Consulting

What I Can Do In My Sleep

As a child everything I wanted to accomplish took place during the hours I was awake. When I finally put my head on the pillow the day was over and the momentum of my day came to a stop. Where I stood and what I could see felt like my whole world. My reach appeared limited to a the distance I could kick a soccer ball.

It struck me the other day that my sphere of influence has grown exponentially in this always on, always connected world. I can schedule blogs to posts in the middle of the night. I have completed online transactions while I was backpacking and not within sight of a cell tower. The websites I manage sit like billboards on the side of the cyber-highway, always illuminated and open for business.

I have consulted via Skype with clients across the continent before dawn, wearing business attire on my visible upper-half, having rolled out of bed moments before the session started.

My impact is always on and unlike my idyllic childhood days, I can reach across the globe at all moments. It reminds me of the story of the woman who traveled across the Oregon Trail as an infant in arms and then returned to the Midwest in an airplane. Change is constant and perhaps we are standing in the middle of our own impact crater wondering how it was formed.

Sand Crab

People are often pushed to expand their talents and reach a new level of expertise. It is a honorable desire to help another person succeed. But what happens when you are encouraged to move out of your area of expertise? Sitting on the beach this summer I was reminded that each creature has adapted to their environment. The sand crabs I watched never wandered more than a few feet from their holes in the sand. They were extremely effective at dragging proportionally large amounts of sand out of their network of tunnels. It was clear to me that the sand crab has a specific purpose.

I see nonprofit organizations pushing every board member to raise a specific amount of money. There are some individuals for whom this is low hanging fruit and an easy accomplishment. There are other members of the board for whom this is Mt. Everest. I encourage groups to look at the big picture. I want the sand crabs on the board doing what they do best. It makes them happy and there is nobody better to inhabit their environment.

Your Logo Used Without Your Consent

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is responding to criticism that it approved an advertisement depicting numerous commercial aircraft flying into lower Manhattan in an scene reminiscent of 9/11. The WWF says it never approved the concept and that the Brazilian advertising firm submitted the image where it won a best public service print ad award. The World Wildlife Fund’s logo is on the print ad and it appears that bloggers have been especially quick to criticize the WWF. It has put the organization in a public relations challenge, responding to situation it claims to have never created.

Daily News article

Is your organization prepared should you find yourself in a similar situation?

Remembering Hello

I facilitated a planning meeting for a client who is preparing for an upcoming organizational retreat. A small group of five people and myself met. I knew we had an ambitious agenda to cover so I jumped in during a pause in the conversation to say ‘shall me get started?’ I sent around some handouts and began to ask everyone to look at the first page when one of the participants asked if we could all introduce ourselves. ‘Of course,’ I responded.

The two minute biography that each person gave was fascinating. Full professional careers working in multiple sectors with nationally recognized organizations and start-up operations that never got high enough to be picked up by radar. Lives that jumped around the globe. Diverse perspectives and multiple talents.

For the rest of the meeting I had a deeper appreciation for every one’s comments because I had a perspective on their past. I had made the assumption the group knew each other. It turned out that a couple of the members were brand new to the organization. It was a great reminder of the power of introductions.

Your Recommendation

I tweeted about this yesterday afternoon but the experience has stayed with me. I asked an employee at a major kids toy store for a recommendation on a desk lamp that was also a docking station for iPods. He stumbled over his words for a second and then said he had sold a few and some of the lamps had been stolen from the store so therefore they must be good. I finished my purchase of other items and walked out of the store before it struck me. Perhaps this was the best endorsement that the employee could give. The store had multiple security zones so theft was an apparent issue. I could have used my smart phone to go online and read customer reviews and rankings of the product. The employee could have asked an associate for additional information. But at the end of the day, the employee summed up the value of the product perfectly. If people were going to enough effort to steal the item from the store there was clearly a market for the item where the lamp could be moved quickly and for a worthwhile profit.

What recommendations do you give? What is compelling? What is memorable?

A Fall Off A Cliff Or A Pause?

I stopped watching CNBC a couple months ago because I was no longer connecting with the content (plus bad news on a daily basis is never fun). I came across an article this morning that made me wonder why so many other viewers had abandoned the network over the past year. John Carney outlines a couple theories. The article is a reminder of how quickly an enterprise can be impacted by events and the speed, sincerity, and effectiveness in which your organization addresses the issue is critical. Anecdotal evidence from other consultants suggests that it takes at least 18-24 months before an organization can begin to recover its reputation after a scandal or major incident.

CNBC’s Ratings Fall Off A Cliff