Tension that’s good for you

This past week two of my favourite blogs have posted about tension – In over your head and Six pixels of separation.  They both refer to the need to create tension if you want to create.  And the second, refers to a conversation I had with Mitch Joel the other day.  I thought it would be worth expanding on that discussion here.  Even Internal Communicators are creators at heart [and often in reality] after all.

So what is this tension?  This tension isn’t emotional tension.  It isn’t the kind of tension that’s caused by stress, anxiety, or fear.  It is the kind of tension described by my friend and teacher Robert Fritz as structural tension.  And, what’s great about this kind of tension is that once you know about it you can use it, design it into your life, your projects, your business to increase the likelihood of your achieving what you want.

Hmmm.  Sounds a bit like magic doesn’t it.  Well, it’s not.  And on some level it will seem so obvious you will be scratching your head.  And yet to master its force takes discipline and focus.  Here are the basics.

First, know what you want to build, create, bring into being and by when [ Time is a powerful force for good in creating]. You can’t fake this part.  You either really want it or you don’t.  In the case of the discussion with Mitch that could be something like:

A  fun, visually interesting blog for people like me who love baking and where I can share my favourite recipes ideas on healthy eating and observations on life [inspired by my friend Helen's blog].  My friends like it and are sharing it with their friends.  I’ve posted [insert real number] posts and have [insert real number] followers by September 15, 2010.

Second, know where you stand in relationship to that end state.  To me this is always the part that’s a bit tricky.  We like to fool ourselves by making things a bit too good or bad about where we are in relationship to what we want.  And that, can really muck up structural tension.

I have a cupboard full of recipes.  I’ve got lots to say about my passion for baking and life. I have a handful of friends that I know will love this. I don’t know anything about publishing on line. I’m good at taking pictures but I don’t have a camera.

Now here’s the interesting thing.  The more you really want and are passionate about the thing you’re trying to create and the more discrepant the end state and the current state are the more power there is in the system.  And the actions you need to take just pop out [trust me, it's true.  And that can create emotional tension. You'll get over it if you really want what you want.].

I need to start commenting on others blogs so I can get a feel for what it’s like.  I need to find out about wordpress.  Get a camera.  And, get technical advice.  And,….

So that’s structural tension.  And that’s a very good thing.

In the conversation with Mitch we were talking about web analytics and how it can  get you off track.  How is that?

Well it doesn’t have to, but if it does this is what happens.

I want to create a blog that attracts my friends and people who love baking the way I do, so I create the blog and have a 100 followers.

And then you start tracking the analytics and realize that 100 isn’t a very big number of followers.  After all Mr Big Blogger has 175,000+ followers and can get speaking gigs for $15,000 a time and…book deals and….

I want to get my numbers up, so I start doing things to get the numbers up.

Your focus shifts to building the numbers and away from the original spirit and intent of your blog.  You start manipulating yourself and your readers.  And when they’re not they create a structural conflict.  Over time these competing forces will drive you away from the thing you wanted in the first place and kill the power of structural tension.

Now, here’s the good news.  Once you’re aware of structural conflict you can choose.  You can decide if you still want what you wanted when you started – a fun little blog with a few loyal followers.  And if it is knowing where you stand against your end state is a good thing.  Web analytics can help.

And, if not, it’s time to go back to basics and consciously build some structural tension.

Are your Internal Communications driven by structural tension or structural conflict?  How can you tell?  Something to think about.

Tags: Creating, Design thinking, Employee communication, Julien Smith, Mitch Joel