Surrender the narrative...

Why would anyone ever want to surrender the podium and in effect give the microphone to a substitute? It just seems very counter intuitive; after all, who can tell your story better than you? More affectionately called the narrative, this is the story we tell others (and ourselves) as we spin our tale. Make no mistake, this narrative is extremely important as it represents your personal brand (and the substance behind it), who you are, what you are doing, where you are going, your value, and your potential. The narrative conveys and controls the message that is you.

So back to the original question, “If you want to control your message, why would you ever give up control and risk having your story told wrong? “ The reason is it reflects the confidence and conviction of who you are and what you’re doing, and even more importantly, validates your story. As they say, there is nothing more impactful than the endorsement from someone else.

I learned this lesson a very long time ago around a dinner table — I was asked (with venom) why I felt our business unit was so special? To that question I turned to the VP at the time and suggested he could answer that question better than I could. And he did, and I nodded, and the person who asked the question frowned. Now in fairness I knew the VP was an informal supporter so our narrative was aligned and it was simply fun to watch him disappoint the naysayers around the table. Where it can be less entertaining is when people are asked to speak on your behalf but they may not be aligned.

I can remember, with great clarity I might add, the Chief Commercial Officer asking my team about how it was going, what they thought of the program, and by extension how I was doing. I sat at the back of the room quietly, and just listened. I watched the discussion play out hoping my surrogate narrators were “on message”. My mantra as they spoke was, “Don’t say anything; don’t say anything; whatever you do, don’t say a fucking word”.

Why you may ask was telling myself this?

If I had said something I would have compromised who was speaking, compromised the message, and most importantly compromised my conviction with what we were doing. There is also another reason, an important truism that seems to get forgotten more often than not — sometimes you need to shut the fuck up and let someone else speak.

Something I will admit I forget every so often.

iamgpe

Fuck... but I'm tired.

I should point out that as I write this I’m refreshed and have been sleeping really well ever since I beat an annoying head cold — I know this because the withings fitness watch I got for my birthday says so; I’m also up to date with my average heart rate and the number of steps I’m getting in per day. But I digress.

I don’t actually think about how tired I can get unless I’m actually very tired so I only bring this up after watching PBS. Lately I’ve found myself pushing back on the noise of the world; the opinion; the questionable facts; the loud shout overs — I crave the facts, a balance of opinion, and a long format perspective of things. All of this has brought me to the PBS News Hour or The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Again, I digress.

Recently I watched Amy Walter (from Politics Monday with Amy Walter and Tamara Keith) in Iowa just before the Iowa Caucuses were about to start. I will say I’ve always been fascinated with the “great experiment” the founding fathers* set in motion over 240 years ago; maybe I just find the lessons of history so interesting and valuable — again with the digression. Normally when I watch Amy Walter in studio she’s fresh, sharp and articulate but in this case her exhaustion was apparent; it showed on her face and in her words. I couldn’t help but say, “Oh honey, you’re exhausted; it looks like you haven’t slept in days”. There was Amy Walter, fighting through exhaustion to get the job done.

I was looking at the type of exhaustion that’s thrust upon you and you have no choice but to push through it — and I’m not talking about a couple of nights of restless sleep but day after day of sleep deprivation, deadlines, stresses, expectations, crying babies, crying bosses, and sore feet. This is something we’re all familiar with, and instinctively know it’s not good for our wellbeing. It’s something that when we’re experiencing it, it’s never helpful to get the obligatory advice we should get some sleep, because trust me, it’s at the top of the list when we’re so tired the tears are running down your cheeks. We know it’s not good for us, although, it does offer insight into resilience and grit, both of which are crucial components to success.

I have no profound advice other than try to get out of it as quickly as you can, summon the courage not to quit, focus on getting the job done, and take pride you are still standing. I would also like to say if you happen to be coming off a good night’s sleep please have a little sympathy, understanding, and appreciation for those at the front of the room who obviously didn’t.

iamgpe

*I have noticed people are now calling the founding fathers “the framers”. Don’t ask me why… I’m Canadian

Say not...

truth [tro͞oTH] NOUN —

1. the quality or state of being true.

2. (the truth) that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality.

3. a fact or belief that is accepted as true.

Our smart devices are listening and trying to influence our actions based on what they hear, our on-line searches keep offering up the same ol’ perspective, and our social media feeds are influenced by the ever present “bot” — this social apparatus is gamed to keep it that way; designed to solidify our belief in our perceived truth, and by inference, position anything else as an untruth.

This isn’t a commentary on social technology or our belief systems (I’m not even sure I’m a deep enough thinker for that, and even if I am, it’s much bigger than my current blogging format), but rather a stark recognition about how much harder it is for personal grow because this this apparatus. The polarization of our perceived truth has made it harder, if not almost impossible, to understand a situation fully — and this lack of understanding never leads to anything other than the status quo, reinforces the belief that there is only one truth, and never allows for growth beyond your current circumstances.

Truth is very much like perspective; you never see the whole picture with just a single point of view. And that makes for a very small, and more often than not, misguided world.

It is important to look for the truths.

iamgpe