When we orient ourselves to a specific route we posses a remarkable chance of navigating successfully. If we do not know which direction we seek, plenty of forces take over and not all of them have our best interest in mind. Find your path, commit, and paddle with certainty.
If we use a formula to set the value of our work we assume our talents can be readily duplicated. If we craft our unique talent then those who benefit from our work set the value. As a consultant the primary questions is often how much to charge. I provide a standing fee for those who insist on a number as the primary variable during an interview. When a formula is the decision screen, I am rarely picked. However, the real answer is ‘it depends.’ How far towards the edge are you are willing to journey with a project? How much art are you willing to inject? Are you curious and seeking better questions? The more art can be infused provides far more value. When craftsmanship is permitted, the more the dots on the horizon form new constellations to guide your journey. How essential is a pole star to navigate the terrain that lies ahead? The value of a map and compass are forever linked to the needs of the adventurer.
Why do round-trip airline tickets cost less than one-way tickets? Do the airline not trust us to come back and do business with them again? Why do wireless companies charge early termination fees if they are convinced that they are uniquely positioned to offer the best coverage, highest customer service, and most extraordinary calling plans? Why do home maid services have a penalty clause if a client does not maintain service with the company for a year? If they are cleaning the house on a weekly basis they have over fifty opportunities to solidify loyalty.
Why does Amazon allow customers to download a book onto their Kindle and return it within seven days if not satisfied? Zappos gladly accepts any item back if it does not meet with our satisfaction and they pay for the shipping. Many a coffee house will remake a drink if it did not meet with our expectations.
Each company has its rational. Some are based on revenue and expense metrics. Others are tied to core values. Reflect on what stories we tell. What stories do we tell about the airlines and wireless companies? And compare that to the stories we share about Zappos? Nordstrom was famous for accepting car tires as a return from a customer. The catch, Nordstrom is a clothier with no history in automotive sales but the story is now legend (or apocryphal).
Do our actions match the stories we tell? And what stories does our community tell about us? Do we consider ourselves artists who understand our art is not for everyone, or are we focused on closing a deal and pointing to the fine print if the customer is dissatisfied?
Seth Godin’s stories resonate. They are easy to share and require limited set-up. Many of them stick with us. Consider the childhood game of telephone where repeatable stories had a higher probability of surviving each exchange.
Prestige unites and divides. Ivy League universities use prestige to define levels of achievement and academic rigor. Military branches display prestige with badges representing qualification and accomplishment. Luxury communities animate prestige with gated entrances, emblems, customized fonts, precious materials, and location.
The tipping point is the manner in which prestige is bestowed. Prestige comes from a group who share a common interest and agree to attributes and qualifications when selecting those who may enhance their standing. The motivation can be narcissistic. Who does not get included is the dark side of prestige. The antithesis of prestige is average and large crowds. Exclusivity is essential to thrive.
We can employ prestige to unite a powerful alliance or create divide. It can boost our ego or devastate trust. Are we using prestige to inspire or segregate? Does prestige enhance your loyalty or focus your independence? Prestige is bestowed on those who posse values desired by others. It must be accepted by those who believe aligning themselves with the preordained prestigious will elevate their purpose.
My favorite addition to our household in 2013 was the Present. A time piece that makes a single circumnavigation of a colored clock face representing each season. Indecipherable movements mark each day but after a week away you notice time has elapsed. Almost suddenly the white of the Winter Solstice is abandoned for the blue hues of proper winter. Resolutions made in the brief white stripe of New Years are forgotten for old habits.
I use the clock for a strategic planning exercises. What do you want to accomplish during the Present’s next trip(s) around? What actions do you need to take? Who do you need to engage? Where do you need to travel? Where does your focus need to land? What will it feel like to have completed the circle and be forever changed?
So often we bemoan the lack of time available to concentrate on that which fulfills us. Obligations obscure the summit we set out to climb. Disorientation comes easily. Thinly anchored obstacles appear impassable. Stamina wanes. We get bored, discouraged, or scared and sit to rest. We have three hundred and sixty five opportunities to progress towards that which will forever alter our remarkable narrative.
