Seventeen million views in 24-hours of the latest Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer. If you wonder if a connected group of individuals can have an immediate shared experience, I think the force has spoken.
The 2016 Tour de France course was announced today in Paris. Defending and former champions were on hand for the unveiling. Since the course changes each year this event provides riders with their first reaction to the route and the preparation required. Imagine if our enterprises could announce our next programs to such fanfare? Why not? If we are truly connected to our tribes, they will celebrate important news.
Stories about our stories are fascinating. Take Ernest Hemingway’s well-know six-word story. “For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn.” The story is remarkable but additionally so are the stories attempting to confirm the authenticity of Hemingway’s sentence.
At Chris Guillebeau’s Pioneer Nation gathering near Mt. Hood, Oregon I attended sessions dedicated to crafting one’s message. Creating a compelling story frequently returned to the following outline:
Start with a hook (draw the listener in)
Offer a brief introduction (who are you and why do you matter?)
Deliver the content (what is the message)
Make a call to action (empower the listener to take immediate action)
There are many stories online to serve as templates. Visit Kickstarter or gofundme to see examples of individuals telling remarkable and not so compelling narratives. Review of data demonstrate that an initial promotional story/video needs to be less than 1:45 in length before the attrition rate grows (and the viewer misses our call to action). As we build an audience the length of the stories may expand.
Classic stories began ‘once upon a time’, which served as both the hook and the introduction. The challenge today is to engage with those who are served by our stories. Not every story will resonate but those that find our content meaningful will celebrate each chapter.
Here are a couple masters of storytelling using a variety of approaches.
There are two types of hope in my experience. The first is the hope that good fortune comes to us as we wait patiently. The second type is the hope that the storm breaks so our current expedition is not delayed. One is passive and one is active. Hope of winning the lottery has little to do with the application of our talents. Hope that our deliberate and enduring efforts result in a positive outcome is active. Our Theory of Change can easily be hijacked by passive hope. Hope our enterprise turns into an unicorn and results in an IPO, hope we receive an unanticipated bequest, hope that the newest class of board members is energized beyond measure, or hope that a positive profile of our cause appears on the front page of the paper. There is little those who support us can do to add fuel to our journey when we are passive. However, when we are headed somewhere remarkable there are all sorts of opportunities to clear the path. Our tribe can assemble their resources to provide aid and support, even if the horizon is only visible through sporadic glimpses among the trees.
An inexpensive telescope sits in the corner of a room in our house. It rarely gets noticed. Last night during the Super Moon Lunar Eclipse the telescope was the best instrument we had to witness a celestial event of magnitude. The telescope rewarded us with real-time remarkable views as the events unfolded in the skies above. The value of the telescope increased multiple fold because of its deployment at a significant moment.
Sometimes the most remarkable thing we can do is be available at critical moments. To offer service and create value when there is a need. Our engagement is forever linked with service during moments when our super powers shine.
I was provided the great pleasure of spending time with students enrolled in Ann Heilman’s Boise State University Nonprofit Class. It is always a rewarding opportunity to share insights and gain the group’s reflection and wisdom. I created less than fully formed responses to their tremendous questions and promised more resources via this blog.
Highly Recommended Books:
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Decisive: How to Make Better Decisions by Chip and Dan Heath or Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Thaler and Sunstein
Where we exist within our landscape changes how people perceive us. Understanding our backdrop transforms the ability to build trust and authenticity. An individual armed with a squeegee at a red light generates a different response than a community car wash which benefits a cause we care about. One represents a transaction and the other is an invitation to merge narratives. In what landscape do we each operate?
I have been running on a trail littered with shards of glass. They are the remains from a bottle broken in the area earlier this summer. I have picked-up numerous pieces but broken parts continue to surface, as if they are capable of rejuvenating ceaselessly. They embed in my shoes, bike tires, and dog’s paws. An act months ago continues to impact trail users.
What do we do that leaves equally enduring marks? Words of praise. Highlighting the dedicated efforts of peers. Celebrating successes. Making positive personal recommendations. Shaming others into compliance. Withholding vital information. Speaking poorly of others without given them a chance to address the situation.
We are uniquely positioned each day to define a moment with the generosity of painter Charles Russell’s use of light or break a bottle in the trail and watch its pieces obstruct the progress of others.
How we ask for assistance will not resonate with everyone. The human element is a critical component. Our interaction has to add to both the giver and recipients stories. We can be jaded at one request and moved deeply by another. Not everyone is will respond. Not every request is aligned with the values of others. What if we stop trying to create the most influential campaign and instead worked on launching the most honest. Sometimes we spend so much time on the message that we forget to ask others to join our journey.
What-if-concepts 