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If the Shoe Fits: Can Six Words Change Your Company?

by Miki Saxon

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

5726760809_bf0bf0f558_mIntelligently sharing information, commenting or arguing in 140 characters or less is challenging, but can you sum up your life, career, mood or tell a story in just six (real) words?

When challenged to tell a story in six words, Ernest Hemingway came up with “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.”

Since 2006, Smith Magazine has challenged readers to write their memoirs in six words and the effort is still going strong. Here are three examples from the Smith site,

Ecstatic, elastic, eccentric, electric, ever-changing existence!

Dreams diverted; life proceeds. Embracing detours.

Lesser people would’ve given up already.

A while back I wrote Birth, death, fun and happiness in-between, because that’s what I’ve always wanted and got from life—including obstacles and detours.

The great advantage six words have is to focus deeper thought, creativity and clarity upon the subject.

It’s fun to read through the Smith website and share your own thoughts, but much better to create your own version of it for your company.

Whether you do it digitally, on whiteboards or create a scrawl wall, it’s easy to set up a place for people to post their six-word thoughts.

In six words your people can

  • describe your culture;
  • spark creativity and innovation;
  • facilitate bonding;
  • clarify projects and goals;
  • strengthen the team; and
  • much more.

Analyzing the differing descriptions can go a long way to making sure everybody is on the same page.

It’s also a great tool to provide you with insights and a heads-up, so you can address molehills before they become mountains.

Image credit: HikingArtist

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