Momentum

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?  

Momentum?

Would you rather start a round of golf with four birdies and finish with a triple bogey on the final hole, or bogey on each of the first three holes and then finish with four birdies?  Both rounds of golf net a -1 total score so to the casual observer of a leaderboard there is no difference between the rounds.  Some argue that they would prefer to start with the set-backs early and finish strong since it leads to momentum the next round.  Others suggest that the fast start demonstrates mastery and there was simply a lack of execution on a single hole.


Have you started an initiative with lots of momentum only to struggle to reach ?  Or, have you been set numerous early set-backs only to overcome and achieve your goal.  Many capital campaigns do not announce their goal publicly until they have sufficient commitments from insiders- going for the early momentum approach.  Other organizations make public appeals when they have exhausted all other options, calling on their fans to help them overcome a slow start and avoid impending failure.


Can you shape momentum?  Are you an architect of choice?

Active or Passive

Is your organization active or passive?  Are you taking action to meet a need or holding steady?  Are you interacting or focusing on outgoing communications?  I am often struck by the lack of momentum in many great causes?  One annual report looks like another.  Each email blast talks about opportunity but the gap stays the same.  It is easy to get lulled into a sense of normal.  

Should I expect us not to make any real progress on shelters for homeless this year?  Is it right to just try and meet the existing need?  Should I expect education funding to be cut in a down economy and gifted and talented programs to be disbanded?  Should I expect little arts galleries to close but the big museum to stay open?  It is easy to accept these as facts.  Except when major events take place and the public’s attention and focus shifts to a specific cause.  The coldest winter in a city’s history suddenly forces a community to address homelessness with anxiety.  More shelters, more services and more donations.  


How do you remain active?  How do you demonstrate momentum?


On my travels to New York City I am often struck by how quickly commuters will race from the local to the express.  Hoards swarm across the platform and abandon the local train and then leave it looking almost abandoned at the platform.  Why stay on a train that is going to make eight more stops when I can get there in two?


Does your enterprise create momentum to feel like an express or are you just getting people involved in the cause?  Will they shift to a better organization with more momentum once they see the opportunity?