Innovative Concepts

Right Gear
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Almost any rider of a bike knows the importance of gear selection.  Up the hill you shift to an easier gear and downhill the chain is best moved to a harder gear to maximize the output of energy.  A little trial and error is all we need to renforce this idea.  


Amazing how many enterprises stay in the same gear their entire lifecycle.  Many fearing changing what they know how to do best despite the upcoming terrain or wind direction.  Why not allow the cause to accelerate when the tailwinds blow?  Is there concern about running a more conservative budget when the road ahead looks lumpy?  Your cadence (rpm) may stay the same but the gear you use can make all the difference.







Dissatisfied or Disappointed?
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I would much rather be disappointed than dissatisfied.  If I am dissatisfied then an experience did not meet my expectations and I walk away.  If prompted I might share my poor experience with others or let the world know via social media.  At best I announce I am aggravated.  If I am disappointed the equation changes.  I held a shared belief with someone involved in the experience and feel that it did not reach its potential.  I am offered two powerful options.  To roll-up my sleeves and make the experience a whole lot better or I can acknowledge that we no longer share the same belief.  


As an athlete in endurance sports there are results that leave me disappointed in my performance.  I do no saw my cross-country skis in half or toss the running shoes into the nearest dumpster.  Rather I am back out the next day more committed to my purpose and focused on reaching for a higher level of achievement.  If a nonprofit organization that I care about disappoints me I often contact them and offer a synopsis of my experience but more importantly I provide my best ideas in hopes the dialogue improves their cause.  When a hotel, restaurant, or airline creates an experiences that is not satisfactory I tend to just ignore and move on, perhaps agreeing not do business with the entity again.


The key is to have a relationship with customers and supporters such that they will let you know if they are disappointed and will bring their best ideas for your improvement.  If you dissatisfy lots of people and they walk away without comment you have no tribe at all.  


Do you hear from the disappointed or is there a silence exodus of the dissatisfied?

Being Dropped
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I am confused by the recent uproar over Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to discontinue funding to Planned Parenthood who in turn provided cancer screen services.  What appeared to be a fabulous partnership seems to have unfolded in unlikely circumstances.  There may be very good reasons for this parting-of-the-ways but the message had been poorly articulated.  If the decision was politically motivated as has been suggest by some reports the execution has been handled to create division.  The Susan G. Komen Foundation has seemingly tossed aside a long-time partner with little appreciation and respect which is now causing serious ramifications to its reputation and distracting the foundation from its core purpose.


Update: The Susan G. Komen Foundation has reversed it decision today after initially defending its policy of not funding organization that were under investigation.  The ramifications of this episode will be interesting to monitor.  Short-term hiccup or long-term impact?

Go! Stop!

Is your enterprise prepared to speed-up or slow-down if needed?  I recall attending a conference where a presenter from the King County Nevada School District informed the presenter’s panel that the district was opening one new school every two months to meet demand.  The district representative elaborated on the assembly line of builders, contractors, tradespeople, architects, and many others who were building schools much like houses in a residential development.  I always wonder how the district stopped the assembly line when the recession hit the Las Vegas area.  Were they constantly scanning the horizon for data and information that might suggest a slowdown was imminent or was momentum the prevailing force?  

When You Are Needed?
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Tina Fey from NBC’s 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live television shows has a great line about how comedy improv works.  She suggested that one does not join an ongoing skit because one has something to say but rather one joins the scene when they are needed.  This intrigues me because I see many people join a cause with something to say but they do not always understand where they are needed.  Or a movement needs a specific attribute but cannot get a person with those talents to step forward.


When and how do you join the scene?

Benefit
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To every company who talks about “providing value for our customers,” the easiest way to do that is to put their interest before yours”

~Simon Sinek

When an enterprise makes a decision, to whose benefit does the cause consider a priority?  One of the great distinctions of the social sector is that it serves for the public’s benefit.  All too often, this basic philosophical tenant is lost or forgotten as we rush to adopt the latest practices and structures of the business world.  Who the organization serves should never be forgotten or taken for granted.