You and I face problems.
Sometimes we know what to do. Most times we don’t and need input from others.
But to maximize this input to produce real-world results it takes a new skill not taught in most business schools.
Call it a ‘strategic conversation’ and according to Lisa Kay Solomon, entrepreneurs aren’t having enough of them.
In her recently published book (co-authored with Chris Ertel), ‘Moments of Impact: How To Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change’, she provides a complete drill-down on how it’s done.
Defined as a ‘creative problem solving session to tackle a messy, open-ended challenge with multiple stakeholders’, entrepreneurs were built to have conversations like this.
With customers, partners, investors, suppliers and team members. Our ability to have effective dialogue is a key component to get answers and solve problems. As Solomon points out, “the old saying is true -- nobody is as smart as all of us.”
Having bumped into her at the Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco, she is a renowned expert in the field of strategic conversations and design. In putting together Moments of Impact with Ertel, Solomon combined their 15 years of experience with interviews of leading thinkers on topics central to strategic conversation. Players such as Chip Conley on leadership, Peter Schwartz on strategy, John Maeda on design, and Nancy Duarte on visual thinking.
According to Solomon, “designing a strategic conversation means creating a shared experience where the most pressing strategic issues facing an organization are openly explored from a variety of angles.”
Sounds like a skill every entrepreneur could use.
Here are the ‘5 Core Principles’ on how entrepreneurs can start today:
1. Define The Purpose
Start by developing a clear reason for your collaborative conversation. According to Solomon, “dynamic challenges are rarely solved within one session, so having a focused purpose in context with the bigger problem facing your business comes first.” Take note there are only three reasons to call a strategic conversation: Build Understanding, Shape Choices or Make Decisions. Smart entrepreneurs choose one at a time and don’t shove all objectives into the same conversation. In other words, if Google is suddenly dancing in your market and primed to knock you out as a small tech company, don’t try to build an understanding, shape your choices and make decisions all in the same session. It’s simply overload.
2. Engage Multiple Perspectives
Any worthwhile collaboration has the right players around the table. Identifying the most appropriate people and preparing them well in advance are important pieces to an effective conversation. But digging deeper to understand the views, values and concerns of each stakeholder in attendance is also important. Including those not at the table like customers or employees. Solomon says; “think hard about the perspectives of those who won’t be in the room.” Your goal at this stage is to assemble a dream team and create a common platform.
3. Frame The Issues
Collaborative conversations like these can easily go sideways. Sometimes bouncing way outside the scope of the purpose and primary problem being addressed. Solomon says you must “frame the content and issues you’re wrestling with so participants can get their heads around it. A good frame helps make insights stick, which accelerates insight and alignment.” For example, using a visual framework like Alex Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas when addressing core business issues is one way to help ‘frame’ your strategic conversation.
4. Set The Scene
“Making thoughtful choices about all elements of the environment is imperative” says Solomon. “The room setup, seating arrangement and other comforts should send a strong message.” And I agree with her on this point. Too many times I have taken part in a collaborative conversation where the room was cold, dark and smelly. The best entrepreneurs treat strategic conversations like ‘a great theater production’. By focusing on every detail you’ll build the best environment to encourage creativity, participation and lively dialogue. Your ‘dream team’ of collaborators deserve the best, especially if you need a miracle solution to your messy dilemma.
5. Make It An Experience
Energizing. Memorable. Exhilarating. If you were putting on a theater production, these are the reviews you’d want to read the next day. Solomon says “a great strategic conversation is not just an intellectual exercise -- it tap’s into the emotional, analytic and creative part of every participant.” In other words, engage the whole person and make it an experience. Use the concept of a ‘narrative arc’ for the flow and pacing of the conversation. And please, Solomon recommends we avoid the ‘talking head’ structure so prevalent amongst most meetings and collaborative conversations. Think dialogue -- not monologue.
Successful strategies for our entrepreneurial problems don’t come from spreadsheets, slides shows or detailed agendas. They come from collaboration. They come from moments of insight so compelling they demand action. They come from strategically designing our conversations to yield maximum impact.
Don’t have just another meeting next time you’re faced with dire business issues -- design a strategic conversation instead.
NOTE: I'm Eric. Life-long entrepreneur and Founder of Mighty Wise Academy. If you'd like to learn more of what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur, you can connect with me here.
