Zane Safrit

Gimmicks and giveaways...Putting the cart before the horse

Sigh. Sometimes you wonder if self-interest blinders are just too hard to remove. Whey-ninny.

Advertising Age carried this article recently: Want to Boost Sales? Tell Consumers to Dress Like Cows.

The results as reported in the article are impressive. Same store sales are up by 10% over last year. And projected new store openings for 2009 have increased by 8%.

And according to the article,  all the credit goes to...their ad campaigns featuring gimmicks and giveaways ...even if it means having customers get dressed as cows.

Think again, even with your blinders on. Or research the long-established track record of success by Chick-Fil-A since its inception...with its first store opening in...1967. You see, since that time, double digit annual growth is the norm, not the exception, for 42 years.

This rate of growth was driven not by gimmicks, or even their 14-year ad campaign of Eat Mor' Chik'n...but by their founding purpose. From Chick-Fil-A's website:

The Chick-Fil-A corporate purpose says that we strive to “glorify God by being a faitful steward of that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-Fil-A. It’s why we care about the greater community in which we live and operate and why we choose to support kids and youth first and foremost. And we remain closed on Sundays to allow our corporate staff and franchised Operators and their employees and customers to take a day to rest, spend time with family and friends and worship if they choose.

It's this purpose and its execution that leads them to cook a delicious chicken sandwich, hire/train/motivate excellent employees in all their stores. It's why their Operators have historically generated revenues for their stores nearly twice as great as their competitors who are open ...7 days a week, not 6.

It's this purpose and its execution that makes people line up the night before a new Chick-Fil-A store opens. ( Newsflash to some in the ad industry: customers don't line up the night before a restaurant opens just for a cow-costume. That thinking may be why your industry is having a hard time reaching customers. )

It's this purpose that has helped them drive annual double-digit for...42 years, long before funny ads with cows in office buildings and now customers willing to dress in cow makeup.

Even hundreds of thousands of customers.

The customers are celebrating their experience with Chick-Fil-A. They're celebrating all the great sandwiches they've had and the great service offered by the great employees. Chick-Fil-A first gave them a reason to celebrate, the means to look good to their tribe when they recommend Chick-Fil-A and Chick-Fil-A doesn't let them down. And now, as a way of saying thanks, and having fun, the customers will don the costumes.

Give 'em a bad sandwich and they'll burn those costumes, together and publicly, as they slowly and publicly roast that brand.

Claiming gimmicks and giveaways drives the sales growth an establish franchise and brand like Chick-Fil-A has accomplished for 42 years...is like saying the cart comes before the horse. Or in this example, you can achieve double digit revenue growth by asking your customers to wear costumes.

Want to boost sales? Inspire your customers everyday with an excellent, consistent, delivery of your brand promise...and some of them may tell their friends and neighbors about you. Whether they wear a costume to do it, is irrelevant.

BlogTalk Radio Guest: Martin O'Neill, author of Building Business Value

Building business value is the greatest challenge for our economy now. This recession is created in large part from corporate brands, Wall Street, financial institutions and even our financial system, basing its decisions on empty, false, unsustainable values.

That's why tomorrow's guest, Martin O'Neill, founder of Corsum Consulting, is a guest with a timely message, resources and know-how.
 
Martin O’Neill has written the first guide for business leaders to build greater value in their companies. CEO’s of midsized companies will use Building Business Value as a hands-on guide for systematically building the value they always dreamed of. Building Business Value will help leaders understand just exactly what drives value in their company and most importantly, how to go about building a consensus on the steps to take to make their vision a reality.

 We'll talk about how his book helps business leaders build value for their enterprise, mistakes to avoid, trends in our economy for small business, the role of failure in the success of an enterprise and ways listeners can immediately begin to build value for their personal or corporate brands.

And if enough companies choose to follow Martin's advice, we could begin to drive our way out of this economy.

The show starts at 9:30 AM, Central. Listen on-demand at this link. Or call-in and listen and ask questions. 646-915-9212. Martin likely has the answers. ( I know he does. But, I didn't want to over-promise on his behalf without his permission.)

