There are two kinds of people in the world – sayers and doers.
Sayers sure can talk a lot about a great many things. They might even talk about some of the things they’ve done, or are going to do.
Doers, on the other hand, actually do all the things that sayers talk about and then some more on top, just for good measure.
What side of the equation do you fit?
We’re a funny bunch in social media.
We bitch and complain that the medium we’re practicing in doesn’t get taken seriously as a medium, and that many businesses are still way behind when it comes to adopting.
We call brands out – companies and individuals – because they don’t do something the way we feel it should or could have been done.
We regale folks with the notion that social media will change the way we do things forever, but then cloud the issue by not explaining in any kind of talk our customers and clients understand.
And then we wonder why social media – for all its great statistics and success stories – is still the baby when it comes to other forms of media.
So let’s loosen up. Let’s agree that we’re not in a perfect world where everyone will “do the right thing”. Let’s quit the bitching and the pointing fingers, and instead point ideas in the same direction instead. Let’s give things a chance before we lynch mob them into submission.
Let’s see opinions for what they are and stop calling critics haters. Let’s move from the same soundbites to actually making sounds through actions.
I’ve been guilty of it in the past. I possibly still am on the odd occasion. But I’m trying not to be.
If you’re guilty of it too, want to try and not be with me?
photo credit: steve-and-diane
Companies put a lot of effort into team building.
They spend thousands on booking events and locations to foster team spirit. Weekends away, surviving in the wilderness, setting tasks to pass to create a better understanding of teamwork.
Thing is, it’s very often a false economy. Team building exercises like this can work, but often feel like role-playing exercises – they’re not real-life examples.
Instead of sending people away to build a team, why not build it from the inside on recognizable terrain?
Open up the silos; ask for, and then listen to, ideas and suggestions; encourage and recognize greatness; make everyone equal.
Want to build a great team? Make the team great to begin with.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the meaning of the word silo is a trench or pit used to exclude air, or an underground structure.
So, by definition, a silo is something that chokes the life out of you, or keeps you hidden from view.
So why do so many businesses continue to silo their people from each other?
?
The Berlin Wall was constructed for one simple reason; to divide East and West Germany.
Built shortly after the Second World War, it was a symbol to separate cultures between Western Europe and what was known as the Eastern Bloc.
Walls are solid objects, defined by their ability to separate two factions. They’re built to maintain the status quo.
Windows, on the other hand, allow us to see the world around us and gain wisdom from it.
Business could do with less walls, more windows.
?
?
