Order out of chaos
Loss Leader #13: Cymatics, Miley Cyrus and decisive blows, struck left handed.
I have watched this video countless times, marvelling at its magic, at its wonder. The ways in which striking different notes, different tones moves the individual grains to organize themselves, propels them into a pattern, a specific formation.
This demonstration was posted by Ted Gioia, demonstrating the concept of cymatics, a term coined by physicist Hans Jenny to describe “the formative and organizing power of sound.”
But it’s can also be used as a powerful illustration of the impact of communications in the public sphere, and one many leaders seem to have a hard time grasping these days.
If you make clear sounds, they will propel action, change, organization, order. If you randomly bang on the table in a bunch of different places while screaming, the sand’s just going to fly all over the place.
We are watching this play out in Canada right now, and we - my friends - are the grains of sand. There is no organizing force behind government Covid communications, and so there is no order.
For leaders to organize our asses into a pattern that’s not a terrifying hockeystick of infection, they need to think about three Cs of effective communication.
Clarity: Like the sounds in the video, the notes of your communications strategy have to be clear. Hit them one at a time. Use words that people understand. Your statements should elicit nods and not make people shrug in confusion.
Consistency: Your message should hold steady across platforms, actions and time. You cannot have multiple spokespeople saying different things. You cannot say one thing but do something else. This doesn’t mean your approach and your advice can’t evolve, but it shouldn’t contradict or reverse itself without explanation. Hold the note.
Credibility: This means that your message should intrinsically resonate. It should be supported by well-articulated logic. And it should have a payoff. The latter being the most important thing. If something doesn’t immediately make sense to people, but is shown to work, then it will gain credibility. This has happened with masks (for most of us) and miniseries about chess (for everyone).
The three Cs of communications are useful for all leaders, whether you’re trying to launch a product or prevent mass hospitalizations and death. And they are all grounded in the insight that communication propels actions, even when it's done badly.
Hans Jenny spent 15 years studying the effects of sound on sand. He played Bach and Mozart, and saw stars and snowflakes form.
And, he found, when he played a recording of continuous speech, that “the patterns metamorphose continually.”
Watch your grains of sand, people, and know they are continually reacting to the sound of your voice.
The last verse
Thinking about the power of sound made me consider the impact of music, and what lessons we can draw from the songs that have compelled us during the pandemic.
Music can make people dance or break down in tears. Leadership can too.
So what can we learn as leaders from the songs that have rallied people of late?
A respect for history
In moments of crisis, it’s important to let history be a guide. Leaders often reference previous battles, turning points, or societal efforts as a way to encourage their followers to bravery, and help them see that past wars have been won. We need to be reminded that we are all standing on the shoulders of giants.
Asked to perform during a pandemic, some musicians have also been playing tribute to those who came before them, recognizing that sometimes the words people most need to hear are not your own.
A sense of harmony
This beautiful podcast with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings is really about the power of collaboration, which “sounds like two people telling the same story from different rooms in the same house.”
Few people write a song alone, and more great leadership should focus on collaboration, credit sharing and the blending of powerful voices into something new and unique. As the host says, when this magic happens, it can “make you feel like you’re witnessing the birth of an entire planet.”
The power of orchestration
Building on the theme of genius not happening alone, this episode of the Netflix show Song Exploder focuses on ‘Wait for It’ from Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda struggled with the song and how to capture the character of Aaron Burr in the lyrics, articulating his motivation and inherent conflict with the main protagonist. But even once he figured it out, once he had the words down, the song wasn’t finished. It took on life and power in how it was orchestrated, performed, choreographed and even lit. The episode demonstrates how the work of art was elevated by each member of the team, with full license from its creator.
The importance of Vibe
At this point, we all know that the Fleetwood Mac song Dreams became a streaming sensation this summer as the result of a TikTok video by Doggface208. But the fact that it was listened to 230-million times in two weeks has to say something about what people are looking for.
“There’s just too much chaos right now,” Nathan Apodaca told NPR, when asked why he thought so many people responded to his post. “Everybody just needed something to relax to and vibe out with.”
When people are frustrated and going through hard times, it can be tempting to meet them where they’re at. But occasionally it’s better to just offer them a brief moment of relief, and of joy.
You don’t need to know how it ends, til it’s over
“I have to know what I think about something, and to be through to the other side of it, to have the last verse.”
-Gillian Welsh on why she hasn’t finished writing anything since the pandemic.
Quick Leads
You gotta know where the problems are before you can fix them
Always hit with your left.
