Viper Strategic

Roundabouts help. Cul-de-sacs do not

Author: Jim Hardcastle

Jim has helped organisations and groups communicate more effectively for nearly 20 years. His background in the countryside and rural sectors provide him with a wealth of experience. Fueled by coffee with Post-Its at the ready, he’s here to help .

Imagine you’re a car traveling through Anytown. The different areas of Anytown dictate different road layouts. Tight roads with lots of small junctions around housing areas. Wide, simple straight layout for industrial estates. You come to cross-roads, T-junctions and all manner of road layouts designed to keep the traffic flowing smoothly.

Now imagine those cars are pieces of information and the road junctions are people. What sort of junction are you? Are you a T-junction where info arrives, sits for a while before being sent off in two different directions? What about a sliproad where info effortlessly glides away from the mainstream? What about a traffic island? Sitting in the middle of an information highway slowing info down by pinching the width as it goes by.

Personally I’d like to think I’m a roundabout sat between urban areas. Info from a whole variety of directions comes at me, some has to stop but most only has to slow before its trajectory carries it around me and off in a new direction for someone else to use. Some info goes off to friends in the housing estates because it’s leisure related. Other info is targeted right into the city to help me work. I like to think I share info effortlessly to help myself by helping others. I’d hate to be a cul-de-sac.

You know who they are. If you’re reading this it’s a safe bet that you’re not one. If you spread a link to this blog you’re definitely not a cul-de-sac. Info goes to these people and that’s it. You know what it’s like to drive down one. You end up having to do an awkward 3 (or more) point turn to get away.

And more importantly what sort of junctions do you like to deal with? Please connect me to lots of roundabouts. 

- Posted on Thursday 02 Sep 2010 at 13:07 by Jim Hardcastle

Tags: communication (27), information (1), jim hardcastle (33), viper (63)