A colleague in Minnesota reached out to me via e-mail looking for some information. Instead of trying to convey complex information in long written missives, we scheduled a small conference call to discuss the issue.
Early on in the call, this colleague used a term I had never heard before. It sounded similar to something else that I remembered from the distant past. In order to avoid any misunderstandings, I asked the other party to explain what they meant when they used the term. "Well, maybe you're not the right person to help me" came the reply. After the initial shock wore off, I tried to calmly explain that I wasn't familiar with the term being discussed and if I could get that clarification, I might then provide the right response.
There are many occasions where something that is called "x" in Mounds View was called "y" in Mansfield. Unfortunately, there are very few people in Mansfield who can speak fluent SAP. It doesn't help when people looking for information aren't willing to explain what "x" means so that we can figure out what the correct "y" was. It's especially difficult when "x" and "y" aren't exactly the same things. Perhaps there might be a combination of several "y" parts to make up an "x" whole (or vice versa).
We eventually retrieved part of an answer. To be fully honest, we actually uncovered another layer of complexity that widened the conversation even further. As we continue forward, I have no doubt that this scene will replay itself out over and over again to a wider audience. I just hope we can remain patient with each other while we work through the transition.
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