I attended an interview with Iowa Public Radio’s Charity Nebbe and author Heather Gudenkauf, and while Heather said many interesting things about her latest novel, one comment by Charity stuck with me.
Charity was speaking about the depth of Heather’s characters and remarked about how important developed stories are in today’s society. “YouTube is story-less,” she said. “The videos have no arc or narrative.”
I had not thought about YouTube in this way, but her comment is true for much of what is on social media. Instead of watching the whole movie and enjoying the richness of plot and character development, many people consume their “art” through an equivalent of the trailer or bite-size portion of the whole. We see the surface without the depth.
While this may make for light fun and entertainment, there is something to be said for the robust full-version of a movie, play or book. I don’t think characters like Scarlett O’Hara, Moby Dick, the Little Women or Romeo and Juliet would have become legends for decades if they only were on YouTube!
As your organization undoubtedly spends substantial time cultivating your social media strategy, don’t forget to allocate some resources to tell your full story. Your history, legacy, mission and vision weave together to create an arc and narrative beyond 140 characters or a two-minute video. Plot out your plot as part of your complete messaging story.
Daylight Savings Time, even when you “gain” an extra hour, always throws off my rhythm. So for today’s dot, I provide you with a simple video motivation.
Mutual of Omaha created their “aha moment” campaign, including “The Moment You Know” video here. It is a quick two minutes but may be just what you need to jumpstart your Monday and face the week ahead with some positive mojo.
What you tell yourself does matter. You may not feel like others listen to you, but you listen to you! Feed your brain with some words of inspiration today.
Thanks, Lucy for sharing!
Libraries long ago expanded from books to include magazines, newspapers, music, movies and audiobooks. Our library took that a step further and now loans out board games and baking pans. Their baking pans are appropriately located in a section of cookbooks, tying in the library’s core product with this new expansion. What a great idea!
In addition to the expense, who really wants to store a shamrock-shaped muffin tin or a beehive cake mold? And what better way to try out new board games before you buy them or when you need multiples for a party?
Sharing is economically and ecologically friendly and the library is making it easier to take small risks and experiment with something new.
How can you take advantage of opportunities to borrow some resources and creatively expand your horizons today?
The New York Times has new series of books to help young readers learn about important people and historical events. I saw a display of all of them and wanted to read them myself.
Two things I found fascinating: first, who/what was on the list, and secondly, what one book sold out first.
The list includes some of the usual suspects like Rosa Parks, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but then brings in Malala Yousafzai, Jane Goodall, George Lucas and J.K. Rowling. The events/places that are featured are the Declaration of Independence, the Underground Railroad, Ellis Island, D-Day and the Twin Towers.
Which book is missing? Amelia Earhart!
It would make a fascinating icebreaker for your next gathering to have participants list which people they would feature in a series for young readers limited to 20 titles. Who are the people or what are the events that provide a historical context for youth to understand? Who can serve as an inspiration or provide context for who we are today?
Or you could provide this list and ask what is missing: Martin Luther King, Jr., the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, Thomas Jefferson, Jonas Salk, Katharine Graham, Henry Ford, Katherine Johnson or the Electoral College. Or go deeper by asking “why” something/someone is included – or not.
There are many ways to turn the young reader series into a thought-provoking discussion for people of all ages – Happy thinking!
When I present a workshop about different generations, I always start by sharing a handful of sand. I talk about how what I am about to discuss is “the beach” and I am aware that it is made up of millions of grains of sand (individuals). I acknowledge that not everything I will say applies to everyone, but sometimes it is helpful to look at the big picture and to learn from some generalities.
Such is the case in today’s dot about Millennials. There is disagreement on when this generation precisely begins – 1980, ’81 or ’82 are most common – but there is no denying that the members of the Millennials (Generation Y) are influential. Millennials were born from 1981-ish through 1995-ish and are now the largest generation. Those in their late twenties and thirties are rising into leadership positions in companies and organizations and having a significant impact on cultures.
Millennials are driven by the need to make a difference – so your organization’s mission and purpose matter. A lot. You will be most successful in attracting and retaining Millennial talent if you can inspire them and provide work that has meaning to them. Following Simon Sinek’s advice to “start with why” is a good mantra to appeal to this generation.
Millennials are also motivated by learning – wanting continual opportunities to develop and grow. Organizations who invest in professional development and allow employees to perform community service will be seen as most desirable. Give your Millennial staff new assignments and engage them on diverse committees – both to gain their contribution and to maintain their interest in the work.
Of course, Millennials grew up in a technologically robust environment with computers, texting, gaming, and social media prevalent. This technological connection carries over to their desire for frequent, instant feedback. Those supervising the generation should expect to dedicate more time to communicating and more funds to technology if they seek to satisfy this generation.
Finally, organizations who provide flexibility will be the most successful. Millennials see their work and personal life as blended – and they want flexible work arrangements, collaborative workspaces and the opportunity to use their technology to be productive in ways more amenable to them.
Work that makes a difference, with on-going professional development, frequent feedback, collaboration and flexibility – it sounds like organizations would be wise to provide this kind of culture for all their employees, not just the Millennials. The difference is that Millennials who don’t find this will switch jobs and leave, unlike previous generations that stuck it out – Boomers for life, and Generation X for longer.
If you work to make your Millennials happy, all of your organization should be happy too!
A local financial firm is promoting a new set of services called StackStone Wealth. I love their graphic and messaging concept:
“Stone stacking is the art of creating sculptures by balancing rocks of all shapes and sizes. The artist works with only naturally available rocks, balancing them without glue or wires into beautiful, unique shapes. At StackStone Wealth, we strongly believe financial freedom is about balance. We work with your “financial stones” – investments, risk management and tax strategies – to help you build a beautiful, unique financial life…”
I
think that most people and most organizations could benefit by taking a stone stacking approach to life. In my organizational behavior class, we talk about this concept in different terms, but it is the same way that organizations build a culture: by balancing different elements of operation and process to provide a way of operating that takes the long-term into account. Relationships are built by staking small gestures and care to balance out transgressions that could occur. New strategies are infused into groups by rebalancing the stones to adjust time and effort in hopes of greater gain.
There are no “silver bullets” or shortcuts to attain the really big goals in life. If you have something of consequence on one side, the best way to achieve it is through an accumulation of small stones on the other side – working daily to create a balance between what you want in the short term and what you seek to acquire/become in the long term.
Happy Stacking!
Source: StackStone Wealth: A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Halloween is over, and so for most retailers, it means shifting into full Christmas mode. Not so this year with Target. According to their spokesperson, customers are not happy that stores skip over Thanksgiving, so Target has pledged to avoid the “Christmas creep.” The chain will focus more on Thanksgiving and the Fall season before a full-fledged push for the December holidays.
I wasn’t sure that I believed it, but then I received the following flyer in the mail. No jingle bells or mention of Santa, so maybe they really are serious!
Think about the messages you send on behalf of your organization. Can you extend the Thanksgiving season for all of November and express gratitude to your employees, customers, vendors and donors? Is there a way for you to appreciate all the gifts your organization has and share your bounty with others?
Make your November the month of thanksgiving (lower case).