Communicating, Connecting, Collaborating? 4 Wiki Tools to Consider

If you're looking for tools to help you communicate, connect and collaborate,
or
If you're looking for ways to break-down silo mentality in your organization
or
If you're looking for tools to help allow for greater participation, with more inclusion,  in your organization,
or
If you're looking for tools to help increase greater accountability, from more transparency and openness, ...
then consider these 4 wiki tools. I list them according to my use and familiarity with them, starting with the most and ending with the least.

* Basecamp.

This may be the grandaddy, Cadillac, of wikis. It's been available with an ever-increasing level of features and benefits, support, and constant improvement since...2006, or before. I began using it in 2006, I think, long before the others on this list were available, at least to me.

It's rich features include: milestones, to-do's, messages and whiteboards, archiving projects (so their numbers don't count towards billing plan), multiple administrators, customizable with banner logos of you or your clients, great support, constant incremental improvements (they rarely, if ever, interrupt your use with a 'new release'), multiple members, rss feeds for comments and messages, personalized settings for alerts and reminders...and I'm sure I omit many others.

I've used Basecamp for 3+/- years. I've used it here, personally, with partners and clients. I've used it 'there' when I was CEO of a small company and we needed some very efficient means to manage projects, change, collaboration, connection, increase engagement, lower the number of headaches and confusion, find solutions faster, waste less time on unproductive ideas...etc.

Basecamp is the creation of 37signals.

Disclaimer: I'm an affiliate of Basecamp. There's an ad for this way down the right side of this blog. But the links in this text do not include that affiliate number. And I've been singing the praises of Basecamp for 2+ years.

* Google Docs.

I like Google Docs. It's simple, easy to use, focused on what it can and can't do. It's easy to upload original documents for your further work, share word documents with remote partners/clients/contractors across various OS platforms (PC, MAC, Linux) or collaborate to create your epic....mission statement or co-authored book.

If you want to test the waters of collaboration, or loosing control of a document in the hopes of greater results, or working with remote solutions partners, or of a dependable backup system for important documents, try it. It's free.

* PBWiki, now PBWorks

PBWiki has become PBWorks with a more, perhaps, sophisticated and cleaner website presentation, different pricing plans and video tutorials. I see that as a sign of its success from customer-loyalty, referrals, word-of-mouth.

I've tried PBWiki briefly. A prospective partner said they would set up an account for us to use. I found its features, layouts and logic familiar, easy to pick up quickly, and allowed me to quickly join the conversation.

It came across as Basecamp light, an in-between step possibly with Basecamp at one end with tons of useful features and GoogleDocs on the other end with a tight focus on simple collaboration with a single document, managed and tracked at one location. 

But, that was then. And now it's PBWorks. And I'm willing to bet that change may have brought cleaner design and features.

Check it out. It's pricing is a bit less than Basecamp for starters.

* Google Groups.

I set up a Google Group a few weeks ago. It was fast, easy, fun. And with a few head-tilt/head-scratches, the interaction with the invitees was simple and easy. There's easy-to-access layouts for interaction, document uploading, change tracking, member invitations and access priviledges.

It may be the interim option between Google Docs and PBWorks. You start with a document you want to share and collaborate on with one person. Then you have more than one person working on one document or multiple projects with one group. 

Beginner's Plan

You can see I'm a big fan of Basecamp. It's the wiki I'm most familiar with, having used it for 3-ish years now. And during that time, I've found more ways, different ways (for me), to use Basecamp.

If you're considering using one of these collaborative tools for any of the reasons I listed to start this post, or for any reasons of your own, and you've never used a collaborative tool, here's what I'd recommend:

1. Start with Google Docs.

Start with one document, one conversation, one message, shared and collaborated with one person.

This is a good baby-step for  moving from a command-and-control approach, personal or corporate, to a more inclusive and collaborative approach.

Get comfortable with the transparency and openness in a digital format. The digital format is rarely the issue. But sometimes it can confront some discomfort with control issues, comfort with letting go, with either of you. Transparency and openness sound great for everyone, until the first time you're transparent and exposed.

