Author: whatifconcepts

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

Utensil Drawer

Items can be placed in a particular direction, but there must be enough coordination and alignment that the drawer closes; otherwise, the purpose fails. Add a board member who wants to change to a vertical storage platform, assume a partnership that uses a super-sized serving spoon, or hire a staff member who uses the drawer to store valuable thumb drives; these different uses create challenges for an organization— clarity of purpose and alignment matter to facilitate function.

How might we maintain fidelity to purpose but offer sufficient flexibility to adapt when it benefits those we serve?

Ranking and Mindsets

Does a ranking set the mindset of an organization? Does the staff at a two-star hotel take the same philosophical approach to customer service as a five-star auberge? When one joins the team of a high or lower-ranked establishment, what is the palpable impact on culture? When one is at the top of the ranking hierarchy, can they continue with a curious mindset focused on continual improvement, or does defending the status quo become the predominant fixation? For an up-and-coming enterprise with a lower ranking, does a nothing to lose and us versus the world mindset set a more ambitious tone?

How might we leverage rankings to bring out our best? How might rankings create dimension to our story but not define our future?

Master Plans & Flexibility
Denver International Airport Maser Plan Map

Do you have a master plan for your facility/campus? How flexible or rigid are the considerations and assumptions that guided the plan’s creation? Do you share your vision for the future with your fans, or is it kept under lock and key? How might we remain curious about the factors influencing future needs?

Consider Denver International Airport’s jump up the list of busiest airports by passenger traffic, moving from 18th in 2016 to 3rd busiest airport in 2021. Interestingly, the number of total passengers in Denver between 2016 and 2021 is similar compared to other airports; the growth is not correlated due to the pandemic. Denver has a master plan that includes 12 runways and two additional terminals. By building further away from the city, there is room for growth.

Scale

What if we consider our life on a macro scale. There is a birth, some activity, we perish. It is a narrative that has been repeated billions of times. If we change the aperture to a bit finer detail, a person was born in a specific decade, received an education, worked a job, retired, and then died. Not remarkable, but a bit more specific. If we zoom in much further, we could fill novels with an exhaustive list of each second of a person’s life. One speculates that a meta-analysis would confirm that no two people have lived the same life.


How we talk about our work, the impact of our cause and the narrative that defines our quest depends on scale. Too much detail, and we lose our audience. Too little detail, and we are generic and miss detailing our signature superpower.


How might we find the optimal scale to share our story? Some narratives need a sentence and others a page or more. What has worked for you?

Not All Tracks

Not all tracks take us on a remarkable journey. Some might be to a siding, rail yard, dockyard, or an abandoned line. When we strike out on an adventure, we are embracing the unknown. Worrying about ‘what if’ does little to depth and dimension to our experience. How might we ask ourselves if we are encountering a point of action or a point of information when we approach the next junction? It is easy to confuse an intersection of information for an action point and feel the urge to switch tracks. How might we embrace the ambiguity and serendipity fundamental to our quest?

Your Signature

What is uniquely you (or your cause)? How does it present itself? How playful are you in adding your secret signature/touch to the little details? Disney places ‘hidden Mickeys’ throughout their properties and products. There is a sub-culture of people looking for your niche and how it might present itself through your enterprise.

How might you add an extra touch to your signature?