In a workshop yesterday with our friends at VLK architects, one of my favorite workshop participants, Clinton Shriver told us about SLY DIAL. He always has the greatest anecdotes for our topic. SLY DIAL is a service that allows you to go "straight to voice mail" and bypass talking to an actual person. Our topic was critical conversations--and how to quit avoiding them. SLY DIAL is just one more technological innovation that allows us to be well...cowards. Notice I said WE. When I was a wee little one in one of my first grown up jobs I actually quit--with a voice mail. As I made the call my inner voice was saying "Please don't pick up! Please don't pick up!". I bet you are smiling right now, even laughing perhaps because you too have done this. Sometimes I am disappointed when my friends actually pick up. "Oh darn you answered. I have such a close relationship with your voice mail I was hoping I could talk to the recorded version of you--we are very tight. I tell her everything". The lesson here (yes there is a lesson) is that we all need to quit hiding behind voice mail, email and text messaging to relay our messages to other people. Susan Scott, in her book Fierce Conversations, says to quit hiding behind ourselves when we speak to other people. I for one am going to keep working toward this.
