People have been asking if the round tables were coming back (Barefoot Creative held a couple of round tables, the idea was that we would pull together smart marketing and fundraising minds to make us all smarter and more effective)
The idea was great... but it's harder than you might think to gather a group of busy executives in one place at the same time...
So I'm trying an armchair version of the round table... a blog...
I admit I have avoided for becoming a blogger for many months. It's a frightening thing to open myself up to a quasi commitment of checking a blog, writing in a blog and having intelligent thoughts worthy of sharing with bright people (the last scary thing is the most terrifying).
But, taking a deep breath, I am wading in to the deep and dark digital waters of sharing information freely and easily.
I hope to simply start conversations -- join if you want, listen in if you prefer.
Here's my first thought (it's harder than you think to pull them out of the chaos of my little mind).
A few of us were hanging out late in the day yesterday and we were debating what true innovation is. As an agency we have high ideals of being innovative and innovators. As an agency focused on helping non-profit organizations we live in the tension between innovation and what works.
For years I have pushed against the traditional direct response approach -- sending out the same mail again and again and again, because it works. Of course, if it does -- you know, why mess with those things not broken.
But maybe innovation isn't the startling new idea -- those are far and few between -- and, realistically, they usually grow out of seeds of smaller things. But taking what works and making it outstanding -- that's innovation.
One of our most innovative projects in the past year is www.medatrust.org... it's a new idea, based on lots of old components: a web site, a data base, principles of gaming; the language of banking; microfinance.
But taking what we know and daring to use it like no one else is -- I think that's innovation. (Thanks Ed for your unceasing brain power to challenge us to push at the edges.)
I think that there are all sorts of innovative ideas lurking in all of our little minds!
digital round table for marketers and communication experts
5 comments:
This is a great idea Gayle - and not only because you shamelessly flattered us in your first posting!
I have actually thought a great deal of innovation lately. Maybe it is easier for me to identify what it is not. Too often in organizations it is confused with growth and size. I don't think that this is it. In fact, I wonder sometimes if the larger you are the less you are willing to risk on innovation? The momentum of the "success" takes over.
It is important to learn lessons from the past. Innovation does not ignore the lessons. Innovation might take different things from the lessons. In MEDA Trust Barefoot and we took the tried and tested lesson of connectedness between donor and project - something that is not innovative in the least anymore - but found a new way to do it. That was, I think, innovative.
Do large organizations resist innovation? My experience is yes. Also faith based organizations tend to be innovatively challenged... in working with many not-for-profits we see a high level of assumptions of the expectations of major donors. So we often hear: "Our biggest donors wouldn't approve of that so we won't do it." I wonder if they would bring the biggest donors alongside and share the vision, the growth potential and the value of innovation if they would be more supportive.
Then again, in almost every case they are assuming, not knowing.
We also need to educate our major donors on innovative ideas. Especially concerning mass donors. While mass is costly to acquire (although, I would argue not more costly than major, we just don't track the cost of major that closely), when well cultivated they provide the foundation for growth.
The larger the organization grows the more risk they take with innovation. So if you are small -- celebrate! You have the opportunity to be more creative and innovative.
What does innovation look like to me? I think it was captured through conversations I have been recently having with a young entrepreneur who has an idea that will leverage existing cell phone technology in new ways. There are patent pendings etc. and ideas being pitched to the big telco's so I won't go into the details but suffice it so say he has figured out how to use existing technology from different sectors and brought them together to create a new user functionality for the masses. Which lead to me thinking about what is innovation ... it seems to me that people who are innovators are able to connect the 'dots' in ways that have not been imagined before that leads to 'someplace' new. I think the new in innovation is the result not the pieces you start with - because most of us have all the same building blocks to play with but there are those among who can imagine it reconfigured in such a way that it creates something new.
That's all ... back to trying to snap together a couple of blocks here at work.
Thanks Gayle for taking this step. I am looking forward to seeing what develops.
Innovation for me involves seeing existing ideas and putting them together in ways that the organization has never tried or thought of. I think larger organizations do resist this since they have invested too much in the status quo.
There are not very many 'new' ideas out there and what is standard for one group is highly innovative for another. The key, it seems to me, is to always be trying something new and different. If you stop doing that, you start to loose the ability and will to try new things and take chances.
A blog like this will help stimulate new thoughts and ideas and for that I thank you.
I continue to be amazed at the innovation of so many people... we've all said "I wished I thought of that first." Or "I thought of that -- I just never did it."
The daring comes in the doing!
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