the main reason is that the path of employment is well trodden, and like any well trodden path it is easier to follow.  Business on the other hand is also a path that has been followed, but it is nowhere near as well defined and obvious a path.

But aren't young people usually quite excitable and adventurous?  Wouldn't the idea of a more dangerous and potentially rewarding path seem interesting to people who are going out into the world?  I suppose with so many fewer adults in business than in employment, advice for youngsters tends to be toward employment.

So wouldn't it be nice if there was a strong business influence to youngsters?  Lets face it, early years would be a great time to start in business as there are fewer ties, less to lose, and longer to figure out what works.

I think it's worth some thought.

Richard Lindesay

Do Comedy and Business Mix?

My love of comedy started when I was a child and I first watched The Young Ones and Blackadder.  I didn't always understand the more grownup jokes, but enjoyed what I could understand.  My tastes  branched out over the years to a variety of different comedy styles, and I now enjoy a range from some of the world's most well known comedians to rather niche and unusual acts.

A few years back I attended a training event in the UK called Comedy in NLP, at which I learned a great deal and experienced how fun it could be to play up comedically.  After the course I started writing down anything I could think of that I considered funny.  I quickly realised that humour was all around me, especially in business.

Lately I have decided to get involved in stand-up comedy and comedy writing.  I have had a lot of encouragement from my friends and colleagues in business, but also a bit of confusion.  Do comedy and business mix?  Is trying to fit both of these things together akin to selling guns in a Christian book shop?  After giving this some thought I concluded that business and comedy have a lot in common, and that the skills and attitudes in comedy are not only compatible but also very useful in business.


Light-Hearted Attitudes

Comedians tend to have light hearted attitudes toward their subject manner, even if their persona is to show discontent.  Most people in business who have high levels of stress have far too rigid attitudes, make things more important than they are, and have too serious a manner about them.  They mistake "taking things seriously" for "being serious", and mistake "being professional" for "being boring."  People who bring a light-hearted attitude to their work tend to have much less stress, reduce stress of those around them, and get a lot more done.


Rapport Building

There are many artificial methods out there for building rapport, most of which are over-complicated and mechanical.  I like to keep things simple.  Think about situations where you see people who truly have rapport with each other, such as guys hanging about in the pub after work - almost inevitably such situations involve humourous banter and gentle ribbing.  The same kind of humourous banter builds rapport in a business environment, albeit usually with a little less colourful language and beverages.


Flexibility of State

Comedians move between different states of mind and body depending on what they are portraying in their set.  A comedian might intentionally play confused during one piece of material, angrily rant during another piece, and then have a jovial manner about a third.  In business, the ability to move intentionally between states can help people adapt to situations around them, and in times of difficulty to move from being worried and unhappy, to resourceful and focused.


Attention to Language

A comedian pays attention to peculiarities in language, and plays with words in order to create humour.  Communication is one of the most important skills in most areas of business, and being able to analyse and understand peoples' use of language can help in a big way.  Models such as NLP and Metaphors of Business are testament to this.

Looking at Thing Differently

A comedian looks at things in different ways, and applies thought from one subject to other unrelated subjects.  When these observations are portrayed, it causes laughter in those who hadn't yet made such connections.  Being successful in the workplace also involves being able to look at things differently, which assists problem solving and the ability to formulate new ideas.

I welcome any thoughts, comments, observations.

Richard Lindesay
www.richardlindesay.com

PS For those who are interested in learning about comedy, I highly suggest Sally Holloway's book "The Serious Guide to Joke Writing."  Also follow her on Twitter @SallyCatz.

Metaphors of Comedy

I have long been a fan of stand-up comedy and have always wondered what makes comedy funny.  Lately I have noticed a number of metaphor that are used in the comedy industry, and in day to day conversation when people talk about comedy.

The main thing I have noticed that many metaphor in comedy are related to some kind of force.  The force is created by the comedian, then applied to the audience.  The force causes the audience to have an involuntary reaction, and does damage to them.  The audience know this and volunteer to be broken.  Let's look at this further.

Let's start with the comedian.  If the comedy is funny, then metaphor used toward comedians tend to be around the delivery of the force.

• You killed out there
• You knocked them out
• You smashed it
• Your humour is shocking
• Delivered a punchline

When it comes to the audience, the metaphor tend to be around having force applied to them, causing involuntary reactions and having damage inflicted.

• I wet myself with laughter
• Laughed so much I cried
• I fell apart
• I exploded with laughter
• They cracked me up
• Side splitting humour
• I was in stitches
• Laughed my head off

This got me thinking.  If comedy is about audience members going in and voluntarily offering to be broken by the comedian, and the comedian applying a force to do the breaking, what actually is it that's going on?  What is the force?  And what is the force actually breaking?

My take on it is that the audience of a comedy show go along as an escape from the day to day reality of their lives.  They take along their everyday sensibilities, beliefs, and perceptions, and in the safety of the comedy show they offer them up to be broken.  The comedian has an understanding of the common perceptions that the audience want to have broken, and through their unique viewpoints and attitudes, they apply the appropriate force of words to challenge and break such perceptions.

If the comedian tries to break perceptions that the audience doesn't have, the comedy doesn't work.  If the comedian chooses perceptions that the audience has, but doesn't apply the appropriate force to break them, the comedy doesn't work.  When comedy doesn't work, the audience often get disappointed or angry that their perceptions are left intact.  They say that the comedian "died out there".  But if the comedian chooses appropriate perceptions, and applies the appropriate amount of force, the audience enjoy having their perceptions broken and have the involuntary reaction of laughing.  The comedian "killed".

So it's no wonder people revere successful comedians, and that the thought of being a stand-up comedian scares the bejesus out of most people.  Imagine it being your job to put yourself in a position where you either kill or get killed, all for the amusement of others!  To most people that sounds crazy, but for the comedian it's part of the fun of it.

Richard Lindesay