2. Move to Google Groups.

You've become familiar with Google Docs. And now you wade deeper into this pool by adding a layer or two, a feature or two, another person or two, into the collaborative mix.

3. Move to PBWorks or Basecamp.

Look at the features of both. Consider your needs for collaborative and productive tools as well as the numbers of those initiating, leading and participating in, your projects. 

Then decide.

Rule-of-thumb. I think I've read this somewhere, but it came to mind as I prepared this post: The power and challenge of transparent, open, collaborative tools and organizations grows at a rate equal to the square-root of its members. Not its features. Its members.

Hurry up. The water's fine. But...go slow and see for yourself.

Invitation to Collaborate.

Have you used any of these products?

Have you migrated from one platform to another?

What's your experience and recommendations

Share it, if you have. There's plenty of people you can help avoid our learning experiences.

4 reasons this is a great time to start a business

Motivated Talent Abounds

There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of talented people motivated to find not only the next income opportunity, but the next opportunity where they and their talents can shine, they can own the brand with their commitment and investment in its creation and they can work with others who share the same passion.

Chaos Reigns

And opportunities abound. It’s in chaos, change, turmoil, where the opportunities are richest, most plentiful. Competitors fall by the wayside. Products and markets are expiring. And consumers are looking to replace them with new solutions, new ideas, and the companies to bring them to market.

 Startup Technology, Resources, Applications are Inexpensive.

Accounting, collaboration, project management software and aps are inexpensive or initially free. Marketing and social media aps (blogs, twitter, facebook, YouTube)...free. Hardware (think netbooks) grows more inexpensive.  Google aps for your office remain free.

Credit Lines will Re-Open

And when they do, those businesses that recognized the first three points here will be in position to benefit.

Because at the end of the day:

No One Else Will Do It

With all due respect to the Stimulus investment in corporate brands...it’s always been small business, startups and entrepreneurs, mad scientists working in their garages, dreamers pursuing their dreams, seeing opportunities where others see...nothing.

Startups, small business, entrepreneurs, innovators  will drive our economy out of this recession.  Do you want to be a driver? Now’s a good time to get your license.

NOTE: Others have already shared this list. I'm not claiming authorship of this insight. However, we're not driving out of the economy, yet. Mainstream media spends too much time talking about gloom and doom. So, these reminders, and others like them, bear repeating. And repeating until we do drive out of this recession.

The Three Things a CEO Has to Do Well

Three Things a CEO Has to Do Well

This is all you need to do as a CEO:

1. Set direction and milestones (resisting the tempting distraction of juicy diversification). The ability to clearly say, "No, we are not doing that," is very important.
2. Allocate resources (both financial and human, starting with your time).
3. Hire and fire the top team (we have devoted a separate chapter to hiring an A-Team because this is much harder to say than do).

There it is. Three things. Simple. Especially that 'no' part. Saying no is vital to a strategy you can communicate, inspire others to join and execute.

Of course, there's more to being an effective leader. And the article that includes this list of three things a CEO ( a leader, each of us individually) has to do well includes them. The article is How to Be an Effective CEO.

Martin O'Neill, author of Building Business Value, tweeted this link. Thanks, Marty! You can follow Martin, who's also founder and CEO of Corsum Consulting, on Twitter at mfoneill. You should, if you're interested in building your business' value.

Disclaimer: Marty's a guest on my BlogTalk Radio tomorrow at 9:30 AM. You can call in at 646-915-9212 or listen at this link, on-demand.

Favorite Healthcare Tweeters...so far

Below is a short list of my favorite members of Twitterville whose passion is healthcare.  Each of these members consistently tweets links to excellent resources on healthcare, its challenges and opportunities, successes and failures and the reform debate (such as that is). If you're interested in Healthcare, you should follow them on Twitter.

2healthguru

kevinmd

jenmccabegorman

medxcentral

lend4health

ebechtel

CmSchroed

Mallikarjunan

Strategichealth

ConsultDoc

Please recommend others on Twitter with a passion for healthcare solutions, an eye for great and useful content to share, and the desire to share it. We need all the resources, including community and discussions and links, right now.

