Brandt Flomer writes an engaging article on cultural connotations and how the “deliberate application of language” guides company transformations.
I was 13 when I ate my first rattlesnake.
This rite of passage at the Otero County Fair & Rodeo was one of the many things I found myself trying on as I attempted to grok a new culture; this one unique to rural New Mexico, which was my re-entry point into life in the United States after 12 years abroad. I had arrived 3 months earlier in possession of a British accent, Val Kilmer’s hairstyle from Top Gun, a physique evoking that of a baby giraffe, and zero familiarity with the music of George Strait. Once again a stranger in a strange land.
I had a peripatetic childhood, moving every 2 to 3 years; usually to a new country and into a community and school that was either parochial, with kids who knew each other from birth and whose parents and grandparents had often attended the same school. Or one which was wildly diverse, with a potpourri of nations represented and populated largely by similarly nomadic children of families engaged in military or diplomatic service.
To be a ‘military brat’ is to suffer a particular flavor of psychological disorder. Without question, my nomadic childhood provided lots of material to explore in therapy. And although many challenges come along with such frequent dislocation, it did help cultivate cognitive flexibility, cultural competence, and other aptitudes which are invaluable if your vocation ends up being one predicated on catalyzing organizational transformation.
Each time I was uprooted and repotted, the cycle began again…
Chase after the logic of this place and its people. Ask questions, map similarities, look for what’s familiar to something I’ve seen before, and identify for further study those things that are truly new.
Key points include:
- Social cohesion
- Managing social defense
- Linguistic intention
Read the article, Cracking the code on cultural transformation, on Medium.