Month: April 2019

leadership dot #2490: investment

April 10, 2019April 7, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Two of our most valuable resources are time and money.

A quick way to assess how someone approaches their life is by paying attention to the words they use to describe these two measures. Do they “spend” their time or do they “invest” it in something that will have a long-term impact? Do they “spend” their money or “invest” it in something that will pay dividends back to them later?

Time is finite, and for most of us, money is too. The next time you’re tempted to waste time or money, pause to consider how you might act instead. Your life will be much fuller if you invest these riches in ways that benefit you beyond the moment.

What does that investment look like for you?

leadership dot #2489: mission creep

April 9, 2019April 7, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A recent editorial in our local paper lamented how the city has several elementary schools where nearly three out of four students qualify for free or reduced lunches and questioned whether the school district could do more for low-income schools. It caused me to wonder: when did schools become all-encompassing social services?

When I went to school, I was there to receive instruction. We brought our own lunches, made our own fun at home after school hours and received medical care from the doctor. Today, schools are expected to provide resources for health, wellness, mental health and recreation. The districts manage transportation, meals that accommodate a host of allergies and meet nutritional guidelines and post-school child care options. Schools are asked to address a wide range of social issues: bullying, vaping, teen pregnancy, drug education and now, apparently, even poverty.

I think about organizations like the school district and the role that communication plays in their organization. Consider what is required to keep the legislators, taxpayers and other influencers aware of the significant mission creep that the districts face – and the resources that are needed to effectively support them. Similar communication challenges happen in other centralized organizations that take on more and more over time – if they don’t effectively communicate how the scope has grown it’s likely that their tasks outweigh the human and financial assets required to provide all that is expected.

When you think of schools you think of classrooms, but they have become so much more. Is your organization in a similar situation – providing resources well beyond your original charge? If so, start today to repeatedly communicate what you really do so others understand the complexity and depth of what appears straightforward on the surface, and be prepared to draw the line if the scope creeps beyond your ability to provide it.

Editorial: “Data shows Dubuque’s ‘walk’ far from over, April 5, 2019, Telegraph Herald, p. 4A

leadership dot #2488: remix

April 8, 2019April 5, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

It seems that if a soundtrack becomes quite popular, the next step is for a collection of artists to release a remix album that modifies the core music into something similar but new. It happened with Hamilton and now with The Greatest Showman. Both musicals have remix versions on which famous performers alter the music to their own interpretation. It’s obviously the same song, but it’s also not.

Even though the original way of doing it was great, change is encouraged for the second album. The soundtrack music served one purpose and the remix album is free from the need to fit into the structured framework of the show. As a result, some of the songs are even better in the reimagined version.

I think these remix albums can be a metaphor for the type of diversity we seek to cultivate in organizations. Everyone is singing from the same songbook, but there is room for varied expression and significant differences. The underlying medley is preserved and shared in a personalized way.

Today, do one thing that encourages a remix of your organization’s music. What will that be?

leadership dot #2487: enchanted

April 7, 2019April 5, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

When I think of Disney princesses, what comes to mind is their beautiful gowns and jewels. Disney has already made a fortune selling replicas of the costumes to little girls and now it is spreading its princess magic to the adults with an Enchanted fine jewelry line. It makes perfect sense: translate those tiaras and bling into real jewels that capitalize on the Disney allure.

Think about all the businesses that offer some replica of a signature item for others to purchase — athletic teams sell jerseys, zoos have stuffed animals, cooks sell pans or aprons. We all want to be closer to organizations which we love and take a piece of it home with us.

What is your organization’s distinguishing item that you could sell as is (jerseys) or in a modified version (Disney’s jewels)? Aligning your organization with a desired product does far more for your brand than just placing your logo on promotional materials. It’s worth the effort to find something that will enchant your clients!

leadership dot #2486: packaged

April 6, 2019April 5, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Each year 650,000 people in the United States receive some form of chemotherapy — drugs that can have negative effects on cancer cells but also on the person receiving the treatment. To serve this large population, Walgreens has created a set of services that provide pharmaceutical assistance, beauty consultation and online resources to help patients address some of the side effects of chemotherapy.

Under the umbrella of “Feel More Like You”, Walgreens has recognized that a large market exists of people who have changing skin, hair, prescription and sunlight sensitivity needs because of their treatment. By coordinating services that fit well in their normal business operations, Walgreens can gain customers and goodwill through one initiative.

While Walgreens added a website and did some training of personnel, the vast majority of what “Feel More Like You” provides already existed but as independent pieces instead of a cohesive program. Tying disparate parts together increased the impact significantly and made something generic into a unique whole.

What does your organization provide that could be presented in a more unified way? ]

leadership dot #2485: other

April 5, 2019April 4, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Many people spend their day working from dual screens on their computer. Think of the difference it would make if people received their news from dual screens – allowing them to experience opposing perspectives rather than believing that the one side they see is the truth.

