GALT Consulting LLC

I have been invited to speak to a communications class about how barriers to communications impede progress on change efforts.  In other words, we are going to discuss why people can't get on the same page.

I am reminded immediately of the book "The Three Laws of Performance" and the three Key Concepts Randy Mayes and I pulled out of it for our Leadership Book of the Month Review (see Review).  First of all, we all live within our own perception of reality.  When trying to get on the same page, we must first make sure we are in the same book.  Yesterday I heard a talk show host rallying against a recording made at a school where a teacher lead students in a chant exclaiming that they were "Obama Scholars".  The host's perspective was that this was an attempt at indoctrination from a socialist President.  A caller offered the perspective that the students were simply idolizing a successful man who looked like they did.  Both perspectives are based in some truth.  However, there can be no effective "debate" because the game is different.

The next key concept is that language is extremely powerful.  We use language to define our perception of the world.  Certain words carry a lot of baggage.  If I told you I was a "progressive environmentalist", you would use those terms to paint a very specific picture of me.  However, I may simply mean that I like thinking outside the box and spending some time outside.  The meaning behind the words is the important part.  In our "gotcha" media society, we place a huge emphasis on the words people use when we should be focusing on the meaning behind those words.

The last key concept is that a powerful tool for implementing change is to use "transformational" language.  Dr. Martin Luther King accomplished this in his "I have a dream today" speech.  If you are attempting to transform your life or your business, you need to develop a NEW language.  A person who wants to lose weight won't be successful by "going on a diet".  Instead, they will be successful if they simply change the way they eat.  The later verbiage implies a fundamental change.  Sometimes, new words or phrases are created to describe the change. 

Change is hard.  Start by playing the same game, understanding the meaning behind the language, then developing a common language that describes the envisioned future.  Getting on the same page requires a new chapter!

(See Part 2 Above)