One of my favorite movies of all time is an obscure little film called “True Stories.” It was put together back in the ’80s by David Byrne, famed leader of the new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne, who directs and stars in the film, plays a cowboy hat-wearing stranger who narrates the movie as he visits with the strange citizens who inhabit the fictional town of Virgil, Texas. 

 

The movie has nothing whatsoever to do with this article, except for one memorable line that Mr. Byrne delivers directly to the camera: “Do you like music? Everybody says they do.” The sentiment could be put to so many of the things in life that people are expected to appreciate whether they do or not—things like nature, reading or communicating with others. Actually, communicating with others might be at the top of the list. 

 

I mean, communicating isn’t so bad, really, as long as everyone agrees with my point of view. But mostly it requires a bit of work—like listening. And sometimes—like when you’re in a situation where you’re asked to communicate with your competitors—communicating with others can be downright challenging. Still, there are things to be learned from people who do similar work as you do. And if the situation is right, it can be a powerful and positive experience.

 

For example, I recently attended an open house event for graphics shop owners that was sponsored by Louisville, Colo.-based Global Imaging, a reseller of large-format printing equipment that happens to be located in the vicinity of my office. Part of the event was staged at a local large-format graphics shop in Denver—a client of Global’s called Sign Language. Scott Cohen, CEO of Sign Language, gave us a tour of his new facility, which has a very large production area filled with an array of high-production wide-format printing equipment from manufacturers including EFI/VUTEk, HP/Scitex, Roland, Epson and others. 

 

After the tour, we were to sit down with the visiting CEOs—15 or 20 in all, many from neighboring states—and participate in a “CEO Exchange.” When my friend Greg Lamb, President of Global, asked me to participate in this part of the event, I was flattered—and rather intrigued. As a facilitator and moderator of the discussion I would put a series of questions to the group in the hopes of generating a meaningful exchange of ideas. Would this group of shop owners—essentially competitors—choose to communicate openly, or would they be cagey and reticent?

Many of the questions centered on strategies the shops might be using to deal with the economy. Others asked about the kinds of incentives they use to inspire loyalty, productivity and creativity among employees.

 

I was surprised and very pleased to see how freely these business leaders spoke about the issues and shared experiences. The open exchange of ideas, strategies and perspectives was fascinating and quite edifying, to say the least. I learned a lot about different management styles; and discovered that some very creative solutions are being employed in shops—solutions that helped them survive, and even thrive during the economic slowdown. 

 

But mostly I learned about the value of communication. Sharing ideas among your peers might sound scary, or awkward at best. But as it turns out, it’s one of the most powerful tools available to us. Okay, back to work.