A simple way to measure impact is to ask, “what difference would it make if we ceased to operate?” Enterprises exist that can offers lower prices, faster service, and bigger selections. What cannot be readily replaced is a unique purpose and how you employ your beliefs help others.
Where you perform your art is a reflection of how and why you do what you do.
Have you noticed how challenging it is to create a duplicate when the original is lost? If you lose your purpose then mastery is hard to obtain.
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| Yellowstone National Park |
Commit to your purpose and walk out into the unknown. It is where adventure and great stories begin.
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If I ask you to envision a chair, what do you see? How about an elephant? Now, what do you see when I mention youth education program?
Here is my anxiety about trying to connect with individuals using features and benefits as the primary point of intersection. Taking the elephant example, you may have pictured an adult elephant standing in a zoo enclosure. For someone else they see a young juvenile running in the African savanna. Another image may be of a purple elephant dancing. Additional renditions might include an ivory tusk sitting on bookshelf in a study. How about the whole cartoon depiction of elephants?
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| Favorite cartoon elephant is? |
When you talk about a service or program as an introduction to your organization’s work, odds are high that the person listening has a very different picture in their mind than the one you are trying to articulate. However, when we start by talking about what we believe, that brings a strong emotional response that offeres an authentic point of intersection. It is not deceptive or misleading since belief is one that resonates powerfully for both parties. Programs and services change over time. They can easily inspire and disappoint at the same time. Beliefs stay true if the actions you take to manifest them are consistent.
I would highly favor identifying a point of connection around a shared belief than feature. Ask any sports team that builds a fan base while winning and then watched it crumble when they endures losing seasons. The true believers continued to come to the games because the shared a connection that was not defined by a win-lose record.
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| Hot Wheels Track Assembly |
During my grade school years I owned a Hot Wheels track for my Matchbox car set. I bought it at church bizarre sale. Besides the banked corners and the vertical loop, the critical feature was unit that looked like a car wash. Once batteries were installed and it was powered up, two rotating brushes spinning on a horizontal axis were aligned to accelerate a Matchbox car sufficiently to make a complete lap of the track before returning for another application of speed. Depending on the length of the track the return speed of the car effected the acceleration through the speedmachine. Yesterday I attended an event that re-accelerated my commitment to serving causes that inspire.
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| Seth in Tribeca |
I flew to New York City for the day to attend Seth Godin’s “Pick Yourself” presentation in the Tribeca. The magical part was that Seth spoke from some prepared thoughts for an hour, weaving his themes into a series of anecdotes. Then he answered the audience’s questions for the rest of the day, while surprising us with musical performers after breaks. The questions for Seth ranged from the marketing strategies to hiring a hiking guide in South America. As I reflect on my pages of notes and consider how to amplify the experience, I was taken by one theme in particular.
Seth presented the analogy of walking into a forest with an axe. One person selects a single tee and starts a concentrated effort of chopping it down. They understand it will not fall after only a couple hacks. If they are committed and continue making progress eventually they will yell ‘timber.’ However, many of us give up after a couple swings and move onto another tree. Eventually we find that we have left a scar on many trees but never committed long enough to fall any one of them. The reality is that nobody knows which the right tree is to be wielding our axe on and that in itself is the adventure. There is no shortcuts. Hard work, perspiration, and blisters are the realties of a committed effort. However, the biggest obstacle for most of us is that we fear our own super power. The combination of skills that make us unique and accomplished artists.
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| Ready? |
What tree have you selected to chop down? Are you willing to put fear aside and commit to the effort? Are you prepared to experience your own art in the process?
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| Credit |
Certain business models work better the closer the enterprise gets to reaching capacity. The goal is to fill every seat. Airlines understand that closing the cabin door is the end of the window of opportunity to sell seats. Once the flight departs they can offer high priced amenities but not seats for sale. Airline business models are based on projecting need and filling 99% of the demand (somebody always doesn’t show). If your cause thrives on capacity then the airline business models is ideal.
However, if your cause requires a deep personal connection then the capacity metric is not the preferred measurement for success. Open seats in an independent school classroom should not be sold at a discount to anyone willing to pay a last minute entry fee. Schools need students and families who are going to enhance the community experience. If they accept everyone using the airline capacity model there are sure to be conflicts. Purposes and expectations will clearly be misaligned. When the airlines board a passenger who in intoxicated and unruly the other passengers get upset with the airlines. They report via social media how they will never fly the airline of record again because of poor customer service quality. Airlines can afford to find more customers. Schools and deeply connected causes cannot. Therefore, get the right people on the plane. Leave a few seats open if you cannot find those ideally suited to join your cause. Individual experience is essential and creating scarcity and a waiting list are high quality problems.
Decide if your enterprise needs everyone or just a select few. Then get disciplined about your strategy.
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| From my son’s telescope |
How many of us found ourselves searching the night sky over the weekend to catch a glimpse of the super moon? The same moon that shows itself in full display every twenty-nine and half days was suddenly delivering its best and we viewed, discussed, and posted photos.
What makes a for a sensational presentation? The answer is simple. Lead with purpose. Connect so intensely with the audience that everyone forgets to tweet, blog, pin, or instagram. Leave it all on the stage, collapse at the end in exhaustion and exhilaration. Absorb the spotlight and radiate it back, drawing others into a setting worthy of a tale around the campfire. Give your best first; it is challenging to overcome a slow start (as I have learned in many children’s science museum demonstrations). Sally Hogshead theorizes that an individual has nine seconds to fascinate. Cut out the extraneous, you can always talk about the peripheral in the question and answer session. Light the fuse, walk into the light, and share your best!
What-if-concepts 