There are moments when I know I’m in the wrong room for the right reason. Last week held one of those moments. Being able to reflect on participating in a 2-day complexity masterclass confirmed for me the need to have “blue-collar sensibility in white-collar dialogue”.
Allow me to set the stage.
For a few months, I worked with Nigel Thurlow and my Improving colleagues to work out the details for the masterclass delivered by Dave Snowden. Between Nigel’s schedule, Dave’s schedule, and the general challenge of finding reasonably priced, available space, it had been 2 to 3 years since Dave was able to run a masterclass in Dallas (possibly the U.S.).
Once the location and dates got locked in, the real work began. This is where it gets interesting. If you have followed this blog or my LinkedIn posts, you can pick up on me being a “hands-on host”. I take personal pride in being able to make the physical space work for the speakers in a location.
This includes audio and visual equipment.
Enter the “Display Challenge”!
The displays in the training room have been temperamental. Not good for a 2-day class when the speaker needs them for their slides and supporting digital tools. So, I got to work fixing what wasn’t working.
After a cable swap, factory reset on all 4 displays, and some other tinkering, they worked “good enough” to support the class. Not perfect, not flawless, but good enough.
All of the above leads me to the opening point. If I did not have “blue-collar” troubleshooting skills, the displays would not have worked. If I were purely a “white-collar” technologist, I could have supported the experience but been distracted or frustrated by the challenges.
Dave shared a story that backs up the premise above. He walks the Welsh highlands with a compass and map regularly. No GPS, no digital tools. Moreover, he occasionally navigates the highlands by feel. No map, no compass. Blue-collar sensibilities all the way.
In a world that is increasing our dependence on digital systems and virtual experiences, we need to maintain a grounding in the physical world. If we allow our skills that maintain the physical world to atrophy, then we put ourselves at risk of being unable to survive, let alone thrive, in a world that is increasing in complexity daily.
I want to encourage you to excercise some “blue-collar” skills this week.