Thanks for drawing the E+ ConverSketch!

It might just be me, but I have long thought that E+ was the elusive grade in school.  The one I always felt should exist yet it never did.  I mean seriously, grades are like a chromatic scale except we skip E all together so we can give people F’s for Failure……the modern scarlet letter.  Not so ironically, we all must learn to better embrace and celebrate failure.

Anyway, so that’s why I decided to call this the E+ Awards. To give the effort-based grade to “business books” about entrepreneurialism, innovation and personal change. I’m also doing the E+ Awards because enough people have asked me for book recommendations lately that I thought it would be easier to just provide an official list

The E+ says; you took a risk, challenged the status quo and created something uniquely valuable when you could have completely failed. I’ve awarded it to three books, which were released as part of a 10 book summer reading list I wrote for InnovatioNews.

Oh, E also happens to stand for EntrepreNerds…

The first three recipients of the E+ awards are…….(drum role please)………..

1. Seth Godin’s, The Icarus Deception
2. The Business Model Generation by Alex O, et al, and
3. Daniel Pink’s new book, To Sell is Human.

So, how did I choose the recipients?

Signed Copies of Godin’s new book!

Well, it is no secret that I’m a fan of Seth Godin. I suppose you could call me a member of his tribe (although we’ve never “met”). But above and beyond that, The Icarus Deception is the only book I’ve ever read and thought, “this might be the most quotable book I’ve ever read.” Which pretty much means it is, those thoughts have never crossed my mind before or since.

I also felt personally touched by Godin’s book. When so many other authors are telling you how to do something, Godin argues that dreaming big, expressing your creativity, practicing innovation, taking risks, and leading the charge are all necessary for the good of humanity. It is so refreshing to read a business book that encourages readers to tap into their intuition, follow their gut, challenge convention and make shit happen. “The question isn’t whether you are capable of godlike work. (you are.) The question is: Are you willing?”

The Business Model Generation appeals to me on many different levels. First of all, the entire book was co-created, hello community and collaboration. Secondly, it is artistically done and aesthetically pleasing, like art in public places (I love that)! Lastly, I think it’s really cool that the business model canvas is open source = they’re walking the talk with a 21st century business model. I personally admire the vision, leadership and dedication it took to create this valuable resource.

The Business Model Canvas (the tool the book is based on) is, in and of itself, incredibly valuable. Osterwalder effectively simplified a very complicated concept into a tool that makes it easier for teams to collaboratively build a viable business.  The Business Model Generation provides useful insights and suggestions about how to create, evaluate and build a strategy around your business model.  It is the kind of book you will need to read, re-read and reference in order to effectively learn how to apply all the lessons shared.

Daniel Pink’s new book is a nice light reading. That’s not to say that it isn’t insightful, it most certainly is. But, it reads easily. Pink tackles an issue, a hangup, an aversion (oh my) that many people have, it is one I believe we need to get over. That is a hatred of sales. I’ve been there, I used the think sales was this icky, nasty, gross thing = yuck!

Then I took a job in sales because the mission really spoke to me. And I learned how to develop my sales-ability. My efforts were very values driven. As a result my sales didn’t much look like some of the traditional sales tactics they teach. My practice looked more like Pink’s reframing of sales as we know it…luckily he provides practical insight for you to develop your own authentic sales-ability.

So those are the inaugural three winners of the E+ Awards!  This, I hope, is only the beginning.  Of course like any endeavor,  this could completely fail…Despite that, I’m giving it my all and asking for your help.  Have you read a book you think deserve an E+ Award? Tell me about it, I will be selecting 3 new recipients for a back-to-school list this fall.  I’d love to hear your suggestions.

There was so little fanfare about this legislation passing that I couldn’t find any pictures

Just over a year ago I wrote a blog post about the transformation of business as we know it. Many companies are starting to embrace a new modicum of success – the Triple Bottom Line. That post sparked a series of events I could never have imagined, and it was all because of you, my readers.  You asked some good questions, which sparked some interest in learning more.

About a week after the post, my Mother happened to introduce me to the parent of one of her students because she thought I’d find his work intriguing (seriously people, she doesn’t read my blogs, it was totally coincidental). That’s how the stars aligned for me to meet Jay Coen Gilbert, co-founder of B Lab. I reached out with an email and explained that “Some local (Fort Collins, CO) colleagues and business owners have expressed interest in learning more about BCorps after reading my post.”

We connected at LOHAS after emailing back and forth a few times. As luck would have it, Jay was planning a trip to Fort Collins just a few weeks later. He graciously offered to do a presentation while in town.

Truth be told, I questioned myself, almost let the opportunity slip by (damn self-doubt). But I got just the encouragement I needed to dig in my heels and make something happen instead! Two weeks later we hosted “BCorps: A Community Conversation About Triple Bottom Line Business Models”.

