I studied English Literature as an undergraduate. I won’t bore you with the grammatical grace that comes with an immersive study of language—particularly the Queen’s English. The truth is I don’t pay much attention to grammar anyway—I am more interested in the manner in which words lead to ideas. In essence, conversation—intelligent, thoughtful conversation—requires a willingness to engage with language. Norman Maclean intimated in his wonderful memoir A River Runs Through It that some of the words are cut from the basement of time and reside under the rocks of the Big Blackfoot River; those words are essentially unknown to us, possibly even expressions that exist as a haunting or maybe a yearning for greater understanding. I’ve added a bit to what Maclean suggests here, but over the years as I continue to be an omnivorous reader and speaker of this marvelous English language of ours, I am convinced that words, well chosen, are the single source of some of our happiest and most progressive discoveries and evolutions. Sharp, incisive and warmly human language lights the way forward!
I am a management consultant and a sales professional. More than this though, I am an adamant purveyor of narrative context. This world is usually too full of itself and entirely inundated with a bloated and largely superfluous, lazy lexicon. Words are cheap in business and usually in sales they become so rote and transactional that they numb the mind and kill the specter of positive relationship before it is ever given a chance to really breathe.
In the relationships I am honored and privileged to build across every avenue of my life, and professional endeavors, I choose words that hopefully (but not always) simplify complex thinking into ideas that inspire movement, hopefully, forward towards a far swifter sunrise along an endless horizon. Out there, possibilities abound!
As I work with clients across Texas in my present role in management consulting, I strive to simplify and edify movement with language. The words we choose may spark new ideas and when new ideas are formed, we, collaboratively, get to tell better stories in the efforts of our work together and in the space we share in our lives. I would like each of you to consider this: the next time a sales professional or consultant reaches out to you—think about the words they use and if they are human words full of a depth and range that touches on something inside of you, don’t ignore those calls—engage in them because you might just find the one idea you needed by opening a conversation in words with that individual who took the time and courage to call you on the phone or, better yet, write to you in a genuine well-worded email. Not all sales professionals are the same (some are indeed trolls), but I can tell you this: the best sales professionals and management consultants will always speak words you can relate to because they get up every morning and put themselves into your shoes first before they ever send a word in your direction.
Taking that first critical step to willingly engage in a smart, forward-thinking conversation most often leads to a better road map. Be open to new ideas and look to your sales professionals and management consultants as honeybees who are offering you original ideas to reframe solutions to some of your biggest dilemmas. Furthermore, some of those selling professionals will inspire positive impact and growth in your personal sphere, as well, and the reciprocal is, you’ll do the same for them in return. Creation happens with language—two disparate thoughts from two different professional people with the right words in the right moment create something that simply wasn’t there the moment before.
I am honored to be associated to every one of you I am connected to here on LinkedIn. I’ll be offering further words of my own in the coming weeks and months—keep an eye out for these minor little missives from me. They might give you a bit of the fire and spirit that drives me every day. And thank you for taking a moment to read this right now.
As ever,
Russell Cordell Staker
Management Consultant | Sales Professional | Writer
*Originally Published on LinkedIn 13 October, 2022