Portland, You're In The Top 10 With A Bullet

Spent last weekend in Portland with a group of old friends. Had never visited that fine city previously, and...I have to admit...I am smitten.

Positives:

• A very real, laid-back vibe and no-nonsense attitude
  
• Rogue (not only do they have the dead guy, but they have bacon as an appetizer on the menu, fercryinoutloud!)
  
• Gorgeous natural surroundings
  
• Public art that actually engages
  
• A killer public transportation system
  
• Coffee...everywhere

Negatives:

• Um, nothing. Loved the place.

While there, Leif and I had a chance to spend an afternoon quaffing java with Aric Wood from XPlane. (If you've ever seen any of the cool and useful information graphics in magazines like Business 2.0, they were done by XPlane.) The key insight from the discussion:

"Time-to-understanding" in a conversation can be used as a competitive advantage.

In other words, if you (and, by proxy, your organization) can communicate and connect with a customer more quickly and more richly than the other guy, you have a significant lead in the race. How to do this? A "Top Five" list of do's and don'ts:

1) Do use multiple modes of communication (written, verbal, visual, experiential) in order to communicate
2) Do look for common experiences and past shared reference points to which novel concepts can be tied
3) Do use the appopriate technology as a medium
4) Don't use PowerPoint when a note card will do
5) Don't bury the customer with loads of jargon and acronyms

Bonus: Don't make things more complex than they really are

Portland, I'll be back.

(photo credit: drewish)