• innovation moves fast

    "Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity." ~ Michael Porter

  • context and meaning

    "Nothing pains some people more than having to think." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • "Every great dream begins with a dreamer." ~ Harriet Tubman

  • "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." ~ Chinese proverb.

Posts by: "ydubel"

Second key to success for nonprofit leadership

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Contents
  1. Key number two -

Key number two -

Plan for the concerns of the funder when developing programs

Brace yourself. This is one of those conversations can set some people off on a rant. But try stepping into the other person’s shoes. Introducing compassion or empathy into the equation is simple in terms of energy required, but it is an adjustment in perspective. When you approach a potential corporate sponsor that person is charged with doing a job. What you propose in your request for support needs to help her do that job successfully for her company or foundation.

First Key to Success for nonprofit leaders

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Contents
  1. Key number one

Because I feel these keys are so important to the future of nonprofit leadership I am going to briefly talk to you about each one. This will give you the information you need to get rolling with the idea of being an innovative leader. If you need more help - you know how to get in touch with me :)

Key number one

- When developing the program its sustainability has to be thought about in the context of today’s environment, so avoid schemes that rely on historical data.

Traditionally strategic decisions relied primarily on historical data rather than current or future realities. Instead, think about how you can develop programmatic strategies that connect you to more immediate and current incoming information and experiences. Develop systems or partnerships to help you make sense of it. This doesn’t mean dismantling everything you already have. First look at what is working right now. Question how you know and set about learning more about that. Then you will have a clearer understanding about what you bring to partnerships to develop better systems and processes.

5 Keys to Success for nonprofit leaders

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Contents
  1. Key number one -
  2. Key number two -
  3. Key number three -
  4. Key number four -
  5. Key number five -

You’re passionate about your organization’s mission, but the struggle to develop sustainable programming frustrates you. It’s no secret that with more nonprofit and non-governmental organizations there are more people approaching grant makers and corporate sponsors. This may sound like a bad situation, but what if you looked at it as an opportunity instead?

Several years ago in a conversation with Ron we talked about why despite the number of organizations created to stomp out a problem, so few actually succeeded in do so. Since then I have wondered how many people within organizations ask those kind of questions...and more importantly - who are they?

The opportunity in all this is for innovation. Organizations on the leading edge are giving more attention to solutions than to the problem. That’s not to say they ignore the cause their mission addresses, but how they look at it is solution oriented. Today’s landscape requires seeing this in a broader context beyond just the problem. In a nutshell, the five keys have a theme - nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations need to innovative programs that integrate funding strategies.

Key number one -

When developing the program its sustainability has to be thought about in the context of today’s environment, so avoid schemes that rely on historical data.

Key number two -

Plan for the concerns of the funder when developing programs

Key number three -

Pick one program sponsor problem to focus on.

Key number four -

Develop at least one program that creates a solution that is of mutual benefit for the social/environmental organization and the corporate sponsor.

Key number five -

Create a solution template that can be customized for each partner

If you want to be sure you catch the diving down posts expanding on each of these keys, subscribe to the blog feed by clicking the link below OR the orange button on the top right.

How Socially Conscious Brands Can Win Value That Increases Sales While Supporting Global Prosperity

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Now that it's been put on the table, you may be asking yourself a more specific version of that idea. Something like, how can a socially conscious company serving small to midsized businesses increase sales while supporting global prosperity?

The answer honestly depends on where you are now. Working with what you have and the situation you are in is the start of any solution because that is the jumping off point. When you dive into the water you want to know where the ground is and where it ends so you are prepared to make the leap when the time comes.

Once you have done that part of your assessment you're almost ready to sketch your road map. But first, you need to clarify where you want to go and why. Where is the road taking you? You want more sales, you say, so let's start there.

1. Identify a growing underserved market that can benefit from your business innovation. Within the small and midsize business what markets are you failing to connect with? How can systems help automate process while cultivating valued relationships that keep more customers. This isn't just about sending out your monthly newsletter. Rather it understands how to stand out from the stash of unread newsletters already crowding too many inboxes.

