Conversation Agent

Connecting ideas and people -- how talk can change our lives.

Do You Have the Pixar Touch?Today

Pixar tried to be many different things before becoming a successful film company. I have not read the book, but Bob Sutton's description of it. In Sutton's words:

The lessons about leadership, strategy, culture, innovation, persistence -- and the degree to which random events rather than planning shape human and organizational history -- are all on display.

I did however dig a little deeper on the Amazon reviews and happened upon an exchange between Steven Boyett, a writer who was contracted to work on Toy Story 2 for three months, and David Price, the author. I agree with the others who comment there - the events, as described by Boyett, cast a shadow on an otherwise compelling story. Why? His story rings of honesty. Finding the truth beyond the official story matters increasingly more. Truth connect with our emotional core.

This is a good thread to

Getting Things DoneYesterday

With the new year now in full swing and the recent holidays already an almost distant memory, everyone is pushing to get things done.

The dozen calls with sales pitches I used to receive by mid-morning show the redoubled efforts - they are as many more.

There is an insistence, an urgency in the voices, the messages and the emails. Not quite desperation, but very close to it.

The type is bolder, the voice is more forceful. Everyone is shouting - pick me, buy my stuff, sign up here! The sense of urgency is good, the energy is misplaced.

Because what is louder than a shout? A whisper. Social media is a way to get next to your customer and speak only with them. Whispering is intimate. It's done up close. And it's closely related to listening.

Getting things done is good - but are they the right things?

With so much noise and so little signal these days, it's getting easier to tell what is not going to work - for those who are paying attention, who are dialed in it is quite obvious. Not so for the others. They are busy turning the volume up even louder and diminish

Da Vinci was a Change Agent, Are You?January 7

Leonardo da Vinci was a change agent. You probably know it already, it's worth repeating. At the time of birth, you are endowed with the same potential he had. Today, we need more than genius to make things happen though.

We need collaboration and co-creation at the highest levels. In the conceptual age, there is a lot of brain power at all levels in organizations, cities, and countries. Are we open to collaborating across such expanses? There were two readings that led me to make the connection between change and Da Vinci - they seem unrelated, but are they?

Let's take a look.

The editorial page of the January/February 2009 issue of Foreign Policy magazine is titled "our change, his (Obama) challenge". That gave me pause. I think a more apt title would have been - our challenge is change. If indeed the country voted for change, it would behoove everyone to align behind it. And that will be a challenge. We know the reality is much more complex. Individual interests, balance of power, and global relations will need careful navigating.

Everyone is looking for the magic wand in business - we probably got used to the nice returns. It's important

PassionJanuary 6

Teams and communities are held together by the glue called passion.

This is the topic of a recent ChangeThis manifesto by Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian - a heart surgeon, Internet infopreneur, and social entrepreneur whose passion for helping children with congenital heart defects receive life-saving treatment resulted in building an online business that grows and thrives on its purpose.

Passion should be one of the 4 new P's of marketing, along with purpose. What do you think?

Product, Purpose, Passion, Performance

I've written about passion two years ago using Ferrari, the car made in my home town, as the metaphor of made in Italy: ignites passion and emotion. Which translates into high performance, by design.

The most amazing executions give us that kind of experience - or rather we infuse our own experience into them. Let's take another look at that list:

1. Vote for yourself –- know what you want and what you need and then go get it. Be confident in your skill even whe

Community and ServiceJanuary 5

When I write about customer conversations I hold the memory not just of my experiences, but those of the customer service professionals I've had the privilege of working with and meeting during my career. It's only fair to make the conversation balanced from the start. This is very personal.

In August 2000, a group of 101 passionate, vocal, curious, interested people gathered in Denver, Colorado for what is to this day the most remarkable community @ work experience I've ever had. Consider that my education was based on group-work from a very early age. It was the defining moment on community.

For me to explain on this blog how one creates a community - which I will do in the coming weeks - I need to start from this moment in time. What I'm about to share is probably the simplest and most influential manifesto on community I've read to date. It was penned by Alan Webber and Bill Taylor, founding editors of Fast Company magazine.

Community.

Most magazines think of themselves as publications. We think of Fast Company as a movement. Most magazines think of their readers as customers. We think of