What is waiting for you?
Hedge funds intro: Overview of how hedge funds are different than mutual funds
What can the social sector learn from hedge funds? Hedge funds are unregulated by the SEC, cannot market (can you name a hedge fund), are limited to doing business with accredited institutions, and take on average 2% as a management fee plus 20% of all profits. Why do sophisticated investors happily turnover their capital to a hedge fund manager?
The social sector’s competition is often the hedge fund. When a prospective donor considers the worthiness of a cause they weigh it against the return on investment offered by the charity versus an infusion of capital into the market. A social sector organization has a distinct advantages versus a hedge fund. They can market the cause, are regulated, open to engaging with anyone who is interested in the cause, and authorized to restrict dollars donated into specific channels without a management fee. In a snapshot analysis, a worthy social sector organization should be very attractive. Even more compelling a charity can benefit a greater group of people than just the investor and the hedge fund manager. As Seth Godin and Simon Sinek reminds us, a corporation (for profit or nonprofit) cannot love us but the people who work within the enterprise can. The shared belief that unifies a cause for the greater good is potent. The sense of hope that a problem can be solved with specific and measurable activities is transformational.
So why do prospective donors turn to the markets instead of making an investment in a social cause? A hedge fund has a record of success. Professionals and a network of peers are recommending the hedge fund as a reliable way to grow an investment. The act of growing ones money so they will have even more to do good on a larger scale at a later date is more compelling than the narrative of contributing to the social sector today. The hedge fund has a strategy in place and hires people who are committed to the model. The psychology around the likelihood of a positive return on investment is higher with the hedge fund than the social cause.
So, the challenge to the social sector is not to think and act more like a hedge fund but rather to amplify the human element. The Gates-Buffet Giving Pledge has challenged wealthy peers to commit to contributing half their fortune to charity allowing for a powerful confluence of opportunity. The chance to re-frame the discussion. It is no longer about financial return on investment (which is tangible and cannot be discounted) but more vitally the emotional return on investment. The opportunity to find the intersection of belief. To engage an individual and a tribe of people committed to taking a heroic journey that will forever change their community. Hedge funds are limited in that they can only take capital and return more capital in exchange for an individual’s time and custodianship of an investment. Social sector causes provide a vehicle to measurably alter the way one spends their time and the results of this journey can forever change the landscape.
I frequently return to the short story by Jean Giono, The Man Who Planted Trees. An unlearned peasant transforms a war torn region by planting trees for half a century. His efforts revitalize a region that were once considered a wasteland and unworthy of being inhabited into a thriving community.
When I reflect that one man, armed only with his own physical and moral resources, was able to cause this land of Canaan to spring from the wasteland, I am convinced that in spite of everything, humanity is admirable. But when I compute the unfailing greatness of spirit and the tenacity of benevolence that is must have taken to achieve this result, I am taken with an immense respect for that old unlearned peasant who was able to complete work worthy of God.
I would suggest no hedge fund has ever made an equal return of investment. Our time and talent is valued far more deeply than money will ever be. A donation is the fuel for our adventure, the return on investment is the connection of ideas and people.
Seth Godin reminded us of the importance of understanding. He exposed our fundamental desire to rely on assumptions. Our need to establish certainty overrides exploration of the unknown.
If we have never been to Paris, do we assume we have seen the City of Lights once we land at Charles de Gualle Airport? Can we check Paris off our travel bucket list after a stroll down the Champs Elysees? Is a day in the Louvre Museum sufficient? A meal at a cafe? Batobus ride on the Seine? Visit to the La Tour Eiffel?
The answer is unique to each of us. We have our own parameters. A visitor with a single day in Paris may feel equally certain about their view as an expat who has lived on the Left Bank for months. Understanding comes in connecting our points of reference to build a more detailed narrative. Assumptions are easy. Adventures provide pathway to test our assumptions.
What-if-concepts 