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Acronyms! Love them or hate them? You know what I mean - those words formed from the initial letters of other words. You can go to www.acronymfinder.com and look up over 3,000,000 million of them.
Governments are really good at making them up so that they are pronouncible but carry no meaning other than identification: e.g.- NOFEAR (National Organisation for European American Rights)
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation),
- CSIRO, pronounced 'sigh-row' (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation),
- ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation),
- and apparently about 3,000,000 others.
Geez, I've even done it myself with BRFSStrategic - Big Red Flying Squirrel. You'd think I'd know better!
But consider when an acronym can become a useful metaphor full of meaning:-
NESST - National Executive Strategic Sustainability Team - the idea being that this top-level team was to be a nest to nurture various initiatives.
CAST - Change Agent Support Team - for a team responsible for implementing change, the acronym made it clear that the team members were the cast who were the main players in any effort, not just directing but actively participating.
NeWT - New World Training - for a training program designed to give participants awareness and tools to manage their own culture. Quite apt, because a newt is an animal capable of regenerating lost limbs.
What I found really fascinating was that the culture in each of these cases was 'robust' enough to tolerate some digs at these acronyms.
For example, one wag described NESST as a place for those who were feathering their own! CAST was quickly referred to in some quarters as CAST-AWAY. NeWT left some people wondering what parts needed regeneration.
These sort of meaningful acronyms tell a story of their own, and give people some way of judging when they are no longer apt acronyms but only anachronisms (sound pretty close don't they?), which could indicate it's time to change, give them up and do something else.
Do you have any favourite acronyms???
addendum 24/11/2006: there's a lovely post about acronmyms by John Maeda here.
What I’m trying to do here is just to let you in on what sort of person I am, and how I might have some useful perspectives for you.
First, from StrengthsFinder – here are my top 5 strengths:
Ideation:
People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connection between seemingly disparate phenomena.
Learner:
People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.
Self-Assurance:
People strong in the Self-Assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.
Strategic:
People strong in the Strategic theme create alternate ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant pattern and issues.
Input:
People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.
The lights really started to switch on for me when I did the StrengthsFinder test – building on strengths seems a much better way to go than being ‘typed’ or ‘disced’ or whatever. I felt that I really had something to work with, to shape, for the future. Sort of open-ended, like many good questions are!
Secondly, RightPath – produces a really useful ‘unique profile’ – useful because it’s practical.
Here’s mine:
Eight Strengths -- Initiating, wants to set the agenda
- Sees the strategic/future potential
- Good at meeting and communicating with people
- Has a dry sense of humour
- Enjoys being in the spotlight
- Engaging and a good listener
- Likes and promotes change
- Works with broad concepts
Four Struggles –
- Can be judgemental and critical
- Can be naïve and too trusting
- May tend toward restlessness
- May be too relaxed when diligence is needed
See the parallels between the two profiles – StrengthsFinder was like the floodlight, while RightPath is the spotlight.
That's the sort of thing I like to do when I work with organizations, too. Start with a floodlight and then use a spotlight.
B R F S stands for Big Red, the Flying Squirrel - really!
It could also stand for 'Be Really Freaking Strategic', but mostly I chose it so you'd remember it ... and who wouldn't remember a Big Red Flying Squirrel?
I have to let you in on some secrets, though.
BRFSStrategic isn't big - there's only me. I deal with just a few clients at any one time, personally. If you're my client, I'm committed to you in a big way.
Red is a great colour. It's the colour of emotion, the heart, and it means that I'm concerned with the whole person. Organizations are all about people.
Flying takes courage, especially when you don't have wings. Have you ever watched a squirrel leap from branch to branch? It is almost as if they are flying. Plus, in one form or another they seem to be right across the world. In Australia we have squirrel-like sugar gliders. When we are in Italy we watch with awe while the resident 'scoiattolo' performs its acrobatic jumps from tree to tree in the forest next to our place.
The last letter, S, is for 'squirrel'. More importantly, S is also for success.
One of the good things that happened after I decided about the name was coming across Steve Denning's Squirrel Inc, A Fable of Leadership Through Storytelling. If someone like Steve has faith in the squirrels, the rest of us probably can too.
So, that's the story about how I decided to start branding this business.
In fact, I am the brand because there's only me, but until you and I develop a relationship of some sort through this blog, or even working together, I figured Big Red would get us off to a flying start!
