MARKETING MATTERS


What I Learned About Communications From Tin Cans and String


Dwight Barnhard, Superior Aluminum Castings Inc., Independence, Missouri “It has been said that the U.S. was the


first country in our modern era founded on a vision. Is it possible that in some very real sense this vision was born out of a capacity for dialogue?”—Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline


shout over each other these days, I have to ask: is the capacity for dialogue to exchange ideas and opinions in a man- ner that fosters creative innovation more challenging now than it was in 1776? Let’s bring the issue closer to ev-


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eryday customer relationships. When customer and supplier visions of what should be don’t align, where does the conversation go? How do we keep the dialogue creative and win-win focused?


A Simple Solution My dad has always been a wiz in


the field of electronics. Growing up around our house involved building crystal sets, transistor radios and being the first on the block with a television. Two-way communications was about learning Morse code and amateur radio lingo, not dialogue with my parents. My earliest experience with aug-


mented communications involved basic physics and common materials—tin cans and string. The communications device used two empty tin cans and a piece of string long enough to reach beyond normal hearing distance. You put a small hole in the bottom of each can, inserted the string through the hole from the outside, and then tied a knot in the string to keep it from slipping through the hole. When the string was pulled taut and someone spoke into one of the cans, the sound was transferred through the string as mechanical vibrations and recreated in the bottom of the second


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ccording to its dictionary defi- nition, the goal of dialogue is open, creative, two-way com- munications. But listening to the myriad of opinions we


can. The key in making this an effective two-way communications device was the proper amount of tension on the string (or line of communication). Too little tension and your voice couldn’t be heard; too much tension and the line broke, ending communications. While the technology was primitive


compared to Twitter and Facebook, it taught me an important life lesson. Often during the course of dialogue, tension is generated and communications break down when one person’s vision doesn’t appear to align with the others. Peter Senge’s book The Fifth Discipline pro- vides a benchmark understanding of “the art and prac- tice of the learning organization.” He uses the analogy of stretching a rubber band between two points with one point being “your cur- rent reality” and the other being “your vision.” As the rubber band stretches, the tension increases. The greater the distance between where you are and where you think you should be generates tension. While tension is often seen as negative, Senge stresses its positives. “The gap between vision and cur-


emotion and passion into understand- ing and wisdom. Changing a win-at- any-cost atmosphere into a win-win environment requires open two-way communications. When communica- tions break down, trust dissolves and creative collaboration disappears.


Keep Your Ear to the Can


When communications break down, trust dissolves and creative collaboration disappears.


An essential element of two-way communications is the skill of listening. When you’re communicating with a tin can and string, you have to listen in- tently. According to management expert Tom Peters, “listen- ing is the basis of true collaboration.” A creative energy


is released when we listen to another person’s opinions and ideas without offering instant re- sponses. Edward


Farrell once commented on this quality. “Listening is rare,” he said. “There are certain people we meet to whom we feel we can talk because they have such a deep capacity for hearing; not hearing words only but hearing us as a person.” I enjoy reading Southwest Airlines


rent reality is also a source of energy,” he writes. “If there was no gap, there would be no need for any action to move toward the vision. Indeed, the gap is the source of creative energy. We call that gap creative tension.” Is tension a familiar scenario when discussing customers’ expectations? Senge suggests the energy generated


by emotional tension be used wisely and transformed into creative tension. “We allow our goals to erode when


we are unwilling to live with emotional tension…Truly creative people use the gap between vision and current real- ity to generate energy for change,” he says. The key is learning to transform


Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly’s comments in the airline’s in-flight magazine. In a recent edition, he made the following comments about commu- nications: “You can’t have Teamwork without Communications. We can’t talk with each other enough, and we can’t listen to each other enough.” While communications technology


has come a long way, the human challenges we face—dialoging ideas and opinions in a manner that creates innovative solutions—are no different than they were in 1776. Like the tin can and string, if used properly, creative tension and a listening ear can turn dialogue into teamwork and vision. MC


Dwight Barnhard is co-owner of Superior Aluminum Castings Inc., Independence, Mo.


MODERN CASTING / June 2010


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