The 81 Cutlass and Songs without Names

 The 81 Cutlass 

My older brother was a music person. Growing up, he would always have hard rock or heavy metal playing. Always loud. He took pride in his CD collection and was especially proud of the upgraded speakers in his 1981 Blue Cutlass Supreme. My brain wasn't organized for music like his. I never purchased a CD. I seldom could remember more than two or three lines of any song and even fewer song titles.

Noise & Songs without Names

My early relationship with music was founded upon lots of noise from the 81 Cutlass. In my 20s and 30s, I found myself asking "what is the name of that one song? You know it went like... I think it was called..." Rarely would I find success in finding the name of any song. Others couldn't help me much because I didn't know more than a few words. There I would be, aimlessly thinking about songs without names. What's this have to do with our work? 

Three important lessons from the 81 Cutlass 

1. It's hard to cut through lots of noise. 

2. A song without a name is seldom talked about and almost never sung. 

3. In order for people to work purposefully together they have to know the songs to sing. 

Words Make Worlds = Yes

Recall from last week the four themes that make vision stick. We have to give things simple, memorable, sticky names. In fact, I called the Cutlass "Smurfette," my brother hated that. But, he didn't provide an alternative. So, it stuck! The same goes for how we build 4P clarity (purpose, priorities, process, and performance). We have to provide simple, sticky, storyline driven names to inspire the work we want to do. 

 

Two questions for your team? 

1. Where might we have songs without names in our work? 

2. Where might we have examples of sticky names that inspire the work? 

(*Bonus Question) What is your role in giving others permission to embrace "naming it" and have fun doing so?