2. Innovation can breathe new life into a business model gasping to keep up with the competition. How can you use new media to get more from rethinking your business model and its impacts? Consider for example, if you approach your affiliate marketing program as part of a solution for the growing jobless rates. Providing better marketing collateral and training can be automated to deliver more value that ultimately supports your business goal of increasing sales while controlling marketing costs. There are so many businesses that should be using this untapped opportunity to do more than increase sales. A wisely deployed affiliate marketing campaign can become considerably more.

3. Tap into the potential of new media to transform your marketing and public relations. Combined with a holistic strategy tailor made for your exact circumstances, new media can be integrated to support other changes. Most obviously by creating creative content you increase the range of marketing collateral you can offer to support your affiliate marketing team. Understand that new media is a broad area and it is possible to harness its power without becoming a techie. It is easy enough to get the help you need from someone ready to specialize in solutions to your problems.

When you study how other leaders have positioned themselves as such it is clear that it wasn't by doing what everyone else was doing. Take Marc Lane, an attorney and financial advisor who was recently featured in Context magazine about his pioneering work to advance social entrepreneurship. You may not know his name, but he is one of the people helping to define the legal criteria of and benefits for this new class of corporate entity. This was the underserved market he identified very early in the game. He modified the traditional law firm business model to better serve this underserved market by focusing on education and policy development.

Furthermore, by focusing on this segment of companies to serve he is also working with people who share his vision of ending poverty by increasing prosperity. Experts like Mr. Lane apply this in a very practical way by contributing to the writing of tax codes and legal documents that make it easier for these social enterprises to make doing good a core part of their business model. Then on the marketing side, content such as the podcast interview produced by Context magazine's feature now further equips him with a third party interview that can be used to educate new leads - moving them from stranger to incoming lead. This is the first phase in the sales process and not paying attention can cost you.

What's at stake if you fail to get ahead of your competition?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yvette Dubel is an Innovation Consultant and Artist Researcher, for more than ten years she has been working with business and nonprofit organization leaders. She uses her research to deconstruct insights and develop solutions for social and business benefits. Start making innovation work for you when you get free reports available by request via her Research Studio: http://ydubel.wix.com/yvettedubelcom Get a scholarship for innovation eCourse on Maverick Hero Marketing & PR by contacting her at http://webantiphon.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Yvette_Dubel Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7263515

Press Release: Education Leaves a BloodTrail to Follow

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New York, New York - November , 19 2012 - A heart of wisdom: Life writing as empathetic inquiry. New York, NY: Peter Lang - this new anthology presents life writing that blows the lid off of tensions and complexities of learning and teaching.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) - Nov 19, 2012 - In E. Hasebe-Ludt, C. Chambers, C. Leggo, & A. Sinner (Eds.), A heart of wisdom: Life writing as empathetic inquiry. New York, NY: Peter Lang - this new anthology presents life writing that blows the lid off of tensions and complexities of learning and teaching. "Bloodtrails" from Pauline Sameshima and Yvette Dubel gives readers powerful revelations of social justice in educational experiences. These two contributors to the anthology use visual art, poetry and prose to peel back the layers of a complicated experience covering many years from converging perspectives.

In a recent review Nicholas Ng-A-Fook, Ph.D., Curriculum Theorist, Faculty of Education, Founder and Director of A Canadian Curriculum Theory Project and Co-President of the Canadian Association of Curriculum Studies said, "Amidst the ongoing global conflict, this book is a timely contribution to the complicated conversation taking place within the international field of curriculum studies. The collection invites its readers to sit still, and hear others speak, above and below the frays of a world inundated with the deafening cries of the living and non-living who continue to suffer our material and economic exploitations of our planetary commons. Curriculum scholars, poets, artists, teachers, and students craft an evocative organic tapestry of life stories that asks us to reconsider how empathetic inquiry might teach us to live life inside and outside our research and classrooms with emotion, passion, imagination, creativity, and indeed, with a heart of wisdom."

