On Conciseness

At the intersection of learning about clarity in writing and learning about organizational culture comes this tidbit from In Search of Excellence:

The authors describe Procter & Gamble’s “fabled one-page memorandum” – that anything you needed to say at P&G, you had to be able to say in one page or less.

We recently had breakfast with a P&G brand manager and asked if the one-page memorandum legend was really true. “It waxes and wanes,” he said, “but I just submitted a set of recommendations to make a few changes to my brand’s strategy. It ran a page and a quarter and got kicked back. It was too long.” (p.150)

…

John Steinbeck once said that the first step toward writing a novel is to write a one-page statement of purpose. If you can’t get the one page clear, it isn’t likely you’ll get far with the novel. (p.151)

On Writing

As part of the book project, I’ve been reading biographies, organizational histories, cultural histories – anything to give me insight into the different ways people tell stories of creation and culture (in this case, creation of an organization and its culture).

A few people (thanks to Deb, Lori, and others!) have recommended Writing Down the Bones for tapping into the writerly space. The book is quote-worthy on page after page. A few favourites:

Think of writing practice as loving arms you come to illogically and incoherently. (p.13)

A responsibility of literature is to make people awake, present, alive. If the writer wanders, then the reader, too, will wander. (p.55).

The deepest secret in our heart of hearts is that we are writing because we love the world, and why not finally carry that secret out with our bodies into the living rooms and porches, backyards and grocery stores? Let the whole thing flower: the poem and the person writing the poem. (p.120).

New Projects

In the past two weeks I’ve started two projects that feel like a great fit.

In line with my interest in organizational culture and organizational understanding, I’ve taken on a contract to write an organizational history for Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB). We’re looking forward to collecting so many of the stories that have made the history and culture of this organization what it is, and I’m heading up the work to compile all of this and more into book form. This week I’m loving the way this combines my skills in anthropology, background in psychology, and love for writing – I’m eager to sink my teeth into this for a few months to come.

Secondly, last weekend I took a phenomenal Coaches Training course. The model of Co-Active coaching taught at the Coaches Training Institute felt like home to me – assuming the coaching client is “creative, resourceful, and whole”, the expert on their own life, with the coach available with tools and processes to help the client dig deeper in understanding what’s meaningful to him/her and creating a life in line with that. It’s familiar because it’s how I approach facilitation – that the group is the expert, the group has the answers within it, and it’s the facilitator’s role to provide the process and space and support for the group to find their answers.

I’ve decided to take the leap: I will continue the coaching training and complete the four remaining training courses required in order to start the International Coaching Federation certification process. I’m looking forward to putting these new skills to work, starting by taking on clients at reduced rates in order to practice my developing skills. So far, the experiences have been good, and inspiring. Hearing people talk about what really matters to them is an utterly rewarding way to spend one’s days.