Innovative Concepts

Gain or Lost

Research has demonstrated that when we adopt a promotion mindset and focus on what we might gain despite the potential downside that we can break a ‘what will I lose’ attitude that is the primary focus of the prevention mindset.  My father introduced me to a simple concept he called the decision window.  He would draw two columns on piece of paper and tell me to list the pros and cons of an opportunity.  I would fill in the columns with attributes or detractors that came to mind.  Next, my father would draw a window with a plus sign on the near side of the window and a negative symbol on the far side.  He told me to make my decision based on the list in the column but suggest that the positive column would have the most influence on my final decision.   The trick he warned was that the moment I decided and stepped through the decision window I would focus on the negative side of the column, the items I had perceived to lost by making my decision.

How do you assess opportunities?  Are you aware of how a promotion or prevention mindset influences how you process a decision?  Have you considered employing choice architecture by asking your team to talk about their aspirations and inspiration (as opposed to their obligations) as a lead-in to a major decision-making session?

Being Flocked

The trend of ‘flocking’ is being incorporated into more grassroots charitable fundraising activities and marketing campaigns.  Schools and Operation Adopt a Soldier utilize the flamingos to collect donations or “ransom”.  Other causes are capitalizing on the guerrilla marketing opportunities using the pink flamingos to spread their message.  A Facebook page dedicated to flocking provides more images of those who have found their yard adorned with the flamingos.

What are your thoughts about the movement?

Why You Are Important

I read an article in the New York Times this morning about stone markers that were placed around parts of Japan’s coast to mark the high water mark of tsunamis of the 1880’s and early 1900’s.  Some towns built using these historical markers as a guide and were untouched by the recent tsunami.  Other communities constructed along the shore and were devastated.  One generation trying to leave important clues as a guide to those that follow is an honorable goal.  As time passed it was easy to forget about the impact of those historical tsunamis and to believe technology and other advances had mitigated the threat.  The confluence of innovation and tradition is where multiple perspectives are essential.  This juncture is where you matter.

Your role in whatever enterprise or cause you support is essential.  When you are not present or choose not to actively participate there is a void.  You hold a unique perspective that carries a wisdom that is irreplaceable.  When you are present and share your ideas the organization is blessed by your perspective.  You matter.  You very well may represent the stone rock that marks the line between success and failure.

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it,
or who said it, no matter if I have said it,
unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”
– Buddha

Try This

Would you enter a running race that advertised itself as covering an unknown distance?  If you were the adventurous type and decided to enter, how would you train?  Sprints, long runs, wait and see?  On the morning of the race everyone assembles at start, the gun goes off, and you start running.  How fast?  Some racers sprint, others start at a pace appropriate for a 100-mile endurance run, and a few just stand in place.  What are you thinking at this moment?


Try This:*  Select a running loop.  Have a friend start you without agreeing on a finish line.  Have your race official friend select a finish line while you are running.  Run your ‘race’ and see what happens.  Now, after recovering, try it again over the same distance. Now that you know the distance did you change anything?  Were you faster or slower?  How did you pace yourself?  Did you spend more or less mental energy thinking about the unknown?

Finish lines are important.  They help us focus, prepare appropriately, and expend resources wisely.  Running to an unknown destination is as much a mental challenge as physical.  I have competed in races where I do not know the course and found the experience to be taxing in a way that I cannot replicate if I return and compete in the next version of the event.  Our ability to import our experience from one event to the next is helpful.  I know what a half-marathon feel like.  Add some climbs or make it flat and I can adjust but I still have the muscle memory to cover the distance.  Competing without a defined finish line is completely different challenge.  If the finish is 100 meters I would be disappointed that I did not run faster but if the competition turns out to be 36 miles I am going to regret sprinting early.

Does your organization have a finish line?  Is there clarity about the course for your programs and events?  Are your team members and advocates running to reach a goal or running because somebody said ‘run.’

* Please do not attempt this running exercise without consulting a physician in advance or if you have any serious known or unknown health risks.  You can try this by substituting physical exercise with some other form of activity (like working on a puzzle with an unknown number of pieces).

Questions Before Countdown

I am a couple weeks from concluding nine years of service as a trustee at an independent school.  It has been a pleasure to serve and I have learned as much during my role as a trustee as when I was student.  Much has been accomplished by the school and some of it can be attributed to the Board’s leadership and partnership with the Head of School.  There is also a list of opportunities not seized and communications missed.  All this brings me to two questions that I recently came across in discussions with a consulting client. 

Before my term on the Board expires I want to….? 
If this organization could be anything I wish it were ….?
The answers to these questions may reveal much about our individual goals and areas of focus when asked of trustees (or staff, volunteers, donors, etc) in the early part of their terms.  
What questions do you ask those who serve your cause?

WWYD (What Would You Do)

I am reading Jon Krakauer’s, Three Cups of Deceit (free download for 72 hours) about the alleged controversy surrounding Greg Mortenson.  The real test in my mind is what would one do if this was your cause in the media’s cross-hairs.  Here is my playbook.

  1. Apologize to your readers, fans, staff, volunteers, students, teachers.  Take responsibility for the whirlwind of attention that is currently distracting the public from focusing on the cause.
  2. Offer to be interviewed by 60 Minutes or an equivalent national media platform.  Acknowledge discrepancies and take responsibility where  misstatements exist and offer to address them by a specific deadline (see number 5).
  3. Resign from the Central Asia Institute (CAI).  Ask the board and staff to submit and cooperate with a professional audit of the programs, financials, fundraising, and governance of the enterprise.  Hire well respected professionals to perform audits.  Greg should offer to fund these costs so they are not incurred by the organization.
  4. Effectively immediately, assign a significant percentage of the profits from Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools to benefit the Central Asia Institute (one can argue this should have been the arrangement from the time the first book was published).  No longer make the CAI purchase copies of the book for further distribution or sale.
  5. Make a personal call to the US Military, Jon Krakauer, international educators, and individuals who resigned from the board and staff to verify the importance of the work that the Central Asia Institute performs.  Allow them to honestly state their disagreements with how the Central Asia Institute was run.  Jon Krakauer acknowledged the importance of the CAI’s work during his 60 Minute interview.  The cause should not suffer due to the misdeeds of its founder.
  6. Consistent and constant communication about the actions being taken to verify the use of funds and resources.  Studies have shown it takes 18-24 months to regain public trust after a scandal.  Thoughtful and authentic strategies can condense this timeline but only if transparency exists.

I wish the Central Asia Institute much success but worry when I see these statements released.

Update: Here is the link to an interview Greg Mortenson did with Outside Magazine this week.  He clarifies some misstatements but stands by other narratives that are disputed by 60 Minutes and Krakauer’s book.  Take a moment to read the comments at the end of the article.  There are some HUGE fans of Greg’s work and then some individuals that are devastated.   The controversy is now becoming the purpose of Greg’s work and no longer the change he was trying to manifest. 

Great Advocate With Questionable Resource Allocation

I heard Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones to Schools speak.  I was moved by his commitment and ability to work in such a challenging cultural and geographical environment.  Suddenly, I find myself at a crossroads.  Is Greg Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute‘s purpose consistent with its actions? 60 Minutes took a look at his organization’s work and the narrative that has become the backbone of his pitch.  60 Minutes video here

Update: The New York Times ran an article this morning with more information.