The Big Idea: LECTURES at HOME… PROBLEMS in CLASSROOMS!!!

To me, this is much like Michael Dell’s Business Model on a Napkin that destroyed a ‘traditional’ industry.

Here’s how I would capture his Idea/Model on a Napkin:

Talk about Clayton Christensen’s ‘Disruptive Innovation‘ meets Joseph Schumpeter’s ‘Creative Destruction‘!!!

iPad, Kindle, Mobile Phones, YouTube, Google, Apple, Amazon, Khan Academy… all converging to open up an entirely different way to TEACH/LEARN!

He talked about pitching the idea for a new software platform to the heads of studio, including Steve Jobs. He chose to explain his ‘argument’ with ‘hand sketches‘ – 50 pages of them to be exact! Why? Because “storyboards are the currency of the building”!

The idea of storyboards is very powerful in this day of information overload. Think about storyboards when you are looking to visualize your story! This applies to napkins, engagement tools, sketches and much more.

Here’s how we did it.

MATH: ’44 down’. Can’t just start doing push-ups and ‘hope‘ you get to 1,000. If you do 44 then 43, 42, 41, etc. down to 1 push-up… you have completed 990 push-ups!!!

*Then, the last 10 we do together… and the gym ROCKS!

Mind: ‘Games’. Can’t let them think about the ‘big number’ (1,000). “82 push-ups in honor of 82nd Bengal Bouts… plus 5.” (44 + 43 done.) “42 push-ups, answer to everything in HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO GALAXY.” “40 push-ups. How long I’ve been coaching.” etc.

Then, we mix in push-ups and shadow boxing between sets.

Muscles: Max Out. This certainly pushes muscles to an extreme; but, as they get more tired, the number of reps keeps going down. Always on overload, but still doable.

Coach Suddes with some of his 300 Notre Dame boxers after the 1,000 push-ups. Adrenaline, energy and excitement all high at end of practice!!! Collectively WE JUST DID 1,000 PUSH-UPS!

Note: Always tell them at end, “Based on previous experience, only way to wash your hair tonight will be to squirt shampoo on shower wall and rub your head on it… cuz you won’t be able to lift your arms above your shoulders!”

Talk about back-up/real research to support ‘WRONG PEOPLE OFF THE BUS’!!

HR Consultant Towers Perrin surveyed 85,000 workers at large and mid-size companies in 16 countries.

THE SURVEY RESULTS: VERY FEW PEOPLE GO THE EXTRA MILE!!!

• 14% (!) of workers are FULLY ENGAGED on the job (willing to go the extra mile for their employers, doing more than their job description requires, etc.)

• 62% (!!) are ‘MODERATELY’ ENGAGED.

• 24% (!!!!) (the remainder) are DISENGAGED!

That’s 86% of ‘employees’ moderately engaged or totally disengaged.

The leader of the Towers Perrin practice in the Chicago office said the following:

“ENGAGEMENT requires a worker’s HEART as well as MIND. It involves not just an EMOTIONAL attachment to the company but also a RATIONALE way to channel those EMOTIONS to elevate a company’s performance.”

Remember: Making Progress in Meaningful Work.

Special Note: They went on to say that “ENGAGEMENT levels vary from industry to industry, but the most striking variance involves NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. NOT-FOR-PROFIT (FOR IMPACT) WORKERS TEND TO BE MORE COMMITTED THAN EMPLOYEES AT FOR-PROFIT CONCERNS BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IN THEIR EMPLOYER’S MISSION.” (My caps)

DUH?! Really?! Of course!

In the For Impact world, we already know this. We didn’t need a survey. Our PEOPLE/TALENT are, for the most part, deeply committed and fully engaged which is why we can achieve so much, with so little.

The Big Idea: INTERVIEWS are a worthless waste of time when it comes to decisions on TALENT.

I extrapolated this idea from an article, Why It May Be Wiser to Hire People without Meeting Them, by Dan and Chip Heath (authors of MADE TO STICK) in a June, 2009 FAST COMPANY.

The real nugget for me in this was the idea of the ‘SIMPLE JOB TEST’.

*The Heath’s even use a ‘nonprofit‘ as an example!

BOTTOM LINE:

• If you’re hiring somebody to write… ask them to write something!

• If you’re hiring somebody to solve problems… ask them to solve a problem!

• If you’re hiring somebody to SELL something… ask them to SELL YOU SOMETHING!!!

This last one is terribly important when it comes to Development Officers, Major Gift Officers, and (would strongly suggest) when it comes to CEO’s, Executive Directors and Leaders in the For Impact World. If these people can’t SELL, you shouldn’t hire them.

Special, Special Note: I urge you to take this ‘TEST’ and IDEA even further.

I’m a huge proponent of bringing people on as ‘Independent Contractors‘… for 30 to 90 days… to see if they can actually do the job!!!

This makes it really easy to see if they’re the right fit… and that they can actually do the job.

***Here’s a great example from a university:

Terrific candidate. Exceptional resume. A perfect fit ‘on paper’. Wowed everybody during the ‘interviews’.

However, still hired as Independent Contractor. Given a ‘three-month test period‘.

Result: The guy is still terrific; but… it wasn’t the right fit! He found out that this wasn’t something that he really wanted to do. We found out he really couldn’t do what we wanted. (Present Opportunities to Qualified Prospects… and Close.)

