Posts Tagged ‘Energy’
Monday, January 26th, 2009
One thing I always notice when I’m in a scene with Mark Johnson–the founder and President of JiffyGas and HConverters, complementary brands in the business of converting internal combustion engines to run on alt energy (hydrogen, nat gas, biofuels)–is how observant he is. He notices everything. When you’re speaking, he watches your hands, he glances at your feet, he looks you in the eye, he focuses on your thoughts even as they’re still taking shape in your mind. When he speaks, he speaks with much more than the words coming out of his mouth. Mark Johnson’s kind of communicating transcends spoken language. Yes, words communicate, but only on the Cosmetic level. It’s what accompanies those words on the Emotional and Meta levels that has the power to change the game.
When Mark visited Los Angeles last month, and I got to watch Edwin and Armando, the whiz-bang mechanics he’d flown in from Colombia, convert a six-year-old Lexus to run on hydrogen, spoken language was maybe the least effective communications tool they used during the two days it took to do the conversion. There were four languages being spoken in that shop in Alhambra–English, Spanish, Chinese, and Italian if you count the Italian narration on a DVD promo for the converter kit that Edwin ran for us on one of his computers. Sure, some spoken language was required. But what made the scene go–what got the team on the same page–in improvisation terms, what created the Group Mind–were the elements of communication that transcended words. Here’s where Johnson’s genius as a communicator was clearly in evidence. (more…)
Tags: Alhambra, Alt, Alternative Fuels, Armando, Cars, Communication, Conversion, Cosmetic, Edwin, Emotion, Emotional, Energy, HConverters, Humor, JiffyGas, Listening, Mark Johnson, Meta, Transportation, U.S.
Posted in Communication, Dialogue, Emotion | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008
I’m hearing it from all over these days, so it must be official–the word ‘gamechanger’ has broken into the popular idiom. Why, I remember back in the day when it was just Pontiac Motors, A. G. Lafley of P & G, a few sportscasters, and me. Six weeks ago, William Safire wrote about the etymology of ‘gamechanger’ in his NY Times column. Now it’s everywhere, especially in politics. I must have heard the words ‘game’ and ‘change’ used together a dozen times last night in relation to the presidential debate.
This morning, my friend David LaPlante (if you want to read something beautiful, see his most recent blog entry) sent me a link to a CNN story and headline:
Here’s my response:
Candidates and media use the word erroneously, as CNN does in this story, when they refer to an EVENT as a gamechanger. A gamechanger is PERSON with the ability to change the game. Like you : ) A gamechanger can also be a brand, as in the focused, networked behaviors of a group of people who share business objectives. (more…)
Tags: Additions, Agreement, Barack Obama, CNN, David LaPlante, Debate, Edits, Energy, GameChanger, Heightening, John McCain, Media, Timing
Posted in Additions and Edits, Agreement Principle, Games, Issues, Listening, Movement, Objectives, Scenes, Suggestions From the Audience | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
Three more reasons why improvisation is a more potent strategy than a scripted narrative for building brands and organizations in the Networked World:
1) A NETWORKED ORGANIZATION IS A GAME PLATFORM
Organizations and brands designed to operate in the Networked World are, in effect, game platforms. They establish an environment, rules and tools, and encourage players to exercise their potential to its fullest. They build context so that players can create content. The wealth of these organizations will be generated by a generation of employees for whom gaming is second nature. These employees understand that playing the game productively requires improvisation.
Think about the narrative experience of a movie or TV show versus the experience of playing networked games like Second City or Final Fantasy and you’ll begin to see the difference between a brand that hews to the script and one that encourages improvisation. (more…)
Tags: Branding, Energy, Final Fantasy, Games, Improvisation, Narrative, Networked World, Second Life
Posted in Branding, Networked World | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008
Flex time and project-based employment are two, often concurrent, phenomena that characterize organizations in the Networked World. For these practices to be productive, Entrances (and Exits) by all the players involved must be effective.
An Entrance occurs anytime you enter a meeting, step in front of a group to give a presentation or meet others for the first time. When you enter, your audience will be reading your body language. They will form instantaneous opinions about you and your team. A skilled improviser steps onstage decisively, energetically, without any hesitation or doubt, with an open mind about what is to come. (more…)
Tags: Casual Friday, Dongle, Energy, Entrance, Flex Time, Focus, Missed Deadlines, Project-Based Employment, Star Turn, Tardiness
Posted in Entrances | No Comments »
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
In my role as Chief Storyteller for the Live Earth concerts, I had the good fortune to share scenes with major players in the global environmental movement. People like Al Gore (who had the thousand yard stare going), Kevin Wall (who dreamed it up and made it happen) and John Picard (who convinces players like Oprah Winfrey and British Petroleum to focus on the environment). I got to talk with Sam LaBudde (the eco-warrior who alerted the world to how the tuna industry was killing killing dolphins). I kept hoping Julia Butterfly Hill (who lived in a redwood tree for two years to keep redwoods from getting logged in Northern California) would appear, but she never came around. Dang.
In April, a little more than three months before the concerts, I am in Live Earth’s Los Angeles production office, which is now at full boil. Damon Cason, who’s in charge of the films, is on the phone dealing with Joaquin Phoenix’s people. Andre Mika and David Parks, who are designing the media architecture, tack maps and index cards on the walls that depict the global satellite config. Jose Caballer and his team from The Groop crank out design work like Junior Warhols. Lily Sobhani, the worldwide event manager, is on the phone serving as some promoter’s suicide hot line. Tom Feegel, the Chief of Staff, is trying to figure out what to do with a hundred pairs of hybrid shoes that just arrived from Keen. Daniel Dao, in charge of on-site promotion is looking at stadium maps on two computer monitors while moderating a global conference call about the placement of banners, and how those banners will be printed with biodegradable ink on recycled material that will itself get recycled after the show. Cathleen Lewis and Kerry Craft are on a speaker phone talking Smart Car through its ticketing arrangements in Berlin. The head of PR, Christina Schake, is plotting for a band of scientists who call themselves Nunatak to perform live from Antarctica on the day of the event. Kevin saunters through, showing Cameron Diaz around and introducing her verrrrrrry selectively to certain people, me not being one of them. 
Dang.
(more…)
Tags: Al Gore, Bali, Butterfly Hill, Cameron Diaz, Carbon, CarbonShift, Energy, GameChangers, Games, John Picard, Kevin Wall, Live Earth, Michael Molitor, Sam LaBudde, Sydney, U. N. Conference on Climate Change
Posted in Games, Networked World, Themes | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
OBJECTIVE: A Heineken.
ENVIRONMENT: A Southwest Airlines 737 going from Salt Lake City to Reno/Tahoe. Full flight. Early evening.
ROLES: My friend Martin Gastanaga and a Southwest Airlines flight attendant.
RULES: Normal commercial airline procedures apply (Martin’s not already drunk, he’s of legal drinking age, etc.)
SCENE: Martin asks for a Heineken. The flight attendant hands him the beer. He offers her a twenty. She doesn’t have change. Without hesitating, without missing a beat, she keeps wheeling her cart up the aisle and says,”This one’s on me.”
What a great gift that flight attendant gave on behalf of the Southwest brand! Think about it. (more…)
Tags: Branding, Brian Lusk, Communications, Energy, Flight Attendant, GameChangers, Gifts, Heineken, Marketing, Martin Gastanaga, Southwest Airlines, Yes And
Posted in Gifts | 2 Comments »