At the gym, a bank of televisions lines the treadmill area and participants can watch CNN simultaneously while watching FOX. It is fascinating to me how the two networks portray the same story with radically different headlines and lines of questioning. By seeing the two versions side-by-side it becomes apparent that both are including perceptions, not only hard facts, and that my take on the item probably lies somewhere in between.

If you only get your information from one source – whether that be in person, print, television or social media – you find yourself in a self-perpetuating loop that does little besides validate that your position is correct. The more you take in from a limited perspective, the more you become entrenched in a particular point of view.

This happens in politics, of course, but it’s also prevalent in organizations. If you only listen to your staff, you are void of the voice of customers. If you gain input only from one other department, you come to see the organization from just their lens rather than more broadly. If you do “only one” of anything, you’re missing out on the complexity that is inherent in most all that we do.

This weekend take steps to take in an “other” – watch a new channel, read something outside your comfort zone, or talk with one of “them” – and see how it can broaden what you believe is reality.

leadership dot #2484: 4 squares

April 4, 2019April 3, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

One of the challenges in doing long-range planning is getting all the key players on the same page. You may assume that you have the same vision for the organization as do the other leaders or board members, but that is not always the case.

A quick exercise to gauge alignment involves four squares. Participants are given a large sheet of paper and asked to fold it into quarters. Individuals then draw the same image in four stages: one depicting the organization a year ago, one showing it today, another representing the organization a year from now and a final drawing of what they hope the organization looks like in three years.

The time frames can be altered to fit your specific situation (eg: use five years if you’re starting work on a five-year plan), but having participants draw the image rather than using words seems to be a key ingredient of its effectiveness (even though you’ll get some protesters who claim they cannot draw). Any image can be used; I’ve seen houses, playgrounds, cars, boxes, flowers, pizzas, and stick figures just to name a few.

Once the drawings are completed, participants each explain their squares to the whole group. You’ll be able to tell very quickly how much agreement (or not!) there is about where the organization is and where it is headed – whether that be from a position of strength or weakness and whether toward growth or retrenchment. A facilitator or chairperson can use that as a launching pad for directed discussion toward understanding and ultimately consensus.

P.S. The 4 Squares exercise works like a vision board for personal goals, too. Plot out your path and use it to check progress toward your goal!

leadership dot #2483: bicycle

April 3, 2019April 2, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

When developing a strategic plan for a nonprofit organization, it is difficult to maintain a balance between internal efforts and external outreach. A model that may help organizations visualize these parallel functions is that of a bicycle.

The model was developed for community foundations – thus the dichotomy between creating impact and building assets – but the principle can be adapted for all types of organizations. The orange spokes represent a proactive or strategic approach while the blue wheels represent responsive and transactional functions. Organizations need to determine the proportionality of each in order to keep their “bicycle” moving. A key component also involves recognizing the frame of the bicycle – noting that for any functions to occur, leadership must be developed and supported.

You can utilize the bicycle model with your organization to assess whether your strategies are achieving the impact that you desire, whether they are building the internal “assets” of the group at a proportionate rate, as well as whether you have the leadership infrastructure that is necessary.

Does your organization temporarily need training wheels or are you positioned for a smooth ride?

Source: Jason Neises, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque’s Nonprofit Strength Builder Workshop, April 2, 2019

leadership dot #2482: inspired

April 2, 2019April 1, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I have needle phobia – can’t look at them in person or even watch someone receive a shot on film…

yet over the weekend, I donated my 100^th pint of blood.

I think this is an analogy of how powerful a compelling purpose can be for an individual or an organization. I am aware there is a great need for blood, and I believe in the life-saving treatment that donations provide. So, I sit strategically facing away from other donors, bring a book to divert my attention away from my own arm and in general avoid even thinking about what I am doing – and have kept doing it every eight weeks for almost two decades.

If people buy into the aspiration, they can overcome all kinds of barriers to achieve it. Focus on the inspiration and the logistics will often take care of themselves.

leadership dot #2481: fools

April 1, 2019March 31, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Today there will be a whole crop of “fools” playing pranks throughout organizations but sadly April 1^st is not the only day that illusions run rampant in the enterprise.

Like the miners seduced by fool’s gold or pyrite, some organizational leaders seem to be seduced by their own version of fool’s gold – that shiny new thing that appears to have value but in reality, does not. Fool’s gold in organizations can occur when a candidate with fancy credentials is hired even though the cultural fit is off. Fool’s gold occurs when leadership is seduced by the spiffy new technology tool even though it is the process that needs changing not the software it runs on. Fool’s gold also shows up when the organization engages with consultants promising to solve all the organization’s problems – even though the recommendations are put on a shelf instead of enacted.

It’s tempting to favor the easy, new or shiny fix for a problem, especially when it resembles a golden solution. You’ll be better off if you embrace the foolhardiness of April 1^st but mine deeper to do the tough work the rest of the year.