For many this will be something crazy to do, but if you think about it our history books are only filled with names that shouted their beliefs towards the impossible.
In our society, especially when things don't work, people with ideas are normally silenced because we are afraid of the change. We forget that where we are today is because others didnt lower his/her voice in the past.
We may apply this to almost any sector. Think about the space race, we are aiming for Mars not because we listened to the voices saying “no, we have never done that” but because we listened to the voices willing to get us to the moon.
The loud ones will stand for one cause. They won't talk about everypossible topic, but will save their voice to fight for the right cause. They will be the misfits, the revels, the round forms in square holes. They will have clear what to spotlight and what to fight for. There is no point in silencing them, history has already tried and everytime we look back we wonder how we were able to silence just a clear message and such a right cause.
Kingdoms tried to persuade Cristobal Colon from circumcircling the world as it was thought to be flat. He (C. Colon) had a clear cause: he believed that earth is round and could reach India with less effort. Some may say that he was wrong; yes, India is indeed at a greater distance going to the west than to the east (from Europe), but the discovery of America made his cause something unique and priceless.
The Church, for centuries, threatened people with burning hell if they didn't bend their knees to their words. Miguel Servet, for example, was burnt at the stake for his studies of the human anatomy that contradicted the words of the church. Thanks to M. Servet we could develop a much deeper understanding of the human body that led us to modern medicine today. Somehow, we nevertheless continue silencing the voices of the doctors that raise their voices for better working conditions as the Church did in the past.
Private companies are for sure one of the places where we will see more the chatty persons staying while the loud ones go. The people standing for the right cause and only one cause will be visible almost from the very first day. They are the one that truly believe in the company and will stand for the company cause and fight towards the problem even when the sky is falling apart. They understand that a motto is not only a catch phrase but it is a declaration of principles. “Think different” or “Just do it” are more than just words, they are a call for action. The loud one will fight for them, will encourage people to follow the company cause and to stay pure to the founder cause.
The founder, indeed, was also one of the loud voices. Was the one that decided he/she would take action to fight for a cause. The one that knew that the earth was round, that the moon was reachable or that wanted to approach all those people wanting to “think different”.
They will fight, yes. They will be loud and they will bring headaches, yes. But they will fight for only one cause. Steve Jobs' cause (for example) was to “think different”, to see the established not as the end point but as the trampoline to go where no one have gone. And he fought for it and only for it. The true believers, the loud ones, will remain in the company as long as they can fight for the cause. Money, bonuses or rewards are not the cause of these people staying behind a company, it is the core cause of the company that keeps these people fighting for it each day. Once the right cause is over, or a bad management make it impossible for them to continue the fight, these people will leave… and probably many of them will start their own company, bringing the original cause back to life.
Chatty people, on the other hand, will talk and talk about any topic. Just throw them a topic and they will rumble about anything for hours like a dog gnawing a bone. They won' stand for one principle or one cause, but they will talk about unknown things. The chatty one will give you reconforting words even if you are wrong and will let you crash without stepping to help.
In an interview, Jeff Bezos was asked for a point he used feedback to move ahead. It was at the very beginning of Amazon while the boxing of parcels occurred on the floor of the storage facility during Christmas time. He and one of the first website developers were working together when J. Bezos said: tomorrow I will buy us kneepads to make our work easier. The employee answered: you should buy tables, so that we can work more comfortably.
This is a very clear example of how a loud voice can help you in a very direct way. If instead of a loud one, the web-developer was a chatty one he would have probably rumbled about the different kneepads available in the market and the best floor for boxing the books. Sending one clear message accepted by J. Bezos was the key.
How to segregate between a loud one and a chatty one in first place? Just ask “what will you change”. The chatty one will talk about all and about nothing, but the loud one will give one straight answer, directly in line with the company core cause.