Innovative Concepts

Lowest Common Denominator

 Please answer the following security question.  Complete the phrase you see in the box above.  Place all your liquids in a quart size zip lock bag.  Provide your security code before we can process the following transaction.

We are creating systems based on the lowest common denominator.  The act of a few on the extreme edges set the bar for the rest of us.  What if you showed more trust.  One CEO I worked with empowered his staff to ‘do the right thing.’  Sometimes this was producing tickets for a sold out show, extending a membership benefit to a lapsed donor who was befuddled by why they were not on a list, or just making sure an individual was recognized by name at the right moment.  Nothing revolutionary but it came with a sense of connection and compassion.  Where it would have been easy to say “no” or “sorry we cannot do that,” there was flexibility.  You cannot have a community without trust.  Would you join a group that was always asking you to prove your identity? 

How easy is it for those who want to access your cause to get where they want?  Can you enter and find your way?  If you have been to Disneyland walking down Main Street delivers you at Central Plaza from which you can access all the lands.  It allows everyone to have a shared entry experience but then you can customize by choosing the area that is most entertaining to you.  You are still in Disneyland but your experience can be unique.  Many causes try to route potential members, donors, volunteers, partners into separate entry experiences or they are dropped into Central Plaza and asked to customize but have no context from which to operate.  

Ask those who come to your cause how they arrived and get their feedback.  It is very likely that what appears like an appropriate entry (either physical or virtual) offers opportunities for enhancements and we all know the value of a first impression.

Can You Leave?

In college I had a friend who worked at a fitness store.  A couple owned the business and one of them was always at the front desk working the cash register.  If the store was open, you were sure to see one of the two behind the desk.  It was wonderful that they were the face of the store but they never got to leave.  Social sector enterprises that have term limits for board members need to be anticipate the rotation of leadership.  You cannot always have the same individuals in leadership (some try).  

How do you prepare for board rotation?  How do you establish a sense of purpose sufficiently enough that a founder might be able to let go?  Is you CEO able to go on holiday?

I Believe We Care

Seth Godin’s post about caring captures the essence of embedding the right people in a cause.  A school, church, hospital, and airline do not and cannot care about a person.  They are unable to demonstrate appreciation for loyalty and advocacy.  The people who work for the organization are the spiritual nerve center of the cause.  Stop getting mad at your favorite cause because it does not love you back or recognize your brilliance.  Get involved.  Become one of the face of the enterprise.  Be the ambassador that you wished had greeted you.  Would you yell at a garden gnome for not returning your greeting, it seems kind of crazy now that you think about it.  Causes will not embrace you but the people who believe what you believe can welcome you with open arms.  You have the power.

Wow!

“What is that strange feeling?  It is of accomplishment” Marge Simpson
Do you celebrate your organization’s achievements frequently enough that it is part of your enterprise’s culture?  Or does it happen so infrequently that is sets off panic similar to a board that has holds executive sessions only during times of crisis?  How do reward your team for their success in a meaningful and frequent consistent?

Telling me to Think

“Don’t tell me how many times to think” Homer Simpson
Who is the guardian of your organization’s inquisitiveness?  Does the entire team ask the questions that need to be asked?  Is there a single voice?  Are thoughtful questioning embedded into the culture of your cause?  Does your enterprise maintain core strategic screens that prove a disciplined way of addressing the core issues before take substantive action?

Champion or Finisher?
“If we were good at everything, we have not need for each other” Simon Sinek

Your cause plays an essential role in your community.  The more you excel within your specialty, the greater the partnership opportunities with other specialist.  Often enterprises that attempt to generalize find that they have a harder time partnering since they see overlaps everywhere. Without clarity about your unique purpose it is easy to be a member of the pack instead of a gold medalist.
Some of the most successful educators in the classroom are not the ones who try to do it all but rather those who collaborate.  They bring their expertise and then turn to others to get new and innovative ideas.  Teachers can be an incredible sharing and supportive community.  They bring their talents and must prove themselves everyday.  Have you ever lost the attention of group of third graders?  They can find other ways to entertain themselves quickly if you do not perform.  Best to succeed using your strengths than find yourself over matched in a game you are not equipped to compete.

Commit to the Climb

Seth Godin’s blog post, Looking for the right excuse highlights the results psychology plays when a team committs to the plan.  I just had a friend Chris Davenport who scaled Mt. Everest.  His team did it using an unconventional approach.  Instead of repeated acclimatization trips to the higher camps followed by multiple descents and a treacherous journey through the dangerous ice fall above Base Camp, they used a phased system where they reduced the trips to the higher camps to two prolonged periods and then a final trip to the summit.  They were committed to a new approach, moving away from the traditional method.  Their trip resulted in success for themselves and their clients.  What my friend Chris never mentioned was an excuse- he even took time to ski on from Camp III down towards the valley.  His team embraced the new philosophy as if it were an advantage.  With all the challenges associated on an expedition to climb Mt. Everest excuses only consume limited energy and focus from a group’s chances of summiting.

Is your cause committed to fulfilling its purpose?  When your stuck in a tent on the side of the mountain waiting-out a snow and wind storm what stories do you tell yourself?  Is it filled with excuses or commitments?

Running to Change

 How do you change the idea of running?  I was amazed to read in the book, Born to Run that even though all of us inherited a well-proven technique and refined gait for moving, a small group of people began to change the very idea of what I means to run in the interest of commercializing a form of transportation into a recreational sport.  We are now seeing the return to a more historic approach.  Minimalist is the new ‘old’ thing.  Low profile running shoes or even those that look like gloves for the feet have become the hot trend but in reality it is a return to what worked for our ancestors.  After a couple decades of thick cushions, an explosion of demand for physical therapy, and a marathon craze the wisdom is shifting.  I always think of my father’s theory of fashion.  In his suit closet, he kept a rack of ties that were noticeably wider than the current style that had moved towards a narrower model.  His theory was that in 15-years his style would return and it did.
Are you changing to monopolize a market or because it fits your purpose?  How does your enterprise address trends?  Do you shift your approach just because everyone else is moving in a new direction?  How do you decide when to ignore, monitor, adjust, or abandon strategy?
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (Vintage) 

One Person

I am convinced more than ever that it takes just one person to change the focus and inspiration of any team.  Consider the role a single flight attendant plays on an aircraft.  You can almost feel the joy of one cabin crew and pain body of another.  Or, watch how an firefighting engine crew arrives at a non-emergency call.  Some squads connect immediately with people and are full of compassion.  Others come across cynical and inconvenienced by the call.  You see the importance of one among many in schools, sports teams, business enterprises, and hotel lobbies.  

You make a difference.  Just being in the picture changes the landscape.  Your impact is transformational.  What are you bringing to your team?