Archive for the ‘Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.’ Category
Jimmy V. and The Rule of 3
Posted by: Tom Suddes December 27, 2007
I had an opportunity to catch the replay of Jim Valvano’s famous ESPY Awards speech from 1993. (I caught it when I was working out while watching a little bit of a Notre Dame’s basketball game at the Jimmy V Classic.)
He began this incredible 10-minute presentation by stating that he “didn’t know how much time was left…” because he was fighting cancer. He went on to say that he’s a very “passionate and emotional man” and he wanted to share some things…
And, the ‘3 THINGS’ he shared all had ‘3 THINGS’!!!
*Just so you know, I love the RULE OF 3. It’s used in media, broadcasting, sales, presentations and so much more. All Jim Valvano did was reinforce this for me… in a very emotional and positive way.
- The 3 THINGS we should do every day:
- LAUGH
- THINK
- MOVED TO TEARS (EMOTION)
Jimmy V. said “THAT’S A FULL DAY!”
- (Another) 3 THINGS we should think about every day:
- WHERE You Started…
- WHERE You Are…
- WHERE You’re Going To Be…
- The Lombardi/Valvano Locker Room Presentation around “THESE 3 THINGS”:He talks about his first pre-game speech as a ‘head’ coach with Rutgers Freshman Team. He ‘practiced’ his talk which he had ‘borrowed’ from Vince Lombardi. It went like this:
“All eyes on me.
We’ll be successful this year if we can focus on These 3 Things:
- Your FAMILY
- Your RELIGION
- And the GREEN BAY PACKERS!!!”
Jimmy V’s closing is a great way to end ‘07 and begin ‘08.
“DON’T GIVE UP. DON’T EVER GIVE UP.”
The Simple Idea that Changes Everything
Posted by: Nick Fellers August 11, 2007
Last week Tom and I were with a Benedictine prep school in New Jersey. We were discussing the importance of focusing on top prospects in the development plan when one of the board members asked this question:
“What type of results should we expect if we visit with each of our top 100 prospects?”
Being the ‘helpful outsider’, I gave that wonderfully ambiguous answer: “It depends.”
After thinking for a moment I was able to offer an epiphany that was a bit more insightful…
I’ve never been with an organization which made a commitment to focus on its top 10 prospects that wasn’t completely and totally transformed (in ways beyond funding results).
That’s a long-winded epiphany — I will restate: If you focus on your top 10 prospects it will transform your organization (period).
This is a simple (not easy) idea that changes everything.
The secondary epiphany is that most organizations gloss over their top 10 prospects to make selective visits with prospects 11-100 (if and when they’re making visits).
Why aren’t more organizations transformed by their top 10?
- They don’t stop to ask the question, “Who are our top 10 prospects?”
- It’s easier to focus on prospects 11-100.
- They give up on the top 10 at the first sign of uncertainty. (eg. “The prospect did not return our phone call… she must not be interested.”)
- They have not yet committed to ’sales’ and are therefore not out making asks.
- They have ‘top of the pyramid’ call reluctance because:
- They can’t communicate the vision/mission/message.
- They haven’t been trained to sell and therefore fear messing it up.
Action:
- Make a commitment today to focus your energy on your top 10 prospects.
- Make a commitment to visit with them, share the story, and present the opportunity within the next year.
- Don’t back down from this commitment*.
- E-mail me (nick@forimpact.org) on August 13, 2008 with your transformational success story. I would be equally interested (and very surprised) to hear from you if you truly made this commitment and weren’t wildly successful in your funding efforts.
*If you have encounter any of the challenges above join us at a training camp to remove the challenges [more powerful than a plug; it’s a statement of action].
Altitude: For visits, business and board meetings
Posted by: Nick Fellers July 17, 2007
Altitude - for your board meetings, business, presentations and, well… everything!
We want to remind you of one great framework that will change the way you run meetings, provide coaching/counsel and order your presentations. It may even change the way you do business.
(In its simplest form):
| 30,000′ | The WHY | Vision |
 |
Think ‘big picture / blue sky’. Planes fly at 30,000′. |
|
| 14,000′ | The WHAT | Strategy |
|
Think ‘top of the mountain’. | |
| 33′ | The HOW | Tactics |
| Think ‘nap of the earth’ (NOE). | ||
As this applies to your MESSAGE:
You are so immersed in your programs that you want to talk about the HOW (programs) at 33′. You need to stop! Go back up to 30,000′ and start with the WHY (your purpose, cause, message, etc.). If someone doesn’t understand or buy-in at the 30,000′ level then there is NO POINT in dropping down to 14,000′ (or 33′!).
As this applies to your PRESENTATION FLOW (on a visit):
Use this to create call flow. Start at 30,000′, then continue to 14,000′ and then 33′.
As this applies to your BUSINESS or ORGANIZATION:
WHY are you in business? WHY are you in this funding campaign? Answer this at the 30,000′ level. We challenge you to take five minutes and answer this question right now. To make a point: 50% of those reading this email cannot answer the WHY question. 98% can’t answer it clearly and concisely. If you have no clue, then drop everything and call a time-out.
