Innovative Concepts

Remarkable Opportunities
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Only a very few every get the opportunity in the most popular or sacred spaces without a crowd and with no time limit.  We can create a unique experience for our fans by providing access for all to enjoy.  Take this 360 degree virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel.  It is remarkable because it provides the audience with a chance to view the chapel as they choose, spend unlimited time, and get closer to the images than they could in person.  What unique opportunities can you cultivate for your tribe?

80-20
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Your best trip?  Favorite gift?  Best restaurant?  Favorite book of all time?  Each of these represent a powerful memory.  I want to hear about them, I really do.  BUT, if all you do is tell me about where you have been I am just a passenger on the story train.  HOWEVER, if you tell me where you are about to go I can be an active participant.  I be part of the experience.  It is remarkable that you climbed the Matterhorn but now that you are planning a trip to Mount Blanc you have inspired me to take action.  Fabulous that you had a tour of the extraordinary bar and wine cellar at 21 in New York City and now you are taking wine tasting classes.  I can join that effort.  You read Malcome Gladwell’s, Outliers and it changed your approach to work, great!  Now you are loaning me your copy, we about to have a shared experience.


What if you spent 20% of our time talking about where you have been and the other 80% sharing a vision for where you are headed.  Nobody gets on a train that has reached its final destination.  We embark because the itinerary is compelling, the journey lays ahead.  Even if we do not get on at the starting point there are still many miles to go.  Play train conductor and announce the upcoming stops.  Inspire your fans with stories of where you are headed.  My bags are packed, where are we going?

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I Will Tell You What You Are Going To Do!
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How would your fans describe the communication you generate?  Would they describe them as empowering or prescriptive?  Information about  sporting events often focuses on the restrictions.  Understandably there will almost always be some entrant who requires all the exceptions to be spelled out.  However the vast majority of the participants are there because you exist.  They want you to succeed because you are among the few willing to cultivate their passion.

Take the following description from an upcoming cycling race:

Registration and number pick up will be held at the Galt House ONLY.  There will be NO on-site registration or number pick-up….There are also pre-riding opportunities on Thursday and Friday between 12pm and 12:45pm.  However ABSOLUTELY NO pre-riding is available while there is racing on the course and riders who are discovered on-course while racing is on-going are subject to immediate disqualification….if your team purchased team parking space you must pick up your parking pass at registration at the Galt House.  No passes will be issued on-site and there will be no access to team parking areas without a pass.

This is all essential information but the tone appears worthy of a TSA screening experience.  What if the same information was conveyed as if two reasonable adults were speaking to each other? A quick edit might allow for the following:

Remember to pick-up your race number at the Galt House, which is our official registration venue.  To provide a fair and open course during each race we have scheduled a course inspection opportunity on Thursday and Friday between 12pm and 12:45pm.  Team parking passes are available for purchase in advance of the event and in order to reduce vehicle congestion on race day, the passes will be ready for you at the registration pick-up.  For your convenience all registration and parking passes are processed at the Galt House so you can focus on riding come race day.  We are thrilled you have chosen to join us and please do not hesitate to contact our event team with any questions.


Same information, just a subtle shift.  The second draft trusts the participants and understands that they share a passion for a sport that is on the fringe.  One can always print all the necessary restrictions on the back side if required for legal reasons but why no lead with empowerment?

Empowering or prescriptive, which approach works best for you?

OODA
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The OODA-Loop decision model was developed during the Korean War by Colonel John Boyd of the US Air Force.  It provides an decision-making rubric for combat that is easily transferable into the social sector.

Observe
Orient
Decide 
Act

During my decade serving as a volunteer firefighter/EMT these attributes were readily called upon when responding to an emergency situation.  As we arrived on-scene one would often watch the commanding officer approaching the incident at a slower than anticipated pace.  After a few months one realized that these few seconds before interacting with actual emergency served as the observation phase.  Then there was shift to thinking about issues such as life-safety, water supply, exposures, resources, and size of the incident.  A decision to attack, surround, retreat, or call for additional resources was made and orders given.  The phases often blended together but in reality the most challenging emergencies were the calls where one of these steps was skipped or consider too late.

A New Lens
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We assume that what we see is what we intended.  Why doubt the intention if it comes from a primary source such as an artist.  Turns out that occasionally what is seen is not what is produced.  Takes this article that highlights the remarkable process to address the influence of color deficiency.  Take a journey to see Vincent van Gogh’s paintings in a new perspective.

Writing it Down
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If you could hand select the perfect partner for your enterprise, who would you choose?  If you could pick the ideal buyer of your business, describe them?  What talents and attributes would your blue ribbon board posses?  What strengths would your cause’s CEO embody?


Often we think we know what ‘it’ looks like but we forget to write it down.  If you do not have a clear ‘help wanted’ sign your default strategy is cosmic serendipity.  Consider going one degree better than 95% of the other enterprises by articulating what/who you are seeking.

Trust
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How do you develop trust?  If you are a pet lover and adopt a dog or cat from your local humane society, what are the critical elements that establish trust between you and your new canine or feline?  Is trust immediate?  Does it take time in your experience?  How consistent must you be in order to maintain it?  What breaks trust?  When we consider the critical elements to creating trust it is easy to see our successes and failures when we see it through the experience of those we love.