Yvette Dubel's collaboration with Pauline Sameshima, Ph.D moves her work into new territory helping to broaden her artist research practice. When asked how this publication relates to her work as an Innovation Consultant Dubel replied that, "While I share deeply painful learning experiences, it also shows how my early penchant for innovation was cultivated. I feel it illuminates the need for Community Change Management as a valuable focus in any innovation strategy. End user experience is relevant not only in education as a industry but every sector that understands that their existence is dependent on customer experiences and change is part of their future if they hope to survive the shifting global climate."

--- End ---

Lynching has no place in a Better World

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Contents
  1. Since venturing into the world of public installation art, I have a message for this newcomer.
  2. But I still have hope...

Longing for freedom to lynch? Clint Eastwood-style empty lawn chair display in Ken and Judy David's front yard has caused controversy in Ottawa County
Kyle Moroney | Mlive.com

Attention Mr. & Mrs. David: Yes, you are free to express the depth of your racism and ignorance.

Since venturing into the world of public installation art, I have a message for this newcomer.

Don't be a coward about being a racist. State it loud and clear then prepare to deal with the consequences of being known for who and what you are.

Recently, I found an article about this man who lynched a chair up in a tree - a nod to Eastwood's performance at the GOP convention. In that performance the empty chair represented President Obama. This man, apparently not happy with the election results, thought this was the best way to communicate how he would like to see "his country taken back".

Excuse me, does he not realize lynching is not an option? Even as a metaphor, what good is served to conjure that image, deed or history? The man and his wife insist they are not racist and that the symbolic lynching was an "expression of freedom". This may not be entirely false, but it also expresses deep ignorance. To pretend that calling up that aspect of our historical lexicon-cultural experience is anything other than destructive and racist is ridiculous.

But these kind of people make me wonder - struggle even, with where such people fit into my vision of a better world and the country I love. I wish it was easy to love and accept everyone, but I can't (today) get past the feeling that some people do need to change.

Seriously, can a reference to lynching our re-elected President be seen as anything other than racist? However, to everyone who does this kind of crap - if you act like a racist, it tends to make you look like one.

But I still have hope...

How small business execution empowers “Dinosaurs of Innovation”

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Art Based Solutions from the "Cultural Fusion Art as Philosophy"series
Contents
  1. How small business execution empowers "Dinosaurs of Innovation"
  2. Choosing Peace Instead
  3. Peace as a guiding value in business
  4. Empowering customers to change the world

Art Based Solutions from the "Cultural Fusion Art as Philosophy"series

How small business execution empowers "Dinosaurs of Innovation"

Innovation Opportunity: In an environment where customers can easily become innovators, and monopolies have never served the higher good of the marketplace it is reason for concern that these court room battles quietly execute small businesses. These are deaths by bullying.

Choosing Peace Instead

This morning I was listening to a story on NPR.org called "In-digital-war-patents-are-the-weapon-of-choice" It prompted me to revisit my thinking about what businesses could learn about innovation from Artist Practice and Art itself. It has been interesting to me the businesses that have been intuitively led to explore this area of potential innovation. I had thought, a few years back,that it might be tech companies who would see this first, but I was wrong.

Peace as a guiding value in business

Is it because it's generally accepted that there is an amoral attitude norm in technology and business, that the legally combative environment has seemed a natural evolution? Those with the most to spend on legal fees have been able to enforce monopoly conditions severely restricting innovation. Why should we care?

Empowering customers to change the world

In an environment where customers can easily become innovators, and monopolies have never served the higher good of the marketplace it is reason for concern that these court room battles quietly execute small businesses. These are deaths by bullying. But that is not the only option. Businesses willing to think outside the box do have the opportunity to engage artist innovators as consultants. They will be pleasantly surprised to find that there is more than way to bring peace to this landscape littered with the picked over carcasses of small businesses that once were.

Don’t settle for scarcity as your reality

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Contents
  1. Don't settle for scarcity as your reality
  2. So what is this experience of enough? How do you get there...
  3. Recipe for dreams served to perfection
 

Don't settle for scarcity as your reality

Do you approach your business challenges from a scarcity or sufficiency perspective? It is becoming clear that this is an important part of the sustainability conversation. Recently my attention has returned with more clarity to the solution to community change management models based on assumptions of a scarcity mental model. This is actually the reason that I originally became interested in intangible assets and work being done with Dual Currencies (aka future of money). In conversations about this recently kept using recipe as a metaphor for solutions.

