At a recent leadership development conference I attended, an executive said:
“What we might think is wild and crazy in our organization is probably not that wild and crazy in the external world.”
The comment made me think about how many great ideas get categorically rejected because they are seen as “wild and crazy” in the culture in which they are being proposed.
Although I am not a big fan of Amazon’s culture, I am intrigued by the “Day 1” philosophy that Jeff Bezos has driven through the organization. Every day, everyone is expected to envision what’s possible with hard work, smart processes, and brilliant thinking. Day 1 is about courage and creativity.
A good case in point was the failure of the Fire Phone. After Amazon realized that they weren’t able to develop a superior product in the Smart Phone market, they used their debrief (yes, some organizations actually learn from experience) to identify some voice recognition technology they had developed that could be leveraged for a new product—Echo is the billion dollar outcome of that process review. I’m sure that Echo sounded like a wild and crazy idea at the time, but they asked the questions, “What if?” and “How to?” And they believed in their capabilities to make it happen. Instead of wallowing in their failure, they used the opportunity to find new possibilities.
For Bezos, Day 2 is irrelevance, decline, and death.
You know you have arrived at Day 2 when process becomes more important than outcome, when decisions are painfully slow and bureaucratic, and when people are no longer having any fun. Day 1 mentality starts with heart, intuition, curiosity, play, and guts.
For me, Day 2 is about complacency and complicity.
Sadly, America right now is firmly entrenched in Day 2 thinking. We are in desperate need of a shift. On an encouraging note, I see the younger generations courageously demanding change and creatively making that shift.
The idea of constantly envisioning the ideal future state, given game-changing trends and constantly changing conditions, appeals to me.
I have always thrived on generating new possibilities even in the face of dreadful realities. Still true after all these years! And I love people who share that passion. Here is one of my favorites.
Glen Chown, the Executive Director of the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC), had a wild and crazy idea 28 years ago. He also had (and continues to have) a big heart, powerful intuition, endless curiosity, openness to play, and plenty of guts. He saw the pristine beauty of the Great Lakes, the dazzling scenery of the land surrounding them, and the irreplaceable value of protecting such a vital resource. He also saw the enormous possibilities of preserving and protecting this unique and precious natural resource. As a result of his Possibilities Thinking, he co-founded the Land Conservancy where he continues to provide visionary and passionate leadership.
The GTRLC vision for the future is clean water, healthy forests, unparalleled vistas with protected lands embraced as an essential element of the region’s long-term prosperity.
This vision includes viable farms that produce world-class products, and a diverse and talented employment base attracted by the regions’ s natural beauty and quality of life. The GRTLC mission is to protect significant natural, scenic and farm lands—and advance stewardship—now and in the future.
Today, what was once Glen’s wild and crazy idea has become a reality: GTRLC exists because of the hard work, smart processes and brilliant thinking daily manifested in their organizational culture.
This vibrant organization never experienced the irrelevance, decline, and death of “Day 2” because they remained focused on the outcomes, made quick decisions, and had fun along the way.
A banner in their office reads, “Dancing Welcome Here.” Based on what I know about the Amazon culture, you wouldn’t see that sign or any “fox trots” happening in those aisles.
So, how do you create a culture in which wild and crazy ideas are entertained and people are encouraged to have fun and experience a little joy in their lives inside and outside their place of work?
Here are some initial thoughts:
- Ask what if and how to questions: What if we were able to raise the standards and position ourselves as the leader on those standards? What if we were able to create the conditions in which every key stakeholder put us #1 on their speed dials? How to identify all the components/products/services which we can deliver to our customers and our communities? How to enhance and elevate the level of functioning of our staff, clients, and products? How to help clients improve all their processes? etc. etc.
- Think Possibilities. Envision the ideal future state. Be open to what may seem like wild and crazy ideas.
- After asking thought provoking questions and raising possibilities, follow-up with the assurance your organizational culture has the commitment and capabilities to make it happen, i.e. “I know those seem like wild and crazy possibilities, but I have full confidence that we have the commitment and capabilities required to achieve them. And, we have the culture that will support bold moves.” In order for people and organizations to change they must believe that change is possible.
More importantly, what are the wild and crazy ideas we need to be entertaining today as we envision possibilities for the future? Let’s apply our “what if” and “how to” questions to several of the issues, trends, and opportunities we are facing today.
Environment: What if we made climate change a number 1 priority? How to mobilize decision makers across the globe to allocate the resources required to ensure future generations have clean air and water? Glen Chown has shown what is possible in a small community in Northwestern Michigan. Think what could happen if other communities emulated what’s happening there.
Education: What if every kid experienced real joy when they went to school every day? How to transform learning into an inspiring and engaging activity? My older daughter, Rebecca, recently published a book entitled the Artful Read-Aloud in which she discusses 10 principles and 30 tips for improving educational outcomes while enhancing the learning experience. Her book is a user-friendly guide that builds a bridge between the artistic world and the classroom, providing a deeper dive into the artistry of reading aloud. Yes, it’s a wild and crazy idea, and it may be wildly inappropriate for me to be promoting her book here, but I’m a very proud father and a great believer in what she is doing to spark engagement, provoke inquiry, and inspire deep thinking.
Health Care: What if every person received the health care they needed to function at the highest possible level in their living, learning, and working environments? How to implement a system that satisfies the values of quality, access, cost, choice, simplicity, and responsibility? Clearly, health care is a major issue in every society and emerging mortality and morbidity trends make the issue even more important. As an early pioneer in the wellness field fifty years ago, I made the wild and crazy prediction that health care costs would exceed 4 trillion dollars a year unless we changed the system. Guess what. Here we are. How I wish the culture would have embraced the idea that helping people stay well was a much better strategy than waiting until people were hopelessly sick before paying any attention to them. Some questions we need to ask are 1) how to finance it? 2) how to deal with the disruption of changing plans? and 3) How to deal with the backlash from people who are currently getting rich off the system?
Connectedness: What if people were able to find common ground in order to work together in the pursuit of shared goals? How to build bridges that enable us to communicate rationally with each other in spite of religious, racial, and political differences? I don’t know how successful it will be over time, but in 2008 the government of Bhutan instituted Gross National Happiness as the goal of Government. This wild and crazy idea actually guides behavior and includes an index to measure the collective well-being of their population. I wish our culture would embrace such a wild and crazy idea.
Dear reader, I don’t know what wild and crazy ideas are entertained in the cultures in which you live, learn and work, but I wish we would all embrace more of a Day 1 mentality.
While I’m not wishing for more Amazons to sprout up, I would love to see more Land Conservancies take root through bold and passionate idea generation. May it be so.
Well done lad! Thank you for being you!