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Ali Anani mailed me an article last week that contained my missing link. It is an article called: “Culture and complexity” and it contains this paragraph:
“… culture is the result of all the daily conversations and negotiations between the members of an organisation. They are continually agreeing (sometimes explicitly, usually tacitly) about the ‘proper’ way to do things and how to make meanings about the events of the world around them. If you want to change a culture you have to change all these conversations—or at least the majority of them.”
Yes. Culture as emergence of conversations. And. Interventions should be focused on the conversations.
Thank you.
So.
If you want to have a culture that is in tune with a project, you have to make sure certain essential conversations take place. With our team members, our stakeholders and ourselves. About the goals, the roles, what people have done before, the trip itself, the way interaction with the stakeholders is done, how we know how far we are. Stuff like that.
But here is the catch.
Conversations aren’t just about the content. They are about all the cues that come with them. The way you have these conversation, the way you talk in these conversations determine if people are willing to listen and engage.
When someone has a Powerpoint presentation crammed with bullet points of text, I tune out. I have to force myself to listen. Too bad, as the actual content might be great.
Others will thrive on all factual text. Oh yeah, baby!
So.
The way these conversation take place, the words used, the symbols (flags!) attached, determine if people enter the conversation.
A small thing can have a rippling effect. It’s a butterfly effect.
On this topic: Ali wrote an excellent piece on how presentations on Slide Share can have rippling effects through the community.
So. Now you know why I focus on conversations, the cues around conversations and the spaces in which the interactions take place.
I probably have to explain this to myself next week again. 
Thanks Bas for writing such a great post. I liked very much your point, which you expressed explicitly ” When someone has a Powerpoint presentation crammed with bullet points of text, I tune out. I have to force myself to listen. Too bad, as the actual content might be great”. I agree. I write my presentations in two styles before publishing. Sometimes people prefer the bullet points, sometimes they hate them. I call this “Conversation Style”. Again, this provides another example of Butterfly Effect. If people like the style they comment, provide suggestions and ask questions. If not, the conversation is halted. So, conversation style has a role to play in shaping the emerging culture
You’re welcome
Writing the presentation in two styles? Wow. That is an amazing effort, but I’m sure it will pay off.
Great post! One great way to effectively manage your stakeholders with the most powerful tools one possesses; your voice and ears
If you don’t mind, I mentioned your post on my website.
Hey Tim, thanks for the kind comment. Sure you may mention me
You might also like my Slideshare presentation about Stakeholder management: We’re off to see the wizard.
http://www.slideshare.net/projectshrink/were-off-to-see-the-wizard-swoc
I beg to differ, slightly.
When attending a workshop on inter-cultural co-operation the question was posed “What is culture”.
My response was “Culture is doing without being able to explain why”.
“Conversations aren’t just about the content. They are about all the cues that come with them. The way you have these conversation, the way you talk in these conversations that come with them.”
I would thus suggest that culture is just that. It’s the meta-conversation. Which more often than not is laden with hidden meaning, assumptions and especially things that are *not* said
Hey Peter, thanks for the comment and great definition of culture. I once described it as the organizations operating system. And I mainly use Boyd and Richerson definition: “information capable of affecting individuals’ phenotypes which they acquire from other conspecifics … by teaching or imitation.”
I understand your point. In my view the topics of conversation are also an expression of the underlying value system. And I try to make the concept more “hands on”. With fluctuating success
I’m curious about your choice of the term “conversations” over the term “relationships”? No judgment whatsoever. Just curious.
Hey Lori, great question. “Conversations” are more active and used for the exchange of information. Relationships is too generic for my taste in this
No judgement of course 
Hi Bas,
Great analysis. In my new job, the engagement (read: project) managers have begun meeting via conference call to try to get the new folks properly “spun up” while also changing some of our practices to better support the organization as it grows. The five (soon to be six) of us are essentially bootstrapping a new culture, and so I’ve been referencing many of your insights. This seems especially useful to us, since we’re hardly ever in one place together, and our teams tend to only be on site for kick-offs, discovery workshops, and testing. We need better approaches to making all those non-verbal cues work for us. It’s good to have your “input.” Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Dave. How do you guys handle the fact that you are dispersed geographically?
[...] Bas de Baar notes that a group’s culture is a product of the group’s conversations; consequently, “interventions should be focused on the conversations.” [...]
I am always refreshed when reading posts and surrounding comments that reiterate my working knowledge, underlying understanding and overall experiences.
Many years ago, I had the opportunity to receive education and training on SE-CMM from Carnegie Melon. In the introduction to CMM, there is a depiction of culture as being 3 nested boxes where the culture box resides within the assumption box and the assumption box resides within the communication box.
So, yes I completely agree that communication drives daily conversations (assumptions), which in turn determines culture.
Now if we can get the leaders to provide leadership regarding communication, we may be able to change the culture. Otherwise, culture change, if it happens at all, will exist only for the life of the project. After which, we have to begin again and again and again. Consequently, there never is an actual culture change.
Hey Stephen, “culture as being 3 nested boxes where the culture box resides within the assumption box and the assumption box resides within the communication box.” That is a fantastic image!
I hate to watch someone presentation about anything, i consider to reading resume from notes. why? because i can more understand when reading, hahaa
but we cant have to read every time, sometimes we could hear and watch someone persentation
Hey (uhm, you may use your name
) everyone has his own preference to consume information. I am also very keen on written text. Although. An excellent short story that is delivered with enthusiasm beats even that.