Author: whatifconcepts

Empowering those that inspire so they can excel at the work that matters.

Education Manifesto
Credit

If you wish to read one piece on transformative ideas in education I highly recommend Seth Godin’s manifesto which he released this week.  I am attending the National Association of Independent School’s conference and will be interested to hear the reaction to the ideas Seth has advocated, starting with Bill Gates’s opening keynote.


A sample of Seth’s manifesto:

84. The two pillars of a future-proof education:

Teach kids how to lead

Help them learn how to solve interesting problems

Leadership is the most important trait for players in the connected revolution. Leadership involves initiative, and in the connected world, nothing happens until you step up and begin, until you start driving without a clear map.   

And as the world changes ever faster, we don’t reward people who can slavishly follow yesterday’s instructions. All of the value to the individual (and to the society she belongs to) goes to the individual who can draw a new map, who can solve a problem that didn’t even exist yesterday.   

Hence the question I ask to every teacher who reads from her notes, to every teacher who demands rote memorization, and to every teacher who comes at schooling from a posture of power: Are you delivering these two precious gifts to our children? Will the next generation know more facts than we do, or will it be equipped to connect with data, and turn that data into information and leadership and progress?

Making the Leap
Credit

Four versions of this image hit my email inbox in the last two days.  I find it powerful and yet the context perplexing.  The commitment of the fish to make the leap is inspiring.  However, many causes have used the image to address an opportunity for expansion.  Some suggest that a new location will allow them to find their purpose.  I would suggest that an individual’s or enterprise’s purpose does not change.  If we are not finding traction in the current environment then perhaps the it is time to take the message elsewhere.  If the reason for making the leap is reap the perceived rewards of swimming in a bigger pool of water, make sure it is consistent with your values.  The number one reason a nonprofit capital campaign fails is because a real estate opportunity dominated a cause’s decision-making.  The organization sees a deal that it cannot let slip away and launches a fundraising effort only to find itself lying on the table between two bowls of water.


Be true to your purpose and you will find you can swim in many different bodies of water.  

How Would You Like Me to Apologize?
Credit

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure continues to look for ways to steady its reputation.  They recently began polling individuals on the best course of action the organization could take to make an apology.  One thing we know about authenticity is that is must match what one believes.  If one’s actions are inconsistent from their stated purpose then they lack trust, loyalty, and authenticity.  If we are saying, ‘I am sorry,’ because somebody else believes we should then the outcome will most likely worsen the problem instead of mend the damage.  In many ways the original decision to defund Planned Parenthood exposed confusion at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  There was an immediate opportunity to reconfirm the cause’s purpose with everyone who was closely connected and then work outwards with core advocates to apologize.  Instead, the foundation seems to be trying a couple different plays from random pages in the crisis management playbook.


What would you recommend as the next step?