Breaking free from the echo chamber

Vanya du Toit at Wiedemann Lampe argues that entrepreneurs need to actively work against polarisation – instead opting for a new kind of openness, with more empathy to both sides

 

I used to be extremely opinionated, with an immovable viewpoint – a strong sense of what’s right or wrong. Over the years though, that immovability has softened. As the world has become increasingly polarised, I’ve realised that nuance and looking for the middle ground is more important to me. This applies to everything – from something as loaded as political opinion to something as basic as ‘good taste’.

 

The quest for the middle ground is equally, if not more, needed in the commercial world. Especially within global companies and brand owners, if we let our set ideas and ideologies dictate our approach to commercial and organisational challenges, the result will be identikit thinking and missed opportunities to connect with audiences in a more meaningful way. You can’t provide a solution that is truly specific to an organisation’s complexities and needs, if you can’t come at it from many different angles.

 

We all have the responsibility to come up with ideas that are right for individual businesses and not coloured by the pull of trend and predominant opinions. It’s only by challenging our own perspectives that we can shape businesses that have real impact.

 

Embracing the grey 

The key here is to embrace the grey more – to not give in to black versus white (or whatever trendy colour du jour). 

 

When you’re facing a business challenge, you need to start with as wide a lens as possible – that will allow you to hone an idea that feels authentic and bespoke to your business’s needs. To do so, you need to actively invite different points of view. Those that do this well, build it into their processes, so that they can inherently take in the view of many stakeholders – from c-suite to security staff. 

 

A wide range of stakeholder interviews or bespoke workshops at the outset of a project, for example, can help you gain a deep understanding of the nuances inherent in any given organisation, its challenges and the opportunities that lie within those. You really need to understand what makes a business unique from its key competitors. This allows you to build a holistic understanding of an organisation and its employees, ultimately resulting in deep buy-in of the new brand strategy and identity. 

 

Taking time to listen 

Alongside such a process, and at a perhaps more fundamental level, you need to practise active listening – this is so important. Just let someone speak. There are many guides on how to do this, and we should all explore those. In a nutshell it’s about listening, not with a view to immediately adding your own two cents, but with the aim to truly understand.   

 

This is also closely linked with empathy. There has been a lot of talk about the importance of empathy, but we have reached the stage where this is non-negotiable. Don’t stand in judgement over someone’s opinion but put in the effort to listen to their stories. Only if you know where they have come from and what their experiences look like can you draw any conclusions.

 

You can actively nurture a more empathetic approach. For example, reading a lot can help you appreciate perspectives of different characters. Being privy to the inner voice of characters that are different from yours cultivates a sense of perspective and through that, empathy for the views of others. 

 

Finding inspiration 

What underpins it all should be an ongoing aim to cultivate curiosity. We all say it, but are we truly, actively making an effort to go offline to escape the social media echo chamber? We need to get back to looking more intently at the physical world, observing conversations and interactions; to actively cultivate a love for reading, listening and observing. 

 

At a creative level too, we need to get out more. The more we give in to mindless scrolling and ‘Instabland’ Pinterest boards, the less critical and observant we become. We encourage our team to step outside and be in the world; to find inspiration beyond the computer screen, to see art and design exhibitions and to participate in hobbies and other pursuits. We believe that this cultivates a richer world to draw inspiration from.

 

For me, a foundation of empathy and the middle ground has come with experience. But the call to listen to different points of view has never been more urgent. Business should be about developing original ideas and nurturing authentic brands that are original and effective – rather than just following trends. Genuinely impactful work cannot exist without nuance. So, breaking free of the echo chamber should be priority for us all. 

 

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Vanya du Toit is Associate Director of brand and business consultancy at Wiedemann Lampe

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and RomoloTavani