“The Olympics inspire. The paralympics take us to another level.. teasing our senses, challenging our beliefs. Sitting with two paralympians recently, I became painfully aware that I was the one with the limiting view, the set-in-stone paradigm, the glass starting half full. What holds us back from letting go and re-inventing the possible? In two recent conversations, I found a large organisation frozen in the use of a particular presentation style and tool – PowerPoint. Further discussion with colleagues, opened up the fact, that audiences feel safe and comfortable in the PowerPoint paradigm. Like the wasps in the photo, they know what to expect, they know how to behave, they know that they will be led by the hand, presented TO and have something to take away at the end. The pre-prepared presentation is designed just for you – the average audience. It is Safe and comfortable!
And safe and comfortable is good in certain circumstances (eg safe and comfortable is perfect for a passenger on a commercial flight), but would a global organisation dare to address their shareholders with the credo, the goal of being safe and comfortable. The paralympian – indeed the Olympian – would not achieve the remarkable with a catch cry of safe and comfortable.
So in virtual meetings, with distributed teams, safe and comfortable may get through the day, but will it achieve the aspirations of the Board, the partners, the shareholders or the customer who is hungry for value in a competitive market?
We love working with organisations who are out to excel, with distributed teams that are out there to crack through the steepest challenge, the management team who know that they must engage and attract in ways that will provide greater value than their competitors.(Photo with permission Anne Russell – Russellsynergies photos)