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> narratives (not facts) are what move people I actually find this practice really annoying. If I'm on contract cutting together some hack's godawful kung fu a

> narratives (not facts) are what move people I actually find this practice really annoying. If I'm on contract cutting together some hack's godawful kung fu action film, the last thing I want to hear is the fiction he tells himself to get to sleep every night. Narrative is what we give to the public when we want to trick them into thinking that buying low-quality shoes will end world poverty. It has no place inside the company. Maybe it's helpful for customers to believe in the fantasy version of your company, but inside, you want people who know what is really going on, and are willing to participate without the use of such tricks.

Spooky23 7y ago
Narratives don't need to be bullshit.
habitue 7y ago
Narratives are things that fill in the holes between the facts. You can't make sense of the world without them. We also call them "models" sometimes. Whenever there's ambiguity or not enough evidence, or uncertainty about how something might play out, it's a narrative (informed by the facts, but not a fact itself) that tells you how to proceed.
marcosdumay 7y ago
> If I'm on contract cutting together some hack's godawful kung fu action film, the last thing I want to hear is the fiction he tells himself to get to sleep every night. Hum, no, that would be a lot of bullshit to accept. But I am sure you'll like to know you are helping creating a godawful kung fu action film. And it's very likely you'll like to hear on how successful the move will be.
aklemm 7y ago
I could tell a story around your work about how you are focused on the ultimate bottom line and how your efforts bring that clarity to the people around you, and I bet you'd eat it up.
- jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
  I need some authenticity. It's clear to me that you just made all that up, because you've never really observed me working. Now I'm suspicious about all your compliments because I know you're willing to invent stories. I barely know you and I already feel uneasy about working with you.
  - arbitrary_name 7y ago
    Hypothetically, I think I'd rather not hire you in the first place. On one hand, I want to treat you as a person with autonomy and empower you to bring your special qualities and skills every day. On the other hand, I need people who can be managed effectively and know how to be part of a team - that means rolling your eyes quietly during the 'c-suite bullcrap', but also being able to take from it whatever is needed to provide direction in which to get running. Instead, I'm sensing a 'rock management' vibe from you: you know what rock you don't like if I present it to you, but you can't define what rock you do like - and I don't need the overhead that comes with trying to help you work that out. Bottom Line: leadership is a two way street. It takes hard work and authenticity on behalf of leaders. It also takes a level of faith, openness and understanding on behalf of the team. If either party doesn't show up, things get much, much harder.
    - andrewflnr 7y ago
      Leadership is not entitled to the trust of their team. It must be earned. There's no reason for people to put themselves on the line for leadership that, statistically, will most likely not reciprocate. Also, the paragraph about "rock management" was entirely unjustified and un-called-for. You appear to have confused GP with someone else.
    - jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
      Speaking factually, not hypothetically, you want me on your team. I'm the guy who split his check three ways and raided dumpsters for food, just to make sure everyone got paid. As a private contractor, I have more bosses than I know what to do with: 9 clients at the moment, 7 repeat offenders; with each and every single one of them I don't leave a discussion until I have received a concrete request, established a delivery schedule, and read the whole plan back to the client to reassure everyone that their direction has been received exactly as they want it. If a client comes up and says "I want you to go into overdrive" I am not leaving until he or she explains what is really wanted: for me to produce a rush-ordered video before the end of the month, on top of the two I already have in the pipeline. And I am also lucid enough to know without being told, when my feedback is wanted, and when my colleague just wants me to keep my mouth shut and listen to him or her talk about the Learning Annex book he or she was reading yesterday.
OnlineCourage 7y ago
"Here at CinemaX we believe in our people, clarity of message to our stakeholders, employees as well as our customers. That's why we practice radical information theory - we let our employees know what's really going on to embolden maximum participation from our team members, or as we call them, CEOs. Other companies are built on fantasy - that has no place here." Anything can be turned into a narrative, even your anti-narrative narrative.
- jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
  Still empty and meaningless and I still feel irritated, and a little sick. I wonder if anyone actually likes to be spoken to in such a way.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

Spooky23 7y ago

Narratives don't need to be bullshit.

habitue 7y ago

Narratives are things that fill in the holes between the facts. You can't make sense of the world without them. We also call them "models" sometimes. Whenever there's ambiguity or not enough evidence, or uncertainty about how something might play out, it's a narrative (informed by the facts, but not a fact itself) that tells you how to proceed.

marcosdumay 7y ago

> If I'm on contract cutting together some hack's godawful kung fu action film, the last thing I want to hear is the fiction he tells himself to get to sleep every night. Hum, no, that would be a lot of bullshit to accept. But I am sure you'll like to know you are helping creating a godawful kung fu action film. And it's very likely you'll like to hear on how successful the move will be.

aklemm 7y ago

I could tell a story around your work about how you are focused on the ultimate bottom line and how your efforts bring that clarity to the people around you, and I bet you'd eat it up.

jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
I need some authenticity. It's clear to me that you just made all that up, because you've never really observed me working. Now I'm suspicious about all your compliments because I know you're willing to invent stories. I barely know you and I already feel uneasy about working with you.
- arbitrary_name 7y ago
  Hypothetically, I think I'd rather not hire you in the first place. On one hand, I want to treat you as a person with autonomy and empower you to bring your special qualities and skills every day. On the other hand, I need people who can be managed effectively and know how to be part of a team - that means rolling your eyes quietly during the 'c-suite bullcrap', but also being able to take from it whatever is needed to provide direction in which to get running. Instead, I'm sensing a 'rock management' vibe from you: you know what rock you don't like if I present it to you, but you can't define what rock you do like - and I don't need the overhead that comes with trying to help you work that out. Bottom Line: leadership is a two way street. It takes hard work and authenticity on behalf of leaders. It also takes a level of faith, openness and understanding on behalf of the team. If either party doesn't show up, things get much, much harder.
  - andrewflnr 7y ago
    Leadership is not entitled to the trust of their team. It must be earned. There's no reason for people to put themselves on the line for leadership that, statistically, will most likely not reciprocate. Also, the paragraph about "rock management" was entirely unjustified and un-called-for. You appear to have confused GP with someone else.
  - jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
    Speaking factually, not hypothetically, you want me on your team. I'm the guy who split his check three ways and raided dumpsters for food, just to make sure everyone got paid. As a private contractor, I have more bosses than I know what to do with: 9 clients at the moment, 7 repeat offenders; with each and every single one of them I don't leave a discussion until I have received a concrete request, established a delivery schedule, and read the whole plan back to the client to reassure everyone that their direction has been received exactly as they want it. If a client comes up and says "I want you to go into overdrive" I am not leaving until he or she explains what is really wanted: for me to produce a rush-ordered video before the end of the month, on top of the two I already have in the pipeline. And I am also lucid enough to know without being told, when my feedback is wanted, and when my colleague just wants me to keep my mouth shut and listen to him or her talk about the Learning Annex book he or she was reading yesterday.

OnlineCourage 7y ago

"Here at CinemaX we believe in our people, clarity of message to our stakeholders, employees as well as our customers. That's why we practice radical information theory - we let our employees know what's really going on to embolden maximum participation from our team members, or as we call them, CEOs. Other companies are built on fantasy - that has no place here." Anything can be turned into a narrative, even your anti-narrative narrative.

jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
Still empty and meaningless and I still feel irritated, and a little sick. I wonder if anyone actually likes to be spoken to in such a way.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]