A Bigger Voice

Are You Worth Following?

When I first started working on A Bigger Voice, back in December 2007, I discounted the role of personal leadership/development in turning an idea into a sustainable movement. I was more concerned with what wisdom entrepreneurs need to do, rather than how they need to be.  Ironic, given that I've been a professional coach since 2003.  Photo by HaPe_Gera

My pet peeves in working with social entrepreneurs--places where they shoot themselves in the foot:

• Not committed.  See my post about why commitment trumps passion.
• Not respecting the power of grassroots and/or obsessed with power at the top to create change.
• Focused on the "big bang" of an event (front end) instead of the long-term conversation (back end).
• Thinking that someone else needs to make the first move before change can happen.

This is all about your head game--how you view the world, how you are being.

Seth Godin sums this up very nicely in his newest book, Tribes. He asks the question:

Are you worth following?

Indeed. If you're not committed, if you only are in it for the big bang, if you can only see power at the top, if you keep waiting for someone else to make the first move, you're not worth following. Pure and simple.

If you are passionate about creating change in the world, pause to assess whether you are worth following. Leave a comment below. I want to hear not only where you come up short, but where you really shine.

Photo by jhdtolentino

Connecting Over Achieving

I continue to be impressed with the capabilities of Facebook, even though I'm only an occasional user. Seems like each time I log on, there's a new capability that allows me to connect with others in a way that is most comfortable for the individual. Sometimes, it's via a blog post. Other times, it's a short comment on how the day is going. And other times, it's a video of something meaningful in one's life (like a performance of a song!)  Today, it came in the form of a book recommendation.

I have to remind myself that community-building is often just about connecting, for no other reason than that.  I forget and think that I have to "get somewhere." When in reality, there's no place I need to be other than right here.

Today, I spent 30 minutes on Facebook, connecting on many levels to half a dozen "friends."  It felt good.

BTW--The beauty of social networking is that it allows me to come into someone's life, intermittently and briefly, without skipping a beat.

Photo by jelene

4 Ways Social Media is Changing the Non-Profit World

Beth Kanter has a great post on how non-profits are successfully using social media to further their causes. She illustrates her points with some real-life examples from March of Dimes and the Red Cross as well as lesser known non-profits.

This brings to mind a conversation I had this morning with a friend, about the distinction between communities and organizations. Organizations, by nature, try to control. People build organizations, thinking that it's a way to spread ideas and change the world.

In contrast, communities are uncontrollable. But they are excellent at taking ideas and making them bigger.  Social media is one way for non-profits to return to an emphasis on community and to remember that organizations are in service to the cause, not the other way around. 

Yes, I'm cynical about non-profits. And I think social media is one way to re-calibrate top down efforts with bottom up grassroots.

Photo by bobby-james

Seth Godin on Sliced Bread

Ideas that spread, win. 

That's the message that marketing guru, Seth Godin, provides in this TED talk.

The question then is "How do you get your ideas to spread?" Two points that are particularly appropriate for wisdom entrepreneurs:

• Be remarkable. Have something worth talking about. For wisdom entrepreneurs, this means not only understanding what makes your wisdom remarkable, but then crystallizing it so that others "get it," right away.
• Speak to the early adopters, the people who are listening, who care about what you are talking about. In A Bigger Voice parlance, find your kindred spirits.

Enjoy Seth at his best:

Why Commitment Trumps Passion

One of my big lessons this last year was this:

Passion is not enough to change the world.

That might sound strange, coming from a coach, whose job is to help people find their passion. I've met plenty of passionate people, individuals who found the thing that makes them jump out of bed in the morning. The thing they formed a non-profit around. The thing they can't stop talking about. Yet passion is not enough.

Commitment is needed. In fact, commitment trumps passion, time, authority, money, and most anything else you can think of.

I recently saw Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, speak in Denver at the Paramount Theatre. I wish I had taken my teenage sons to hear him speak. Mortenson has that impact on people. He inspires them, not with his words, but with his actions and for lack of a better word, with his presence.

What hit me between the eyes was encountering someone who is the essence of commitment. It's rare to see someone who devotes his life to a single purpose. In Mortenson's case, his mission is to create peace in Pakistan and Afghanistan, by providing education for children, especially girls, in those countries.

Commitment looks like this:

• Attending an event in LA until 2am, getting a few hours of sleep, then hopping on a plane to Denver, only to return to LA that evening.
• Visiting 118 cities in one year to speak about your cause.
• Sleeping in your car and eeking out a living as an ER nurse, in hopes of raising $12,000 to build a school on the other side of the world. Deciding that pennies from school children could be the start of collecting the funds.
• Building schools, one by one, in a remote part of the world, with political, geographical, and cultural obstacles at every step of the way.
• Providing a consistent message, day in and day out, to groups as diverse as U.S. military commanders to school children to outdoor enthusiasts. 

The results are impressive:

• Since 1994, nearly 80 schools have been built in one of the most troubled and remote areas of the world, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• Three Cups of Tea is now mandatory reading for senior officers in the Pentagon in charge of counter insurgency efforts.It has also been on the New York Times bestseller list for two years.
• After reading the book, military commanders like General David Petraeus and diplomats like Richard Holbrook are focused on listening more. Mortenson relayed how Petraeus, after reading the book, said, "We need to listen. We need to have respect. We have to build relationships."
• Collecting 100 million pennies from school children, as part of Pennies for Peace
• Fifteen years after living in his car, Greg Mortenson was nominated in January 2009 for a Nobel Peace Prize. 

For wisdom entrepreneurs, take note. Yes, one voice can start a community (and judging by the crowd at the Paramount Theatre, Mortenson's community is as diverse as I've seen in a long time.) But without commitment, it's all for naught. Mortenson has shown that when you make that commitment, your life changes. (BTW--that scares the heck out of a lot of wanna be wisdom entrepreneurs. I've seen it.)

Mortenson confessed near the end of his talk that he doesn't know why he is compelled to do the work he does. In his words, "I just listen to what people need." It made me think that commitment is not entirely a choice. You choose to surrender to the call, but after that, you are compelled. There is no other choice.

Mortenson closed with two thoughts that are particularly appropriate for wisdom entrepreneurs, one a quote from Martin Luther King and the other a result of a plea from Mortenson's wife.

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree."

"If you want to make the world better, you need to take care of yourself to be strong."

P. S. I had contacted Mortenson's non-profit, Central Asia Institute, asking if I could interview him for this blog. I received a reply a few days later that my request had been forwarded to Mortenson. Because of his busy schedule, not all requests could be honored. I never heard back from Mortenson, but it didn't matter. Who was I to slow down the progress of this man, with a mission so clearly imprinted on his heart and mind?  Instead of asking for a favor from him, I was compelled to offer up whatever help I could for his cause. That's what happens when you see commitment manifested.