The review was one on one. No audience. No extra ears putting the story into a personal framework. One person was meeting with a second. The agenda was simple. Share the story. Let whatever questions emerge until he understood. There where no good or bad questions, just questions. There was no right or wrong approach, just interest. As the conversation got more details, my final reference point was key members on my management team.
“You can ask them. They have lived with this capability. They know it is real. They understand its potential. They see the possibilities it has for us now.”
I was confident in one thing. I knew we knew.
We have lived with the capability I was describing. The technology enabler combined with a particular organizational design and set of management principles unleashes the power of the individual by aligning strengths with needs, opportunity with performance.
I enjoyed the conversation. It is easy to be patient when another is pursuing the idea of knowing. There was a sense of opportunity and promise. He knew he was opening a gateway to something more. He was excited.
When a community “gets” something greater, it is natural to speak with conviction. One aspect I did not appreciate until this conversation is the reluctance that comes along with conviction. Why tell someone something that they are not willing to hear?
As I read one author’s comment, I realize they believed and were confident because of their experience. “We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1.3) They were telling anyone willing to listen about their story because of what happened to them. It is a reminder that power comes when one’s journey and story match.
The conversation has morphed. We are now telling others. It is a challenging process. Many are not interested. Others think they already have the complete answer. With experience, patience, and conviction as starting points, the conversation begins.