He will continue to work hard for the university, but as a volunteer not as staff.

Everybody ended up winning using this ‘TEST’ model.

Something to think about.

I wanted to share what’s going on in Ireland with the For Impact Community… as much of what we’re doing over there is a direct result of the work we’ve done with many of you!

I was with 25 different organizations over the course of the week and I wanted to share 3 big (common) takeaways:

1. Change Your Vocabulary! I’m still amazed every time we do this. The change in words is not semantic gymnastics. It helps people change the way they think… and talk… and then act.

2. Do The Math. Over and over and over again… this concept of Doing The Math has contributed to more impact and more change than just about anything else. ‘Blue’ Math around the Impact and ‘Red’ Math around your Staff & Team and ‘Green’ Math around your Cost of Delivery, Funding Model, etc. is HUGE!

Note: “People buy on EMOTION and justify with LOGIC.” Zig Ziglar

The ‘Math’ and the ‘Numbers’ is where you can provide the LOGIC, the justification within your Case for Support, the Return-on-Investment, the Value Proposition, Where the Money Goes, what you need to Fund Your Vision and much more.

3. 1,000-Day Plans. We are building 1,000-Day Plans for almost every organization we are working with in Ireland. 2012 + 2013 + 2014 = (VISION) 2015! These 1,000-Day Action Plans and 1,000-Day Funding Plans are 1,000 X (times) more powerful than 5-Year Strategic Plans!

***Email me if you want some more information or detail on these 1,000-Day Plans.

To grab your attention, since 1995, KaBOOM has built 2,000 community playgrounds, raised over $200 Million and enlisted major corporate sponsors like Home Depot and Ben & Jerry’s, and rallied one million volunteers… with 5.5 Million children now having safe places to play!

Read more here on this great social entrepreneur’s thoughts on setting goals, visualization, motivating team members, innovation and more.

On my way home, I was reading the new issue of SUCCESS MAGAZINE featuring a great article on the U.S. version of Dragon’s Den called INSIDE THE SHARK TANK.

Here’s a quick summary of ‘Shark Bites’ (quotes) from the article:

On Message: “100% of the entrepreneurs who got deals were able to articulate the opportunity in 90 seconds or less showing you why if I were an investor I would make money!” Kevin O’Leary

On Selling: “It’s all about sales. I’ve never seen an entrepreneur who wasn’t a salesman. I always feel like, with an entrepreneur, it’s not just about convincing someone to come in but it’s really about getting them to see life the way you see it through your eyes.” Barbara Cocoran

On Hard Work: “We romanticize entrepreneurship so much that people don’t do the work… it’s not just a dream, not just a goal, it’s a lot of hard work. A lot of people are wantrepreneurs, not entrepreneurs.” Mark Cuban

On Money: “Make sure you’re doing something that you love, that you’re willing to do for the rest of your life. If you’re dong it for money, that’s the only thing you won’t make.” Daymond John

Special Note: We are always asking our For Impact leaders to Think Like An Entrepreneur. I love Mark Cuban’s new word: WANTREPRENEUR. ‘Thinking’ like an entrepreneur or ‘wanting’ to be an entrepreneur is obviously not enough. There is some hard work involved. But it’s worth the effort.

This is a very important part of our sales system. Rarely, do we see an organization with a TRUE Master Prospect List when we start working with it.

This is a tough concept for most organizations to embrace but it’s a simple concept:

• MASTER = ONE LIST. Not ‘one list for the gala’ and ‘one list for annual fund’. And, certainly not ‘fifteen reports from Razor’s Edge’.
• Most Important Prospects. If you receive half your funding from the government then the government is ALWAYS your most important prospect.
• Re: Individuals, Corporations, Foundations… a gift received yesterday does not remove the ranking of relationship.
• Smaller organizations should focus on their top 33 prospects. Larger organizations (e.g. Colleges) should maintain the same focus but take the ranking out to 100+ prospects.
• RATED. We have a rating system that incorporates capacity, relationship (to cause/case), timing, gift history, philanthropy… but the concept is to actually RATE the prospects. Note: If you’re doing this for the first time don’t worry about being perfect. You will probably change a rating after asking anyway.
• RANKED. Not Alphabetical. Not by giving history. Not by Relationship Manager. RANKED BY IMPORTANCE.

The Master Prospect List:

• Streamlines prospecting meetings and reporting… you work your way down the list.
• Determines what to ask for… by matching your prospect list to your funding plan.
• Saves a lot of time… in meetings, thinking, planning, strategy, etc. because the list IS the framework for all these things.

See also:

• Master Prospect List – QPI Rating System
• How to Run a Sales Meeting Using a Sales Dashboard
• Focus on your Top 10 Relationships

I hope you had a chance to read the article and notice that the biggest ‘epiphany’ for both the authors and everyone engaged in this study was the #1 most potent force that impacts Work Life:

MAKING PROGRESS IN MEANINGFUL WORK.

Not money. Not titles. Not bonuses. Not country club perks.

“PROGRESS… in MEANINGFUL WORK!”

We in the For Impact World have the best opportunity of any organizations to provide MEANINGFUL WORK!

It’s up to us if we are helping people make PROGRESS.