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One Big Idea – Keeping it Simple
By John Dickerson March 15, 2022
One Big Idea – Simple, Inspiring, Repeated.
How do we keep our One Big Idea simple so our staff, families and people with disabilities not only understand but embrace your message? Through stories.
“The shortest distance between two people is a story.” Patti Digh
Stories are the most effective way to help people understand the meaning of what you are trying to communicate. How do you do it?
For example, consider if the vision or strategy you want to communicate is using technology to help empower people in their lives. You have a clear strategy and resources available… and yet it is not being implemented the way you envision.
Ready to get your message across? Tell stories!
Short stories of people in your organization or around the country using new tech to improve their lives. Here is an example – a young woman talking about the first night she used remote supports. Ask people in your organization who are using technology what works for them and use their stories to guide others.
Share a success story!
For example, consider people’s independence growing, like someone riding a city bus using a travel app and an app like Life 360 (which is free!) so they don’t get lost.
Here is one of my favorite stories about the use of technology. A friend, who spent his first month using remote supports, was telling me what life was like and how much he liked staying in touch with someone through a computer monitor and camera mounted in the wall. “John, the guy in the wall is friendly and does not always tell me what to do!”
We know from adult learning, people need to hear things several times before they understand and embrace an idea. So, find more stories to keep bringing people to the point of understanding. This is a guiding principle of ours for both Quillo Pro and Quillo Connect.
You might say you don’t have time to do this, I would suggest you do not have time not to. The pandemic has taught us many things, some of them quite painful. But it has also shown us ways forward, and stories will lead us to a better future.
Want to talk more about how you can use stories to share your One Big Idea? Give me a call. Let’s share some stories and make a plan.