Just to reiterate, the focus here is on solutions and the resources to achieve through the community on Twitter. There are other places for ideological leanings, or lobbying firms staffed with PR execs posing as independent research organizations.

I know I have overlooked some on Twitter I now follow who meet this criteria. The oversight rests with my organization skills for this project. Remind me kindly.

BlogTalk Radio Show Guest Highlights: Jeffrey Summers, CEO of Restaurant Coaching Solutions

Restaurants consistently face the most daunting competition; competitors on every corner, revenues are based on consumer's disposable income and being too busy working to cook, margins are tiny and your employees can literally eat your profits. And this economy only adds to the challenges. Jeffrey Summers of Restaurant Coaching Solutions has brought success to restaurants for 27 years. His mission is taking good restaurants and making them great businesses. Jeffrey generously shared his wisdom on July 8 on how he helps make great businesses.You can listen here at this link.

Before the show started we talked a little bit about how is the restaurant industry doing. You surprised me when you said in some areas the restaurant industry is doing great. I expected a real gloom and doom story and asked you why or where were these successful restaurants and you said it wasn’t geographic areas but it depended on the operators and the concept.

You can find success stories in every industry!The restaurant industry is no different. The problem is we have a hard time getting the good news out about our industry.

980K food service businesses in the US and employs more people than any other industry. There are many pockets their are operators that are having tons of success. Bankruptcies get more success than stories of business having banner years. there are tons of success stories.

Restaurant coaching solutions has no client in negative territory.

One of the most successful clients we have and this may shock you is in Detroit Michigan, with same-store sales up over 20% from last year.

He had a successful restaurant before he asked us to join him. But he needed help sustaining the business and leveraging the concept to expend.

It is about leveraging what works and tell this story better to more people or better or getting through the noise.

You’ve written a book. What’s the title? How long was it in the making?

“Building Better Restaurants.” This book contains the core philosophies of creating successful restaurants. It took me 27 years to gather the knowledge. During this time, I had an ongoing business and I was writing a blog and association articles and on twitter. I write a bout 4 hours a day. When I decided to write my book, it took about 6 months to write the first draft, while I continued to help my clients, run my business, market it.

I never really thought about writing a book until my coach suggested that in order to take my business to another level I needed to compile my tips, my knowledge, my resources I’d gained over 27 years and write a book.

You list the top 10 reasons why people should not buy this book. I’ve never seen anyone do that. Why?

Ah, just to be different and just to filter the tire-kickers and those who are serious.

If you don’t have a passion for the business, success can sometimes not find you. And I decided a long time ago that I didn’t want to work with people who weren’t as passionate about success as I was.

And the list was to point out that “Look this might not be for you.”

What are the biggest trends effecting your clients now?

• Reactions to their economy.
  
• Addressing their restaurant concept now in this economy. Does it still work? Do I need to change it?
•  How do we scale our results?
  
• Working with social media. It’s having a tremendous impact. How do I leverage it for my customers.

How are these trends different from when first began working in this industry?

There are the same challenges. They are always the same challenges. The challenges we are facing are not so new and different than what was faced years ago.

And there are the same opportunities, too.

Only the tools have changed. Operators now have more tools to take advantage of these opportunities and fine tune these issues.

Now, there’s more of me around. 27 years ago there was no such thing as a consultant, much less a restaurant consultant.

The support network for operators is much stronger now, too.

What’s been the response of the restaurant industry to Social Media? Do you see your client and prospects embrace or reject social media tools more or less than their counterparts in other industries.

They’ve been tepid so far. Restaurant owners are slow to change most of them are hesitant. They are slow to change. The marketing that’s worked for them 10 years ago, is what they prefer to stay with, sometimes to their own detriment. even if the results are failing. They’re very cautious. They’re like to test a lot and see success stories. They’re waiting to see more success, with restaurants.

They do like the opportunity to save a lot more money and the broader reach. advertising.

It sounds like you’re recommending they drop traditional advertising in favor of social media.

Absolutely. Where it fits.

