Snow Globe
It snowed last night in Chicago. Did it where you are? Yes, Halloween was cold and slushy. Brrrrr! Naturally, I got to thinking all about snow – you know, water’s frigid costume and winter attire – and how it relates to business and life. This led to a snowball effect of thoughts and ideas that will surely assist you in getting out of any winter blues you may already be feeling lately.
The Original Snowclones
We live by clichés and expressions that we adapt and reuse with variations. These are called snowclones and they can be phrases like “50 is the new 40” or “as American as apple pie and baseball.” What is interesting is the term was only invented in the early 2000’s as a way to describe how certain phrases are adapted and reused with variations. They are like snowflakes that have a certain structure but lots of unique nuances. So, when life gives you snow, make snow sculptures. Seems like wordplay and snowclones go together like snow and winter, don’t they?
It takes creative thinking to come up with the appropriate snowclones for your business. This can lead to mounds of success when it catches on. Consider the phrase, “as American as Chevy and apple pie.” Someone at Chevy – perhaps during a snow day – came up with that idea. What can you come up with for your business? I am thinking, “When life gives you rain, put your boots on and call Agile Rainmakers”? Or maybe, “An Agile Rainmaker in hand, is worth two in the…tush”? Okay, obviously some more creative work is needed on my end because that one felt like a snow job to me.
Snowflakes
Years ago, I heard a story about how people in Dallas had no distinctions in snow. They would avoid a night out because it “might” snow. Meanwhile, the Eskimos really knew snow and had hundreds of words for snow. They have words like Nutarniq (heavy, wet snow), Pukak (snow resembling salt crystals), and Puijuq (fine snow). Rest assured, those words don’t come to mind when I see snow. Nonetheless, being a Chicagoan, I would chuckle at the thought of a Dallasite flaking out and staying home. They must be snowblind to be snowed in without snow. Then, a year ago February, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area there was a 130-car pile-up due to “sheets of ice” on the main highway. Six people immediately became snow angels that day.
In reflecting on this, I see how much in business we resist putting ourselves in other people’s snow shoes. In supporting others, one must factor in people’s fears, competencies, habits, and their willingness to do things. Those are real for them and the need for compassion and serious thinking has never been greater. An avalanche of polarization and me-ism makes us ineffective with each other in business. As a result, we can occur as colder to each other than Frosty the Snowman. Remembering that each of us is like a snowflake with lots of variations but the same underlying structure goes a long way in understanding each other and being successful in business and life. We are all snowflakes.
Shake It Up
Just as a snow globe takes shaking up to have that miniature winter scene come to life, you must stir up your thinking, pull yourself out of your own snowdrifts, and get where other people are coming from. Snowclones can help lighten the mood as you connect with others in our shared snow globe.
Here's to you and your awesome future.
Until then, keep your feet on the board and keep riding your wave!
Robert J. Khoury
CEO Agile Rainmakers