For my Friends at Serve Idaho. Thank you for the opportunity to share the journey.
Start With Why Presentation Slides
Uncategorized
Hello!?
How do we encourage people to join our cause? Do we make it easy and convenient? Are we relying on the post card inserts found in magazines? When was the last time you filled out a subscription card (perhaps seventh grade and sent it to a friend’s address)? When was the last time a prospective new member submitted a letter saying they were interested in joining? When we opt in, we are giving permission to celebrate our action. As an organization we have the opportunity to strike up the welcome band and amplify our values.
When I purchase a guide, conference ticket, or enroll in a course designed by Chris Guillebeau, I receive an email like this:
Thank you so much. We are so excited that you are joining us at World Domination Summit. Everyone in the office is giving high-fives and cheering right now. We are rushing to the mailroom to send out your materials. Our day could not be better and we hope yours is equally remarkable…
How we great people, new to us or part of the the founding membership, matters. When I board a legacy airline I expect a fake ‘hello’ and move on quickly. We have entered into a transaction for service. When I engage with a cause that shares my belief, I offer my talents. How the insiders at the organization respond determines the depth and duration of the interaction.
Delayed Curiosity
How does a single point of view carry the day in a conversation amongst intelligent, articulate people? How does a way of thinking rise to the top and sweep away doubt and unaswered questions? Too often we forego a culture of inquiry to adopt consensus. It feels good to be on the same page at the end of a meeting. Tension and stress are relieved. However, we may be missing the greater opportunity to broaden our understanding of the place we occupy. To consider multiple routes to the same destination.
This morning I read that the Good Design Award for 2016 was being presented to the Keio University Graduate School of Media and Governance. Their innovation? A new world map that better represented the land masses of earth. Since 1569 humanity has accepted the Mercator projection as the best two-dimensional representation of our planet. Other models exist, but change has been rejected. We are working with flawed data, and yet we hold tight to what we know. Reimagining representations of our globe on paper is not radical technology, but conventional wisdom persisted for centuries.
What have we accepted that would benefit from desging thinking? What is our Mercator projection?
Creating the Opening
The responsibility of leadership is not to come up with all the ideas. The responsibility of leadership is to create an environment in which great ideas can thrive. -Simon Sinek
If there is trust, our best ideas come forward. We share both our most passionate thoughts and those that sit precariously not fully formed teetering on the edge. Best ideas originate when the aperture opens and we see more. Creating this way of thinking requires consideration and preparation. When it happens we are transformed into thinking about the future instead of glancing backwards into the past.
What Game Do You Play?
Are you playing a finite game or an infinite game? Are you working towards an arbitrary ranking or seeking joy from advancement? If we play the finite game, we work to beat others, however if we play the infinite game, we focus on doing better work. If we choose to be in the game, we also choose which game we play. Very different cultures emerge depending on our focus. The game we play defines our relationships, work, world view, and politics.
Simon Sinek illustrates the power of the game in a remarkable talk. His message, we have a choice and that choice defines us and our work.
(Thank you Patricia for encouraging me to watch Simon’s talk)
Granting With Graphics
Seth Godin encourages social sector organizations to be so great at fulfilling their purpose and mission that people line-up to lend resources and treasure. The social sector is solving problems that are challenging and take time. It is easy to get stuck into form and forget function. What if we concentrate on making our work visible in numerous settings. Take grant requests as an example. The historic approach is to submit a letter in a standard business form layout. It might include a few attached pictures and supporting budget but the body is composed of printed words. I am encountering more grant requests that arrive in newsletter format. Content supported by meaningful and impactful graphics. Pictures, maps, graphs, flow-charts, infographics, and word art are all embedded. Said differently, what if your grant requests looked more like an annual report? What if we used a wider palette from which to better capture the story we were telling? What if we submitted a grant request that made us proud, not just present and accounted for? How might this resonate with those who are deciding on which initiatives to fund?
Different
Walking in Venice, Italy one sees thousands of vessels. Taking pictures of any one of them is a task similar to capturing an individual zebra or wildebeest on the savannah in Africa. Our eye catches the ones that are different. Being unique means people look beyond labels and see why you do not fit. Sometimes the characteristics that you exhibit are exactly what they are looking for.
Not Everyone
Not everyone wants to go where you are going. However, those who desire to join your route get more excited when it gets challenging.
Real Conversations (Without Money)
If you were excused from any worry about raising money from a prospective donor, what conversation would you strike-up? How would it feel to speak with a person, free from the pressure of securing their financial support for your cause? What questions would you ask? What would you share? How long would you be willing to speak with this individual?
Why not try it? Have a real conversation with another person who supports your cause. Avoid the FAQs and mission statement (unless they ask). See if the interaction is remarkably different or the same.
Solutions
There is a solution for many problems. Asking for help reveals readily available resources. Spend time on distractions or focus expertise on the work that matters. Your enterprise exists to address challenges that are not easy to decode. Heroic journeys are a quest with uncertain outcomes. The reward is transformation. These are the adventures worthy of extraordinary people.
What-if-concepts 