Yesterday, I wrote about a pivotal decision made by the early Earth Day movement to switch their focus from college to K-12 students (dot 3233). They made another key move in that first year that likely contributed to the organization now leading the “planet’s largest civic event.”
Earth Day was fortuitous enough to have advertising legend Julien Koenig volunteer to design the initial name and logo. (He also created the Volkswagen “Think Small” campaign that won a zillion awards.) But the true stroke of genius came when the director, Denis Hays, elected not to trademark it. He wanted Earth Day to be used liberally to tie together the various activities that were happening.
It worked. Earth Day events this year involved over a billion people in 193 countries — all linked together with the Earth Day name. By being generous, Hayes was able to build momentum and give prominence to the movement in ways he could have never achieved on his own.
Think about the benefits you could attain from freely sharing your resources. Allowing others to connect with your efforts might be the best way to realize your goals.
