I spend a good bit of time trying to understand how creative cultures organically grow within business organizations. Many argue that creative organizations never grow inside entrenched non-innovative environments, but I don’t accept that conclusion.  CEO’s are not antagonistic as they once were, and many are genuine proponents.  The notion of “innovate or die” in American ‘Fortune 500′ companies is palpable.  I actually think it is a great thing and a necessary condition for an invigorated workforce.  I believe that every group of people running organizations would rather feel innovative and creative than not feel that way.  The risk of innovation is simply too high in most organizations.  However, leaders are often happy to embrace something that is already been proven, at least to a limited success.  With their support often comes funding and perhaps some company-paid time of others.  Take those win-win opportunities, and be sincere to the deals you make.  It helps them come again.  I love opportunities to teach small groups of people how to plant the seeds of innovative change.  If you kick-off the right idea the stored potential in the workforce will sustain it.  Finding which one will work for any given group usually requires some experimentation, but they don’t have to be expensive.  Some things will help the process along, and a common language is one of them.

To fire that igniting spark, creative business cultures often rely heavily on a common language.  They are the verbal secret handshakes of those sharing in the hard work.  We love our TLA’s (Three Letter Acronyms), littering the frontal lobes of everyone who has ever been part of a tech company, or the legal or medical communities. They help keep our minds engaged and are used to speed up conversations.  Lessons learned if you have ever known the nightmarish first month at any lingo-centric business, if you are not speaking the same language as everyone else, you are not fully communicating.

I think one could contend this is what Omar Ahmad has tapped into in his very short (6 min) TED Talk. Is there a common language which will work to truly communicate with politicians? It seems almost too unlikely to accept, but it is worth your keeping an open mind, Ahmad is persuasive.  In a linguistic conundrum, Ahmad contends the common languages of email and voice mail are not working.  Rather, he says here the common language of genuine communication with Politicians is by the nearly flickering art of – handwritten letters.

“Politicians are strange creatures, says politician Omar Ahmad. And the best way to engage them on your pet issue is a monthly handwritten letter. Ahmad shows why old-fashioned correspondence is more effective than email, phone or even writing a check — and shares the four simple steps to writing a letter that works.” – TED.com