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Recent Thoughts

• Language stinks

  Posted July 11th, 2010 in story telling

  My friend’s daughter Cheyenne recently created a powerful presentation on the impact of words. Her entry into a high school art exhibit featured different words such as “War,” “Love” and “Sex” artfully displayed as a collection. When she arrived on the day of the exhibit opening, however, some of the words had been covered up because an administrator deemed them “inappropriate.” I won’t get into the surrounding debate about censorship, but the saga once again reminds us that meaning attached to words is powerful, subjective and often deeply personal. Not coincidentally, Cheyenne is keenly aware of this, particularly when words are used as simplified descriptive label, through her own experience and the history lessons of her Native American heritage. Words can be charged and loaded.
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• The C Word: Consumer

  Posted July 11th, 2010 in Communications

  I attended Grant McCracken’s “Culture Boot Camp” earlier this year (LOVED it by the way) and one of the discussions focused on the pitfalls of using the word “consumer.”   There’s a danger when we refer to customers, consumers, and sales prospects as anything other than “people.”  Why?   We run the risk of objectifying them.   That makes it easy to attach broad labels.  So what’s the big deal?

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