Where it fits their business. Only where it fits. It depends on whether they’re ready for it. But, not everyone is ready for it. If your business is not social, it won’t translate into social media success.

Great marketing can kill a good business. And the same thing goes for social media.

If your business lacks engagement, if it’s not authentic, if it lacks depth of authenticity and engagement, if you’re not transparent with your customers (and your employees), if you’re not focused on building relationships then social media won’t work.

Our radio show, Hospitality 101,  has a  3 part show that talks just about this.

25:05

Is there a common stage when clients contact you? Just before the doors close, they see a negative change in their business, they see change coming their way and they want to get on top of it.

They call at all levels of business, from start to finish.

A Wise man once said "Average operators try to predict the future, outstanding ones simply create it. Do you know who that wise man was?"

[laughing] That was me.

Helping operators to create their future it is important to have a shift in attitude. They must take down their blinders and meet all of the opportunities and expand their thinking. They should get in touch and reconnect with their passion of why they even wanted to be a restaurateur. They soon realize they have all of the answers within.

How do you help your operators simply create their future?

Sometime operators get the mentality that they are all alone. They continue to believe they are just fighting everyone, by themselves and become defensive. This is where coaching shows them that they are not alone! They can gain the strength with the support from a coach. It becomes a transformation!

Let’s help those listening. Can you offer three ways, three things they can do, to create their future?

1. Must have the want-to! Reignite why they got into the business in the first place. Reconnect and re-energize with their passion. Know their business. Where it comes from. How are profits created in their business? NO gimmicks.
2. Who are your guests? Understand how to communicate and engage with them? How to get them involved in your business, creating a loyalty
3. Know your community!! This is where your guests come from. Engage and develop your community.

Bill Clinton, that same Bill Clinton, campaigned on the famous slogan of It’s the Economy, Stupid. But you say It’s really not the economy. It’s your attitude about where you see your business headed.

You must have the attitude and mentality for success, especially in today’s recessive economy. The bad news is everywhere. You must not lose sight of why you are here and what you want. There are always peaks and valleys in every business and you must adapt or learn how to effectively leverage the tools you have. Recalibrate your business to meet the demands of your market! Provide value in this economy. Discover what your guests most want and need.

Can you share another case-study, keeping confidentiality of course, where a client’s attitude about where they saw their business headed, saved the day and continues to save it now? You have a case-study page on your site, right?

Oldest restaurant family and in the oldest city in the United States; They have been in business since 1956 in the downtown area. Due to the economy and length of time in business, they have hit a wall. They needed to discover some new opportunity and break out of their current stagnation. They needed something brand new – their historical success was having much less of an impact as time went on. If they wanted to continue and flourish, they needed to look towards the future. We suggested that the operators close their second store and build a $ 3 mil new restaurant into The Path of Progress. This September they’ll open that store.

The Path of Progress: In a city or market where the construction is going, the lifestyle, the activity, the growth of the city. Every city has its cultural place...the building growth and economic progress.

What can our listeners take from this example to apply in their own business?

1. Operators MUST have a plan to see success! You can not begin a journey without a roadmap.
2. Flexibility: plan must be flexible and take advantage of opportunities as they come up. If you can’t, then you will miss opportunities. Nothing stands still. You must lead, follow, or get out of the way.
3. Profitability: Must understand profitability, not just driving traffic, creating buzz or having the best dressed people. The nationwide average is 7.2 cents of profit on the dollar...focus on profitability!

43:28

You have a post on your blog titled the Yin and Yang of Restaurant Marketing. I love it. It’s about the two philosophies of marketing for restaurants: Transaction based and relationship based.

We’re focused on hospitality and restaurant, but this philosophy can relate to any business. Many owners are now just giving away FREE! Retail philosophy does not work in a restaurant. FREE stuff does not work in this business! You can’t treat the consumer like another transaction. You have to engage with them and if you don’t build the relationships, you will find yourself down the street at the mercy of someone else who is. Someone else will get it and they will be the winners.

Coupons and discounts are merely transactions. They are just driving sales, but you are not creating relationships, building loyalty.

You need to understand relationship marketing.

