Who Do I Work With?

Greetings.  Have you ever taken the time to really get to know all the people you work with?  Not just your closest friends at the office.  Or the people on the other side of the wall or cube right next door.  But the absolutely remarkable folks in all the other departments who often seem to exist just to make your life miserable, or are simply names and titles posted by a door?  If you did, you might find that:

A.  You actually like them.

B.  They have interests and talents beyond their job descriptions.

C.  You have something important in common.

D.  All of the above.

No, this question isn't on the SAT, Myers-Briggs, or any other widely-used test. (Though I'm reminded by a small voice that the Myers-Briggs is not a "test.")  But for the past several years, I have been challenging companies around the world to create a "culture of conversation" in which they commit to discovering all the genius and possibilities in their organizations.  Two people at a time.  Making a simple human connection through a very simple exercise.

And it goes like this…

Once a week ask everyone in your company or organization to identify a colleague they don't know very well.  Then ask them to make time for a "conversation"–over lunch, coffee, tea, or on a walk outside.  To get to know each other as people with skills, interests, and passions.  Not as titles, job descriptions, stereotypes, or the signatories to less than popular memos.  To find out what makes us tick.  What we love to do most.  What we have in common.  What we hope for the future.  And, in the process, how we might work together to unlock new opportunities, share ideas and information, collaborate across organizational boundaries, and innovate in order to improve business performance and deliver more compelling value to customers.  All through a simple exercise.

We succeed in business and in life by scratching below the surface, and by getting past the cubicles that divide us.  When was the last time you made a new friend at work?  Or created a new opportunity by sharing a conversation with a colleague?  Maybe the time is right.

Cheers!