This is a really busy month as I hit television, radio, and print with a series of media interviews across Canada as Moose on the Table: A Novel Approach to Communications @ Work hits bookstores and I deliver Breaking Through the Bull workshops across the country. As soon as I know the schedule, I’ll be sure to post my appearances on my blog at www.clemmergroup.com/blog/. Below are responses to an e-mail interview I did recently for a business magazine.
“I also want to ask you about the style of this book with the use of a fictional character. Why use this approach? Because of the ‘novel’ approach, was this book easier or more difficult to write than your previous books?”
I used this approach because it is more “edutaining.” We all love stories. An entrepreneur who’d just read the book told me last week that he has not read a book for five years – he doesn’t have the time or interest in reading. But he found Moose on the Table so engaging and relevant to his life and organizational issues that he read it right through and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Moose on the Table was easier to write because I could just make it up! It was also a great way for me to weave together the characters and situations I’ve encountered in nearly thirty years of facilitating, training, and consulting to hundreds of management teams.
“The concept of ‘moose on the table’ is similar to the idea of the elephant in the room, something you acknowledge in the book. Do you have any concerns that some people may question the originality of the idea? Or do you see it as a uniquely Canadian take on a common issue?”
I have no concerns about the originality of the metaphor because of how it connects and stays with so many people for so many years. It’s just way too familiar for many as they consider moose, elephants, skunks, and all manner of animals that have been named as variations on the basic theme of issues everyone know need to be addressed but are being ignored or avoided. Moose is very Canadian. In the December issue of The Leader Letter, our training Client, Barrick Gold, outlines (and illustrates with a few photos) how they are educating people in their operations around the world on our big lumbering creature.
If you’d like to read more of the story behind the story of Moose on the Table, go to the October issue of The Leader Letter.
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