Making Stone Soup

Did you ever hear the story of "Stone Soup"? A colleague retold the story to me last week and I keep thinking of it as a metaphor for our IA work among other disciplines. The story goes like this: a guy shows up in the center of town with a cast iron pot. He builds a fire, sets the pot on it and fills the pot with water. The townspeople slowly gather around him and ask him what he's up to. He proudly says, "I am making Stone Soup." The crowd murmurs at the thought of soup made from stone as he pulls a smoothe river rock from his coat and announces, "I will make a delicious soup from this single stone". He makes a production of dropping the stone in the heating water - stirring the water and smiling in anticipation. He plays the crowd and teases them about how good it will taste when it's ready. "When this soup is ready, everyone will want some - of course, if I had a few carrots it would be that much the better!" "I have carrots!", says a woman in the front row. Now you know how this story ends? By the time dusk falls the soup is thick with every vegetable known in that land.

Information Architects make stone soup. It's our job to go to the center of town and start the pot boiling. It's our job to manage the input and have the knowledge of the right recipe. When we are done, the whole town should love "the soup".

For that to happen we need knowledge, research, and a great process. This story is a good reminder for me. I hope for you too.