Author: whatifconcepts

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

Commit to the Climb

Seth Godin’s blog post, Looking for the right excuse highlights the results psychology plays when a team committs to the plan.  I just had a friend Chris Davenport who scaled Mt. Everest.  His team did it using an unconventional approach.  Instead of repeated acclimatization trips to the higher camps followed by multiple descents and a treacherous journey through the dangerous ice fall above Base Camp, they used a phased system where they reduced the trips to the higher camps to two prolonged periods and then a final trip to the summit.  They were committed to a new approach, moving away from the traditional method.  Their trip resulted in success for themselves and their clients.  What my friend Chris never mentioned was an excuse- he even took time to ski on from Camp III down towards the valley.  His team embraced the new philosophy as if it were an advantage.  With all the challenges associated on an expedition to climb Mt. Everest excuses only consume limited energy and focus from a group’s chances of summiting.

Is your cause committed to fulfilling its purpose?  When your stuck in a tent on the side of the mountain waiting-out a snow and wind storm what stories do you tell yourself?  Is it filled with excuses or commitments?

Running to Change

 How do you change the idea of running?  I was amazed to read in the book, Born to Run that even though all of us inherited a well-proven technique and refined gait for moving, a small group of people began to change the very idea of what I means to run in the interest of commercializing a form of transportation into a recreational sport.  We are now seeing the return to a more historic approach.  Minimalist is the new ‘old’ thing.  Low profile running shoes or even those that look like gloves for the feet have become the hot trend but in reality it is a return to what worked for our ancestors.  After a couple decades of thick cushions, an explosion of demand for physical therapy, and a marathon craze the wisdom is shifting.  I always think of my father’s theory of fashion.  In his suit closet, he kept a rack of ties that were noticeably wider than the current style that had moved towards a narrower model.  His theory was that in 15-years his style would return and it did.
Are you changing to monopolize a market or because it fits your purpose?  How does your enterprise address trends?  Do you shift your approach just because everyone else is moving in a new direction?  How do you decide when to ignore, monitor, adjust, or abandon strategy?
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (Vintage) 

One Person

I am convinced more than ever that it takes just one person to change the focus and inspiration of any team.  Consider the role a single flight attendant plays on an aircraft.  You can almost feel the joy of one cabin crew and pain body of another.  Or, watch how an firefighting engine crew arrives at a non-emergency call.  Some squads connect immediately with people and are full of compassion.  Others come across cynical and inconvenienced by the call.  You see the importance of one among many in schools, sports teams, business enterprises, and hotel lobbies.  

You make a difference.  Just being in the picture changes the landscape.  Your impact is transformational.  What are you bringing to your team?

ROI

How do you measure success?  Try creating a list of and prioritizing.  What comes to the top?  Is it quantifiable?  Image an arts organization.  Do they measure success by the number of attendees?  How beautiful or though-provoking the pictures are?  The media coverage of the exhibit?  Letter to the editor (either for or against)?  Is it the ‘you must see’ event in your community?  The donations received?

What is your metric for measuring success?

How Do You Change

You work for Xerox and after looking at your balance sheet you realize that 50% of your revenue now comes from back-of-office services.  That is right, the copier business is not the 800-pound gorilla that determines your company’s economic fate.  Actually, the copier may be the parking brake that is keeping you from accelerating forward.  Marketplace from American Public Media had a informative interview with Xerox CEO Ursula Burns.  Her biggest challenge may be uncoupling the Xerox name from the very product that made it the Kleenex of the photocopier market.


How do you innovate when you are know for one product or program?  If your identity is know for a concrete deliverable it is a challenge to shift into a new product line.  However, if you are known for a commitment to a purpose or belief then flexibility may be your greatest strength.

How does your enterprise adopt new ideas and concepts?

Ask the Question Another Way
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (Vintage)

Reading the book, Born To Run.  I am especially intrigued by the science of what biological and physiological traits provide human with a competitive advantage in nature even though we are not fast enough to outrun many of our potential predators.  As the scientist broke down the possible advantages of the human physiology they stumble across critical answers once they ask critical questions in the opposite way.  

Are you asking the same questions hoping for different answers?  Try reversing your query.  When the question is re-framed it may just reveal a completely different answer that may provide a new perspective.

Is Anyone Out There?

One of the great outcomes of workshops and conferences is that you have the opportunity to meet people who may share your purpose.  Sometimes the experience can be a bit overwhelming as you trade business cards and contact information.  A coach of mine suggested that you should create a help wanted sign that specifically outlines what outcome you are seeking.

Who do you think posted the following help wanted sign years ago:

“ Men wanted for Hazardous journey.  Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful.  Honour and recognition in case of success.”

If you guessed Ernest Shackleton you have a good historical knowledge.  Notice how specific the post reads.  Interested parties are not going to mistake this for a Disney Cruise.


How does your help wanted sign read?

What Would You Remember?

If you competed in the Tour de France, what would you remember after riding for three weeks and over 3,400 kilometers?  Would one stage be more memorable than another?  Would you recall all the start and finish towns?  How many sections of the course would be etched in your memory?  Would you be more likely to recall a specific day if it were the hottest or rainy and extremely cold?  What about pedaling climbs pitched at over 10% for hours to reach a mountain pass?  Or the descents with hairpin turns and straight sections where you descended at over 100 kph?  If you managed to secure one of the leader jerseys for a day, would that alter your focus?

Turns out that extremes stand-out.  The moments that are anything but normal.  So often we wonder why our cause does not get all the attention as we finish with the peloton (pack) every stage.  In the Tour de France riders take inspiring chances to gain a stage win, attacking in the first minutes of a stage that might last five hours only to be caught in the final thirty minutes of racing.  Why? For 90% of the race they are the story.  The commentators spend the majority of the time talking about the breakaway.  The cameras are tuned to them because until they are caught these riders represent the chance that something extraordinary might happen.  

What do your fans remember?  How do you stand out?