<\/p>\n
The manager is really impressed with Dale\u2019s agility and ability and says: \u201cListen, Dale, that was impressive. How would you like the job of manager of our store in Jaffa?\u201d \u201cJaffa?\u201d Dale says. \u201cThey say everyone there is either a prostitute or a soccer player.\u201d The manager is a bit taken aback and says \u201cActually, my sister is from Jaffa.\u201d \u201cWhich team does she play on?\u201d answers Dale without a second\u2019s hesitation.<\/p>\n
Big laughter in the room, but I detect some ambivalence and unease. Was it my mention of the word \u201cprostitutes\u201d (not sure I would dare repeat it nowadays in a corporate setting)? No. Something else, which I discovered only at the end of the day when the two project owners invite me to dinner. One detail I failed to mention: Dale (the real one, not the joke character) was African-American. And to my utter surprise, that evening I learned that \u201cwatermelon\u201d has a special connotation in this context. From Wikipedia: \u201cWatermelons have been viewed as a major symbol in the iconography of\u00a0racism<\/a>\u00a0in the United States\u00a0since as early as the nineteenth century.\u201d<\/p>\n First thing I did the next morning was, of course, have a conversation with Dale. He had noticed obviously in the innovation facilitation session, but he assured me he had no doubt whatsoever that I had been ignorant of the context and connotations, so he was not offended in any way. He did feel uncomfortable though with his colleagues\u2019 looks and concern. He knew it was nonsense. They knew it was nonsense.<\/p>\n So why the unease? A hard loop to get out of, but, as often happens in the corporate context, we had a task to accomplish which didn\u2019t leave time for brooding. We went back into the room, and I shared with the group that my blunder had been pointed out to me.\u00a0 I was using my privilege as an ignorant outsider to point out the absurdity of it all. The ice was then broken, and we jumped back into the work.<\/p>\n Now that you’ve read about a pitfall\u00a0that can happen in an innovation facilitation session, check out how you can overcome your innovation challenges<\/a>.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.65″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”] Several years ago… [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.65″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”] I facilitated a New Product Development workshop (innovation facilitation session) at a large corporation in the American Midwest. \u00a0At our insistence, a Sales Manager was added to the team. \u00a0Why did his presence require an effort? Pulling a sales rep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Several years ago, I facilitated a New Product Development workshop (innovation facilitation session) at a large corporation in the American Midwest. \u00a0At our insistence, a Sales Manager was added to the team. \u00a0Why did his presence require an effort? Pulling a sales rep from his\/her daily toil is not an easy task, but we insisted their presence is crucial in a product development effort.<\/p> As expected, this extremely energetic, intelligent and experienced Sales Manager, who we shall call Dale, was the soul of the innovation facilitation session. He readily shared his understanding of the company\u2019s clients, their needs, wants, fears and motivations. He also possessed \u2013 pardon the stereotype \u2013 the classic sales-champion talent for engaging his colleagues in entertaining conversation, and generally spreading around an excellent vibe, telling jokes and recounting sales-battle stories where relevant.<\/p> So, it isn\u2019t surprising that we started a bit of back-and-forth good spirited banter. At some point, Dale came up with an idea. And when another colleague pointed out an obvious flaw, Dale immediately pivoted, without losing a second, and came up with an improved version. \u201cThat reminds me of a joke,\u201d I said to Dale and the team, and proceeded to tell it:<\/p> One guy, call him Dale, in my home town of Tel Aviv, applies for a job in a supermarket. After a short conversation, the manager says to Dale: \u201cThere\u2019s a customer, let\u2019s see how you assist him.\u201d\u00a0 Dale walks over and the customer hands him a watermelon that he had just picked up from the shelf, and asks to buy only half of it. Dale takes the watermelon, walks over to the manager, and says: \u201cSome idiot asked for half of this watermelon.\u201d The manager, in distress, tries to signal to Dale that the customer had walked behind him and heard Dale\u2019s words. Dale immediately understands, and completes the sentence: \u201c\u2026and this gentleman here, would like the other half.\u201d<\/p> The manager is really impressed with Dale\u2019s agility and ability and says: \u201cListen Dale, that was impressive. How would you like the job of manager of our store in Jaffa?\u201d \u201cJaffa?\u201d Dale says. \u201cThey say everyone there is either a prostitute or a soccer player.\u201d The manager is a bit taken aback and says \u201cActually, my sister is from Jaffa.\u201d \u201cWhich team does she play on?\u201d answers Dale without a second\u2019s hesitation.<\/p> Big laughter in the room, but I detect some ambivalence and unease. Was it my mention of the word \u201cprostitutes\u201d (not sure I would dare repeat it nowadays in a corporate setting)? No. Something else, which I discover only at the end of the day, when the two project owners invite me to dinner. One detail I failed to mention: Dale (the real one, not the joke character) was African-American. And to my utter surprise, that evening I learned that \u201cwatermelon\u201d has a special connotation in this context. From Wikipedia: \u201cWatermelons have been viewed as a major symbol in the iconography of\u00a0racism<\/a>\u00a0in the United States\u00a0since as early as the nineteenth century.\u201d<\/p> First thing I did next morning was, of course, to have a conversation with Dale. He had noticed obviously in the innovation facilitation session, but he assured me he had no doubt whatsoever that I had been ignorant of the context and connotations, so he was not offended in any way. He did feel uncomfortable though with his colleagues\u2019 looks and concern. He knew it was nonsense. They knew it was nonsense.<\/p> So why the unease? A hard loop to get out of, but, as often happens in the corporate context, we had a task to accomplish which didn\u2019t leave time for brooding. We went back to the room, and I shared with the group that my blunder had been pointed out to me.\u00a0 I was using my privilege as an ignorant outsider to point out the absurdity of it all. The ice was then broken, and we jumped back into the work.<\/p>![\"watermelon](\"https:\/\/www.sitsite.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/watermelon-300x200.jpg\")
<\/p>Laughter, laughter<\/em>, but the joke doesn\u2019t end here\u2026<\/h3>