It is interesting to see the various levels that people intuitively connect with as it relates to moving from not enough to being and having all that is needed. For some the term sufficiency conjures fears of settling for less than. But that is not my understanding of it as an experience. However, abundance in a soulful sense, seems to be necessary if one is to have enough and some to share. But is that truth simply a way of perceiving enough, where there is enough for me and you?

So what is this experience of enough? How do you get there...

Interesting, a new piece I am working on with artist and coach who provided a spark of inspiration.
I was helping her develop her website's "about" page.
After reading her poetry an extensive conversation to understand her business, I saw her poetry as part of a dialogue.
While in and of itself it was too abstract for most people to get what she meant to communicate about her art coaching.
And then I stumbled upon her recipe.

There was such a tangible connection to my work to develop the SoulFood Model that I knew we had something!
That's when I knew how to bring focus and still express her special vision to help transform the world by supporting creative women in realizing their dreams, for their life, business and the world we share.

  Have you ever noticed how easy it is to put the needs of others ahead of your own?
Now imagine the difference when you put that love and devotion towards your own dreams and visions of the future.
You don’t have to keep your dreams tucked away on ice.

 

Recipe for dreams served to perfection

Enter your Empowered Kitchen.
Take your dreams out of the freezer.
Let your dreams be. Let them thaw.
Place your dreams under low heat.
Let your desire for your dreams fill you with great hunger.
Let your desire for your dreams fill you with great satisfaction.
Invite your most trusted friends over.
Set the table, using your best china.
When it is time, you will know. Take your dreams off the stove.
Place in the center of your table.
Sit down with your friends.
Share.
from ajadematerra.com

How to move from scarcity to sufficiency

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I keep waiting to get this post perfect in my head before I write it and then I realized - too much time had passed since I had the insight and actually bringing my attention here to write something. Pardon me for giving myself an out, but it may be the only way to get started on this. If I later realize I was off the mark or insights bring new understanding, I reserve the right to update anything I share...and so I can let go of needing this to be perfect before I share it with you. (Yes, I am still working on that.)

Recently, several communication threads have converged to point me back towards some of my original work when I began the quest that is Cultural Fusion Art as Philosophy. While I work towards my vision for a soci-technical infrastructure to enable progressive community change management - I see a more basic level of inquiry that is more general. Here are a few observations and new questions.

1. There is definitely a growing movement of grassroots innovations that harness the power of technology to amplify their impact and efficiency.
2. There does appear to be a disconnect between that global network of innovators and those people who yield the most in financial resources.
3. Women in North America own over 50% of financial assets, influence over 80% of purchasing decisions and start 70% of new businesses meaning they are a unique position to use their financial resources to invest their dreams, unlike the other billion or so women around the world who face each day with amazing courage as they are excluded and oppressed in ways we can barely comprehend. How are both impacted by the experience of having and being enough as a practical expression of sufficiency?
4. Which other businesses are exploring what it means to fundamentally operate on a sufficiency rather than a scarcity model?
5. Who are the people that care about this stuff?

Depending on feedback and personal inspiration I may continue this thread...for now it is just a thought, a seed that could grow into something.

Innovation Consulting Debate: Is Innovation Consulting Important for Socially Conscious Small Business?

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Contents
  1. One view of innovation
  2. If small businesses matter
  3. What a difference innovation makes

If you had been asked twenty years ago if you thought a city, yet alone a nation could face bankruptcy you would have thought this impossible. With limited understanding of how global economics worked, you probably did trust at that time that the people in charge of this fiduciary capital had the public good at heart. The bottom line is that if you intend to be among the businesses that survive these turbulent times, you must find ways to become more adaptive. Recent times have given socially conscious small business owners reason to be concerned. Today it takes less convincing for owners to see you must plan for flexibility to adapt to changes that once seemed impossible.