Create relationships. Your customers are NOT transactions! Avoid the gimmicks and schemes. Put yourself into people’s lives!

Be in touch with the lives of your guests. If you’re not a part of their lives, someone else will be.

Can you leave us with one more inspiring quote?

I’ll leave you with two of my favorites:

1. “Chance favors a prepared mind.” Louis Pasteur

You have to be ready and prepared for everything to be able to take advantage of all of the opportunities.

2. “The world is full of abundance and opportunity but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank card...a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little.” - Ben Sweetland

You can follow Jeffrey Summers and gain more insights, tips and resources at these locations:

Twitter

Blog

Hospitality 101 each Tuesday on BlogTalk Radio.

Inspiration at the Gym

Normally I don't find inspiration at the local gym. I go in, git 'r done, and get out. Check. I have two goals and I'm very slow at making progress towards them.

Today was different. Actually the last two visits to the gym have been different for the same reason.

No, it's neither any modest progress I make, nor  the  feats of the serious lifters in the gym.

It was the efforts of a teen-age boy with cerebral palsey working with a personal trainer.  That inspired me.

It was the patience, kindness and yes let's say it, sweetness, of the personal trainer as he coached the young man through a series of upper body exercises.

It was the joy and grin and shouts of the young man as the energy and adrenaline surged through his veins and brought light and life to his eyes.

It was his guardian who resolutely brings her charge to the gym and works with the trainer to carry the young man up and down a short series of steps into the weight room.

It was her smile and love as she looked at the young man whose care became her mission and I asked about him, his training, his progress.

It was her willingness to try something for him, to find some more thing he can accomplish to further bolster his confidence, give him courage, joy, strength, open the door on a broader world.

It was her pushing him to and from the gym, on the side of the street, in summer temps.

It was her commitment to him. When you talk about selfless commitment, giving one's life for a cause, 110% effort, this lady embodies it...quietly, unsung, day-in and day-out. Still smiling. Worried. But still smiling with a genuine love in her eyes as she watched him doing arm curls.

I never know where inspiration will sneak up and surprise me. Do you? I mean not for me, but for you. Are you sometimes surprised when and where you find inspiration? Well, if you share it with others then you can surprise them, too.

I hope I did, anyway, with this story.

Does more money spur innovation any better than more time?

I'm mulling over a couple of thoughts, posts, and ideas on innovation. ( I realize I run the risk of getting pounded on another blog for this audacity of whiteboarding here on my own blog. But, hey, that's the blogosphere we live in.)

I faced a modest deadline today. I owed an article on our economy to an editor by the end of today. And as I gathered my keyboard and mouse to write I realized I needed a deadline. I gave myself an hour. I finished in 1:05, including emailing it.

The deadline served its purpose. It focused me on the challenge at hand. Before I started, there were no good solutions at hand. The veritable tabla rasa of my screen mocked me. And a little caffeine, a competitive spirit and the clock ticking away I found some good solutions: an idea/angle, some quick anecdotes and data that expanded the angle's perspective, links to such content.

Less was more. Less time allowed me to find better, more targeted solutions. And left me with more time for other challenges.

This isn't rocket science, I know.

But as I filtered my favorite tweets on innovation I came across a couple of stories that made me wonder about how more resources help or hinder innovation.

The White House recently announced  its (our?) $50 million fund for innovation among non-profits. The announcement was accompanied with a reception where the audience heard from Harlem Children’s Zone, HopeLab, Bonnie CLAC and Genesys Works, who shared their stories about how their programs are improving their communities.

The point of this fund was to find and evaluate some of the most promising non-profits in communities across the country and help provide funding, with the help of private investments, for the most successful ones.

Would the added resource of more funding spur more innovation?

But does more money bring more innovation any more than more time?

I don't think more time for me today would have spurred more innovation. Granted, I'd love more money for that article. I'm sure these non-profits would like, need, more money, also.

But, what impact will more money have for a successful, already completed, innovation...if it's way past proof-of-concept, even way past alpha and beta versions...into the hands of users, in a not perfect but 'good enough' version?

