Conscious Connections

I started reading Naked Conversations last Saturday after the TechCrunch5 event. I’d only met co-author Scoble less than 2 months ago and have been blogging unsteadily since then.

But I’m already recommending the book to CEOs and business owners I know because it does such a good job of clearly relating the possibility of blogging and the benefits of the porous membrane for businesses of all kinds. And I’m only half way through it.

But mostly I’m just relieved, really, to be reading writing that’s so fresh, straight, relevant and common sense.

These guys are real people, just sharing about what works: being in communication with people. And that includes dealing with all the squishiness of being human, working with humans, being in unpredictable and uncontrollable business environments, and being unpredictable and uncontrollable humans themselves. They present a refreshingly real conversation and invite everyone to jump in. And that’s completely doable.

Reading their book makes me able to just breathe. There’s a freedom somehow, when I think about the possibility of people just communicating … and getting things cleared up in a straightforward, adult, deal with the issues directly, sort of way.

naked: without covering or clothing on the body, nude; without addition, concealment, disguise, or embellishment.

Like, isn’t it time we get a clue, that we let in what the world around us is trying to communicate … then all there is to do is:

• Handle that customer’s compliant. Admit the screw-up. Deal with the mishandling. Apologize, make amends and corrections, clean it up and move on. And also, to do what needs to be done so noone ever has to deal with that thing again.
• Realize we’re in over our heads, call on the experts, quit being the lone ranger and get a partner that’s smarter than us in that thing we’ve been busting our pick on.
• Get over the trauma drama, forgive and laugh it off over a beer, already.

Don’t we humans have more important things to put our energy towards than protecting our “turf”, covering our asses, worrying about looking bad and being victims in life?

And for Scoble and Israel to be spokespersons for bringing forth this new world of common sense communication for business, I’m simply and truly grateful.