That's, "C-L-U-E-T-R..."

Scoble and Shel (hereafter, S&S) continue the work of writing a book in public. In this post, they answer the question: "How are you going to be different that the Cluetrain Mainfesto? Their answer: Cluetrain told you what to do and why to do it, this book will show you how. That's a great idea.

Cluetrain's authors explored a brilliant insight: markets are conversations. (And later broaded the insight to something like, "markets are relationships, and conversations are crucial elements in good relationships.") Most companies (hell, most people!) don't know how to have the kinds of conversations that lead to good relationships. So, they need help. (Kind of like, "Cluetraining Wheels." Ouch...sorry!)

That's why, four years ago, we changed the name of our company from something sounding like an accounting firm to "TrueTalk." We wanted our name to capture what do, to capture what we try to help our clients create in their organizations. At first, we got a lot of funny looks. We tried to address the questions posed by those looks here.

But over the last four years, something's changed. (In no small part due to Cluetrain and its blogger-offspring.) Today, we get fewer funny looks and more smiling nods. Something's changed. People are starting to come to the realization that the way we talk to one another, the fabric of the relationships we have, matters.

And it doesn't just matter in our "personal lives" (as if there were any other kind), but in our "business lives" as well. We started making a simple statement to clients and prospects: having the "right kinds of conversations" in your networked organization (that's the people "inside" and "outside" your business -- don't you just love the vestigial pieces of Cartesianism we have lying around the house? -- that make you successful...you know, customers, employees, suppliers, "business partners") can lead to dramatically different kinds of outcomes. Outcomes like: innovation, speed, quality, loyalty. That's why we wrote a little catchphrase to describe what we do: "Connecting People For Results."

I digress.

S&S's project is a terrific way to bring this brand of authentic conversation into even sharper focus. We call it TrueTalk, but it doens't matter what you call it: it's an experience you definitely recognize in a blink.

S&S say, "Blog or die." Couldn't agree more. Like we said about the word "TrueTalk": Blog is a noun and a verb.

Comments

[shel israel]

Thanks for the mention. What I love most is the "S & S." It will prevent all arguments over top billing.

[Tom Guarriello]

Hey, hierarchies are dead, right, Shel?