If I had more time, maybe I could have created a short digital video, or added more graphics, or more data and examples, pulled in a youtube video, or added contributions from other authors.

Or maybe my article, like a simple innovation shared on an open site, will inspire others to do the same? Are we ready for  a more open collaboration? Am I? Are you?  

And if we are, will more money (or time) help? Or will it only increase the risk of wasted, misdirected investments? I think what's more important is the singularly unique resource that comes from an open innovation approach.

Get your ideas out quickly to:

• those that need its solution
• those that can build on it
• those that can expand it
• those that will critique it (constructively)

Make the ideas portable, the conversations, too. Portable, transparent, open. We're all one.

For the record, I'm happy that the White House gives even a paltry bit of attention to the work of non-profits in solving their communities' challenges. I hope in their efforts they recognize the values of collaboration among the volunteers at the non-profits, private/corporate donors, the recipients/those who need the innovative solutions, the overall community.

And yes, these funds will be used far more effectively than than, ahem, other funds have been used, at least as we know today.

But what if the WH instead or in addition:

chose a startup, a different definition of non-profit, with a cool new open collaborative tool. 

then built a site for the award recipients to share their approach, challenges, solutions and learn from or with each other?

then allowed their community members to participate in the conversation with an open or moderated forum

then allowed us, the taxpayers to at least witness how our funds are used and learn more about open collaboration. We'd learn how to apply it in our non-profits, our companies, our communities. That would help spread the power of these non-profits as well as the power of open innovation or collaboration.

chose one or two collaboration/innovation facilitators*. I'm thinking of Gregg Fraley, author of Jack's Notebook  or Matt May, author In Search of Elegance: why the best ideas have something missing or Evan Rosen, the author of The Culture of Collaboration. They could help organize some of the open collaborations that would sprout among the recipients and even among their audience of community members or taxpayers/cheerleaders.

Somehow I think that would be as useful. Certainly the time would be used well, leveraged well.

What do you think?

* These three authors have all been guest on my BlogTalk Radio show. 

** Twip of the hat to the following for their tweets about innovations:

fei_innovation

Loriana

lindegaard

johnedelmann

What-if: a solar-powered, digital, automated road construction flagman

For the last...oh, 6 weeks, the street in front of my office has been under construction. They've stripped the old asphalt, jack-hammmmmmmered out sections of the concrete base, repoured the holes, cleaned it, swept it, jack-hammmmmmmmered out more sections. All the time the lonely, hot, patient, sweaty flaggers direct traffic.

It's a good job at least for wages. You get a good tan. Mentally, it's pretty easy, though today's flagger seemed challenged with the concept of time and space (if it's 30 seconds before the next stream of cars drive...and it takes 2 seconds for cross traffic to cross, should the cross traffic cross...) but I digress.

I thought what's missing here?

Maybe, it's current technology.

What if a portable, digital, flagging...robot was created?

• powered by solar during the day and batteries at night (if needed, then)
•  motion detectors,
• sensors for turn signals of oncoming cars were installed
•  a GPS system to coordinate the location and movement of traffic.

Then the stand would know:

• the pace of the traffic flow
• the number of cars lined up waiting to move forward
•  how many cars have passed
•  how many wait to turn
• how far are they from entering the queue, etc?

I'm sure some software designer could design a code to integrate these functions into a smooth traffic management system.

It's basically a traffic light, on a portable stand, but complimented with more current technology including LED lights and sensors, motion detectors, GPS system and the ability to customize to a particular traffic environment.

Then think of:

• how many road projects have received stimulus funds
• how many flaggers are currently employed
•  how much stimulus funds remain for innovation, r&d
•  how many other applications could be found

At this intersection sits a ripe market opportunity for a designer, an engineer, a funding source.

Granted, there is the issue of flagman jobs lost. And yes, some are temporary, especially in the northern states.

But, given today's economy, these jobs could be incredibly important, more than a summer job for a college student as they have in the past.

On the other hand, there are the jobs created from the necessary startups needed to build this portable stand, market it, service it, research other applications, design for them, research them, etc.

What if?

We could call him, her, it...Franny the Flagman. It's kinda gender-neutral, right?