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
- Peter Drucker
As this applies to BOARD MEETINGS:
Run these at 30,000′… occasionally dipping down to 14,000′. A board meeting should never get to 33′ (even though many run at three inches!!!).
There are literally so many WOW ideas as you start applying the altitude framework.
Let us know how this applies to you, your plan, or your organization.
The Only Presentation Tool You Need
Posted by: Tom Suddes November 25, 2006
Simplify your message so that it fits on a napkin.
It’s not easy. In fact, it’s really hard to simplify your message/model/meaning on a back of a napkin. However, I believe that your ability to engage someone with what you do, why and how is proportional to how clearly and cleanly you can communicate your message.
This is a really big deal. When sitting down with someone new they should ‘get it’ in a matter of seconds. Too often we overwhelm people with powerpoints, three-ring binders, slick brochures … don’t do it.
I’ve made many ‘million dollar calls’ using ONLY a napkin. I believe it is the BEST and ONLY presentation tool you need.
Just for kicks … see if you can identify these industry changing businesses from the napkins below (click to enlarge). I will buy a subscription to Fast Company for anyone that gets all four. E-Mail with your answers or your own napkin (I’m happy to respond … add thoughts, etc.)
No More Mission Statements
Posted by: Tom Suddes January 20, 2006
vs. CLEAR, CONCISE, COMPELLING MESSAGES!!!
THAT GRAB YOUR ATTENTION!!!
(Everyone gets 3,000 marketing ‘messages’ a day; 1,000,000 a year!)
“STAY ON MESSAGE!!!”
(One, and only? Lesson from world of politics!)
A customer can say “NO” because the offer doesn’t apply to them;
but NEVER because they didn’t UNDERSTAND IT!!!
Doug Hall, Jumpstart Your Brain
In our world, that means someone can say, “not now” or “not a priority” for legitimate reasons, but never because they didn’t UNDERSTAND the VISION/MISSION/ MESSAGE!!!
| SIMPLICITY | BREVITY | CLARITY |
“WE CAN’T POSSIBLY DO WHAT YOU’RE SUGGESTING, TOM. WE ARE JUST ‘TOO BIG’, ‘TOO IMPORTANT, TOO COMPLEX’.”
“OH, YEAH?”
|
GETTYSBURG ADDRESS (One Nation . Indivisible . with Liberty & Justice for All; 9 Words) |
276 WORDS!!! |
|
WASHINGTON’S INAUGURAL SPEECH:
(Our 1st President!) |
134 WORDS!!! |
|
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
LIFE, LIBERTY & the Pursuit of HAPPINESS |
3 BIG WORDS!!! |
|
EINSTEIN’S THEORY OF RELATIVITY
Energy = MC² |
3 PAGES!!!
3 LETTERS |
|
Note on Einstein: 3 PAGES!!! 3 LETTERS!!!
|
*It takes us 3 pages just to “introduce” our organization as a preface to a 30-page proposal or grant request!!! (for $10,000!!!)
TAGLINES . BATTLE CRIES . AHA!!!
“We’ll put a man on the moon before THE end of decade.”
“I have a dream.”
“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
“He’s not heavy, he’s my brother.”
“1,000 Points of Light.”
“Just Do It.”
“Like a Rock.”
“Live to Ride. Ride to Live.”
Bottom line: WHAT’S your MESSAGE???
P.S. There are 130 words since Simplicity, Brevity, Clarity.
Note: Please send me more messages, taglines, battle cries that MOVE you or your organization.
Planned Giving Training in Three Bullet Points
Posted by: Nick Fellers December 24, 2005
I want to sound off on planned giving. Nobody is doing enough of it. It always seems like it’s some ‘elusive field’. Like we are ‘waiting to get trained in that area’ or whatever. I want to make this as simple as possible.
Planned giving is just a sale (or another form of a major gift) to a person that wants to help your organization. It is a just a means or a vehicle. Your job is to present the prospect with a wonderful opportunity to change lives, save lives or impact lives.
There are hundreds (probably thousands) of ways to do a planned gift. YOU do not need to know how to do them. Leave that to an insurance agent, a lawyer, a financial planner, etc.
Here is the training … ready?
There are three forms of a planned gift:
- Assignment of a life insurance policy.
- Bequest (will).
- Other
If the prospect wants to assign life insurance he/she can call his or her agent. A simple bequest can be a codicil to a will (just google it). Other includes all those ‘other’ complicated financial arrangements (including gift annuities) that we can pass off to an expert.
Most smaller planned gifts will either involve life insurance or a very simple bequest.
I DON’T believe I’m over simplifying. Your goal is to maximize every relationship at any given time. If you’re meeting with a prospect about a project need today you can also talk about providing TOMORROW in the form of a legacy or planned gift.
My point is that this should be simple and we should be asking nearly everyone for a planned gift commitment. Too often, I believe, individuals and organizations ‘wait’ until they have the necessary training or ‘organizational capacity’. If you get training you will get a thick binder that will sit on the shelf with tons of terms and if you wait you will leave tons of opportunities on the table.
Keep it simple …
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Just Added
Tom Suddes Video sharing the For Impact Point of View
