The Visual8

Technology is compelling. And technology is confusing.

Especially when that technology drives the value-chain of a business.

Those architects who see the whole picture and puzzle pieces simultaneously are called Chief Technology Officers (CTOs). This role identifies trends and the means to overtake them.

Remember when we raced to “go online” or become “digital.” We employed these geniuses to set our technology direction to make it real. They evaluated the capabilities inside and outside of the company. They drew out the art of the possible and a plan to change the status quo.

These class of thinkers are also found in the sales organization, too.

They are named Enterprise Technologists or Field CTOs. They describe a future for clients and the steps to realize that vision. They are truth speakers. They are well-traveled. They are adaptive.

They are also Good Explainers.

When the world is changing, many things don’t work like they used to. A Good Explainer knows how to make it understandable.

When entrepreneurs chase new markets, it is the Good Explainer that secures the venture capital.

A Good Explainer is an archetype.

An archetype is a way to describe a collection of personality attributes associated with a role. Carl Jung leveraged this concept to help us understand our collective approach to the world.

Joseph Campbell wrote extensively about the Hero archetype.

The Good Explainer emerges much later in the business world.

To be clear, there are other contemporary archetypes that appear similar but lack specific distinguishing features of the Good Explainer.

The Prophet archetype stands on a box.

The Prophet brings news from a divine source. The Prophet has a message to inspire a new direction. To illuminate the path.

However, the source of their power is from another world.

They say, “Come follow me. This is the way. I am not the destination, but I know where it is.”

A Good Explainer, does not need something otherworldly to be of value.

The Influencer archetype demands a following.

The Influencer begins as a scout. They test products or go to the venue for the experience. They build up credibility by talking about their encounters.

Successful Influencers gain critical mass with a sizable audience. They create an orbit in which their followers to spin. An Influencer is famous for being famous.

They accelerate or decelerate adoption of a product or service.

A Good Explainer does not feed on the cult of personality. 

A Good Explainer operates in the way John Steinbeck wrote:  eliminate the narrator’s voice to compel the story forward. There are no embellishments that call attention to the narrator.

A Good Explainer helps us understand the new and complex so we can make our own decision.

A Good Explainer is extremely useful in new markets or in times of transition.

Business leaders can adopt the Good Explainer archetype to keep the business moving forward.

Remember that we are talking about archetypes and not specific individuals.

And like other archetypes, we can cultivate the Good Explainer in ourselves.

Hone these five behaviors to become a Good Explainer.

1. Learn how to spot first principles.

First principles lay at the end of series of “why-s”.

Why are batteries so expensive? Why is that raw earth material so hard to find? Why only these manufacturers work with this material? Why aren’t others engaged? Why do we have send it from this country to that one?

Getting to the root helps see the logic of the supply chain.

Digging deep reveals the forces that drive eddies in the current. They are the rocks below the rapids.

They are the first step in seeing the whole, as a system of systems.

2. Look for the patterns.

Patterns emerge from cause and effect. Patterns emerge from relationships. Patterns show an information system.

Patterns of concentric circles on the surface of the pond, tell us about the tossed stone.

Knowing these patterns gives us a story to tell. These are first principles in motion.

3. Leverage metaphors.

It is hard to understand an experience without the experience. But we can use metaphors as a proxy to get there.

An Asian pear tastes like a cross between an apple and a pear. If we know the apple and the pear, we can taste the Asian pear in our mind.

Jesus described the kingdom of heaven as a mustard seed: all of the massive potential from a tiny beginning. He painted a picture in the minds of the disciples using something the audience knew.

4. Tell stories.

“You know how when your phone rings super-loud in the middle of meeting and you scramble find the mute button?

That’s what it’s like with those gasoline pumps that blurt out the TV advertising as you fuel up.”

There are characters and situations. There is a plot with a resolution.

Weaving stories into a longer explanation is a cognitive relief.  It invokes the intuitive mind to allow the analytical mind to catch it’s breath.

5. Write descriptions of ordinary things.

The gift of writing is the gift of refined thinking. But it is blue-collar work: it is physically demanding.

Writing about small simple things using shapes and colors helps the reader. References to something familiar allow them to see the object in their mind.

For one whole year, Daniel Whittington wrote about an object every day to practice this skill. No one else was needed to read the paragraph. It was the act of the writing that was the reward. It built muscle for later use.

Some of us are natural at taking on the Good Explainer archetype.

These skills arrived as unconscious competence.

For the rest of us, we can work at those skills build conscious competence.

Or you can just hire one.

I have hired many Good Explainers. I have managed many Good Explainers. They are rare and they are precious.

They help us make sense of the complicated world. They help us drive the business forward.