storytelling | Bernuth & Williamson

Writing Like an Organization: Some Tips for Balancing Collaboration & Solitude

November 27, 2018 by Thomas Brendler

Writing, especially for an organization, can be a stressful. But it doesn’t have to be. The key is to understand how writing works in an organizational setting, and to appreciate its potential—and its limitations.

The first and often hardest thing to accept is that writing is not a group process. As the Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk wrote, at its heart writing is about an individual sitting in a room by themself. Group work, especially early on, can enrich an organization’s writing and provide a growth opportunity for staff. Working with language collectively can stir conversations and bring people together in a way that few things can. But it’s just one part of a larger process.

Another reality is that in any organization some people are better writers than others. This isn’t a bad thing to accept, and even embrace. My plumber has a good sense of humor and smiles patiently when I explain my theory about what’s really going on with our boiler, but in the end she’s the one that fixes it. Besides, writing, probably more so than plumbing, can be readily learned, and (probably more like plumbing) people get better at it with practice. The same is true for organizations.

From our experience working with NGOs, here are some other things to consider:

Identify writer(s) early on, deferring as little as possible to hierarchy, and empower them managing the process. At the same time, keep a deep bench of people who can read thoughtfully and critically, with fresh eyes, as the writing takes shape.
Remember that listening and reflecting are big parts of writing—even the most compressed processes benefit from leaving space for them.
Be aware of the discrete phases of writing (e.g. generating, drafting, editing, revising, proofing) and always know where you are. (More on this in a future post.)
Appreciate writing as an iterative process: It can be unpredictable, and needs room to roam. In the language of wildlife ecology, writing’s “home range” is more antelope than snail darter. This also means that writing can generate ideas which while not relevant to the project at hand, are still valuable. So it’s a good idea to keep a folder or bulletin board handy for these. Writing is a task, but it’s also a form of thinking.
Recognize that it’s easier to respond or work with something once it’s written down. All the more reason not to treat writing—especially early writing—as precious. In her wonderful book Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott takes an entire chapter to espouse the virtues of “shitty first drafts.”
Stay attuned to the difference between editing and worrying—at some point you have decide you’re done. Remember “done” doesn’t mean “perfect.”
Value concision. One of my biggest concerns is that the nonprofit world is so overloaded with words that they start to lose meaning. Once when I had a job that took me to a lot of conferences, a colleague would regularly finish his remarks with a third or a quarter of his allotted time remaining. It stood out to me for two reasons—first, everybody else was going over (requiring gentle herding by a designated “time keeper”), but second, and more importantly, it was clear to me and most everyone in the room that he’d actually said more in less time.
Say what you mean, even if it makes you cringe. It’s tempting to use words you’ve heard elsewhere, but it’s worth starting with your own. With clients we’ll often kick off a discussion by putting up a list of their mission along with five of their competitors’—without attribution. Most of the time when we do this, the missions are nearly indistinguishable. Meanwhile, these same clients often struggle to describe what makes them unique. There’s nothing like when an organization finds its authentic voice, and uses it.

How does your organization handle writing projects? What have been your biggest challenges? Do you have any advice for other organizations? Let us know. Email Thomas at tbrendler [at] bernuthconsulting.com or tweet him at @thomasbrendler.

The Elevator Test

November 25, 2014 by Betsy Garside

It happens at this time of year: You find yourself at a cocktail party (or Thanksgiving dinner, or gathering of new friends) and someone asks, “so what does your organization do?” You launch into a detailed overview of what your hard-working NGO aims to accomplish, filtered through the lens of your own piece of the work. Sometimes your audience of one lights up and asks the follow-up question you had hoped for. Often, sadly, they do not.

This is not your fault (unless you are a leader of the organization). Rather, you have just stumbled up against a question that too many organizations don’t undertake to answer: What’s your elevator speech? Said another way, why does your organization matter in the world — and to the person to whom you are speaking?

Several years ago our colleague David Williamson wrote a series of pieces about the elements of nonprofit marketing for Georgetown University’s Center for Nonprofit & Public Leadership. The first essay in the collection was about developing an elevator speech. There is a reason it was first in the series: This marketing exercise and resultant tool helps everyone connected with an organization, whether you are the assistant answering “what do you do?” or the board chair answering “is this organization a good one to invest in?”

To start, read David’s piece about passing the elevator test. And if you’re interested in really digging in to the story-telling idea, Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick makes for a good deeper dive.

Remembering Rachel Carson, and learning lessons about social movements

September 24, 2012 by Douglas Meyer

To mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of “Silent Spring,” The New York Times Magazine this week published an insightful article on the role that publication played in advancing the Environmental Movement. The article asks the question, “What was it that allowed Rachel Carson to capture the public imagination and to forge America’s environmental consciousness?” And while this is indeed interesting, it perhaps causes the text to wander away from the question we more often hear from our clients, “What lessons can we learn about sparking a successful social movement?” Three such lessons come immediately to mind upon reading this piece.

1. Tap into existing values and perceptions – Carson recognized what market researchers tell us time and time again: Caring for the world is a core American value. We as a people tend to see ourselves as the “good guys,” even if our actions don’t always back us up. Carson seemed to know this instinctively, as she positioned her argument accordingly. By beginning her book with the mythical story of an idyllic American town destroyed because, “the people had done it themselves,” she cleverly allows the readers to imagine themselves as part of the solution, able to avoid the same fate. A good reminder, especially for those who’d like to reignite action on climate change, that successful social movements tap into the public’s existing values and beliefs, and recommend behaviors which align accordingly. They do not seek to change those underlying values, nor wag fingers at their potential supporters – that is something better left to the leaders of religious cults.

2. Identify a problem, offer a solution, and tell a good story – When one of Carson’s former colleagues, cited in the article, comments that, “She stirred the pot. That’s all,” he clearly misses the point. Stirring the pot would never have been, and never is enough to spark a movement. What sparks a movement is a good story, and specifically one with a problem and a solution, good guys and bad guys. While “Silent Spring” of course covered more than DDT, it was the focus on DDT and the need for better laws and regulations that was the catalyst for change. How much of that was intended by Carson, or perhaps even caused by the chemical industry itself, which seemed all too eager to step right into the role of villain, we may never be able to say. But the lesson to be learned remains the same: focus on an exemplary problem, offer a solution (policy change, personal action, etc.) and tell a good story. You can’t just stir the pot.

3. Know your allies as well as your enemies – One particularly insightful addition to the article was the way in which it highlighted not only Carson’s powerful enemies in the chemical industry, but her powerful allies, especially in the White House. It is perhaps human nature to focus on the opposition, but without allies within the existing power structure, social movements do not succeed.

A final reminder is that social movements are seldom simplistic up and down affairs. When the author of the article bemoans the way in which Carson’s book, “also sowed the seeds of (the movement’s) own destruction,” she is being overly dramatic. Paraphrasing Mark Twain, “the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.” The environmental movement, like all major movements, has come and will continue to come in waves. Carson’s book played an invaluable role in creating the wave that led to an initial round of landmark legislation, such as the clean air and water acts. The question now is how to apply the lessons learned in generating your next wave of change.

Writing Like an Organization: Some Tips for Balancing Collaboration & Solitude

The Elevator Test

Washington

Princeton

Saratoga Springs