One view of innovation

When you look at the new surge of innovation events it is probably clear that they aren’t talking to you. Those events are not priced with you in mind, nor are they planned with considerations for your situation. One reason is because many still think of innovation primarily as technology systems. Those with the biggest operations spend the most on technology and so they get more attention. Another reason is that big businesses can have more complex processes, assets and relationships to manage – so again they spend more on solutions to handle these challenges and so they get more attention.

Some think that consciously creative small business owners don’t care about innovation. Assuming instead that it is the natural order of things for them to follow and if you’re fine with that, this article is probably not for you.

If small businesses matter

As a person of conscious who is also a small business owner, you know that if you waited for hero to come rushing in to save the day, you might be waiting a long time. That is why you are social entrepreneur or small business with a unshakable commitment to be part of positive change.

You know that those with the most to spend are looking at innovation first, but in many cases they won’t know what to do with it. That leaves the door open for small businesses like you.

In a WebAntiphon special report a camping equipment company had a decent volume of business just doing mass direct marketing. But after setting up a website they faced the challenge of getting traffic and then converting those visitors into customers. After learning about the internet marketing game it made sense to put attention on integrated customer retention systems. The reward was a 20% increase in sales when they began using new media and event marketing to expand while better targeting their marketing campaigns. To effectively implement this strategy they had to deploy new systems to manage this innovation leap. In addition to increasing sales, they established their company as a knowledge brand, experts among camping enthusiasts and automated new marketing channels and sales streams. Success wasn’t some vague notion; it met specific criteria that the business owners defined. A holistic strategy and integrated systems delivered better results.

There is a lot to be learned about the range in how a business can make innovation part of its brand value. Starting with clarity of intention means you see this as part of your whole experience as a person, not just marketing manager or CEO. Your strategic decisions will have better results when business goals and personal vision are working together .

In another case, an auto detailing business was experiencing growth and had moved into a new location. As new business was coming in the owner was overwhelmed. She hurriedly hired new employees, but without training, quality control, or customer relationship systems in place big customers were soon leaving at a disturbing rate. The clarification process working with an innovation consultant was vital, but without carrying out the Action Plan, its value would have diminished quickly. Based on budget and priorities a very simple system with an eco-friendly policy was launched without increasing her staffing demands. With the new quality control system in place and the customer retention system put into action within a few weeks the business saw three quarters of the lost customers return.

What a difference innovation makes

Where do you begin to get a handle on how innovation can impact your business? 1. What is your intention? Without a doubt the place to start is to clarify how your personal values are informing your intention.

2. What do you want innovation to do for your business? Then get clear on how that intention is elevating or holding back your business goals – whether increasing sales, website traffic, lead generation, brand value, etc.

3. Fast forward ten years, what is your business remembered for, if it is remembered at all? This will open up new opportunities and reveal insights to minimize risks.

4. What kind of systems do you have in place? Are they sufficient to support your innovation? If you want to see your systems differently try an exercise to visually conceptualize of your systems in the context of the larger environment.

5. How will you know when innovation pays off? Attention to innovation is an investment in research and development; you then have to act on that potential to get value from and define some criteria for success.

If you believe what others are suggesting by ignoring innovation serving women and social entrepreneurs, you are setting yourself up to fall short. Innovation doesn’t matter only if you plan to be a follower. If you are still reading then your brand legacy is something you care about. You can shape the legacy tomorrow by how you grow sales today. Linking your marketing, public relations and sales has to be more than superficial linking. To have the greatest impact possible on building a business that is better for the world and delivers the better results you want you need to take a new look at innovation. Don’t put aside the opportunities you could unleash today, jumpstart your success with a customized innovation solution.

Yvette Dubel is an Innovation Consultant and Artist Researcher, for more than ten years she has been working with business and nonprofit organization leaders. She uses her research to deconstruct insights and develop solutions for social and business benefits. Free special reports are available by request via her Research Studio website: http://ydubel.wix.com/yvettedubelcom Get a scholarship for her innovation eCourse on Maverick Hero Marketing & PR by contacting her at http://webantiphon.com