So, I bumped into some stuff about Allan Luke again the other day. Made me think back. It’s all well and good talking about critical perspectives, you know, thinking deeply about stuff, especially texts and power and all that.
But actually trying to put that into practice? Man, that’s a whole different ball game. I remember this one time, years ago, I was working on this internal training project. The idea was simple: get folks to not just swallow company messages whole, but to actually think about them a bit, see different angles. Sounded great on paper.
Getting Started
First thing I did was gather up all the materials. We had these internal memos, marketing blurbs, even some rah-rah stuff from management. My plan was to create little workshop sessions. We’d look at a piece of text together.
- Who wrote this?
- Who was it for?
- What were they really trying to say?
- What words did they choose, and why?
- Whose voice wasn’t being heard?
Simple questions, right? Stuff you’d think people would find interesting. I spent weeks prepping. Made slides, handouts, discussion prompts. I really thought this was going to make a difference, you know? Get people thinking a bit more critically about the everyday stuff they read at work.
The Actual Process
Then came the rollout. First session, it was… okay. People were hesitant. Seemed like they were worried about saying the ‘wrong’ thing, especially when we looked at stuff from upper management. Fair enough, I thought, it takes time.
Second session, word had gotten around. My boss pulls me aside. “What’s this I hear about you encouraging people to ‘question’ company communications?” he asks, and not in a friendly way. I tried explaining it was about developing analytical skills, understanding perspective. He wasn’t buying it. He said it sounded “negative” and “counterproductive”.
Things went downhill fast. Attendance dropped. The people who did show up were quiet, just nodding along. The whole energy just evaporated. I found out later that some department heads had actively told their teams not to waste time on it, that it wasn’t relevant to their KPIs. Relevant! As if thinking clearly wasn’t relevant.
I tried to adapt. Focused more on external examples, less on internal stuff. But the damage was done. The project got quietly shelved after a few more poorly attended sessions. Officially, it was due to “shifting priorities”. Unofficially, it was because making people actually think critically was seen as rocking the boat.
What Came After
It really put me off trying that kind of thing in a corporate setting for a long time. It’s like, everyone says they want critical thinking, innovation, engagement. But when you actually try to foster the skills needed for it, suddenly it’s a problem. It’s easier to just have people follow instructions, I guess.
That whole experience was one of the reasons I started looking elsewhere, actually. Found a place eventually where questioning wasn’t seen as a threat, but part of the job. Still, I remember that training project. All that effort, just fizzled out because genuine critical thought felt too dangerous for the status quo. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