The response was invigorating. Local organizations like the Rocky Mountain Innosphere, Climate Wise and Mugs Coffee Lounge came together to help make the event happen. On July 3, a notoriously slow day that many professionals take off, we had over 45 people come out ready to learn. I’m pretty sure we would have had nearly twice that many if people weren’t traveling for the holidays!

Rep. John Kefalas even showed up to the event. He reflected “The workshop that you sponsored in July 2012 was most helpful in terms of background and to better understand the B-Corps movement.  This was most important because we had to find common ground and achieve an historic consensus between attorneys and conservationists.”

House Bill 13-1138 was sponsored by Rep Kefalas and Rep Pete Lee. Governor Hickenlooper signed the bill into law on May 16, 2013. Effective April 1 (happy birthday to me!), 2014 businesses in Colorado will be able to incorporate as Public Benefit Corporations!

This is an exciting step, as this legislation clearly aligns with many other efforts to make Colorado a hub for social ventures and business innovation. Rep. Kefalas believes “The new Colorado Benefit Corporation law will help create jobs by attracting socially responsible, impact investors to Colorado who want to invest in businesses that pursue the triple bottom line – profit, social good and sustainability.  The new law allows for-profit businesses to establish themselves as public benefit corporations to advance social enterprise.”

Isn’t fascinating how a blip on a screen can have such a ripple effect!  Makes you think…what about those things you do that don’t have such a positive ripple?  I’m not expert on this policy but I sure hope it proves to have the intended effect!

Here are 7 reasons for “Rethinking of sales as we know it,” (wise words from Daniel Pink’s new book) and operate from a positive frame of mind.

1. Resilience’s a Good Thing – So many people have an aversion to sales because one must endure…….rejection. That’s actually one of the benefits of doing sales – learning how to be resilient and handle rejection. It also helps you become less fearful of failure, so you’re willing to put yourself out there and take smart risks. Failure, and rejection aren’t negative, they’re a part of any adventure worth enduring.

2. Less is More – “But wait there’s more” is dead. Well it should be, although many still rely on the “more stuff for less mulla” incentive. I’ve learned from experience that offering more cr*p which doesn’t have much value just to say, “But wait there’s more” backfires. Give a little real value, it’s better business than a lot of non-value.

3. We’ve Entered the Age of Win-Win – It’s not a good time to be cut-throat and just out for yourself. People can see right through that and they’ll tell their friends too. Old school sales was about getting the deal, whereas these days it’s about making sure everyone’s as happy as can be. People are looking for win-win opportunities, don’t even bother pursuing a win-lose proposition and ignore all advice to the contrary.

4. Inquiring Minds Will Know – The internet is a great source of information these days, people have all the data they may want at their finger tips. There’s no being deceitful and getting away with it…People will google search for everything and anything they feel the need to know. The modern sales person is honest and doesn’t make any promises they can’t keep. And it’s ok to admit you don’t know everything!

5. Creativity is the New Assembly Line – There is NO formula for success in sales! It’s more organic than that, it’s a creative dance, a nuanced interaction, an improvisation. Following sales scripts is very 20^th century. The 21^st century sales person provides good service, period. They constantly create innovative solutions as new problems are found. They have presence in the moment and a vision for a better future.

6. Authenticity Sales – You must have clarity about who you are and what you offer. And you need believe in what you’re “selling.” If you’re clear about all of that you can just be yourself. Authenticity sales, people want to “buy” from someone with which they feel a meaningful connection.

7. Non-Sales Selling – Have you ever really, really, really wanted to convince someone to do something? Like encouraging you’re Dad to eat healthier, getting your student to practice more, persuading your boss to give you a few extra days off…All of these activities are non-sales selling. There might not be any money exchanging hands but the end result is all about getting someone to do something they otherwise might not, and we all do that!

We’re Rethinking Sales at the EntrepreNerds book discussion this month on Wednesday June 19^th. Join us for a quality conversation about recommended reading, To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink, How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger.

Some of my Favorite Ladies at WELS 2012

Having been with my husband for the past 11 years (married for 7), I can say based on a far off recollection that networking and building relationships in business is sometimes daunting…like dating. It might just be that I’m an emotional person, but I’ve gotten my heart broken in business a few times…recently even!

There are certain life lessons I must learn over and over again (I think we all find ourselves having moments of deja vu like that). Each time the lesson has a slightly different iteration on the same basic point. This is one of those life lessons for me.

It’s about people and relationships. How to build relationships that have trust? Figuring out ways to surround myself with people that energize and inspire me; having friends I share vision of the future with. Wondering why certain people believe in me while other’s are patronizing. And I’m always curious to better understand what I might be doing or saying that has a different impact then I expected.

Despite my personal studies, I continually have to learn that building quality relationships really does take time. Sometimes we meet people that we feel an instant connection or strong bond with…but just because you have a few awesome dates in the beginning doesn’t mean you should start to develop certain expectations for the relationship…it’s like hearing wedding bells in your future when the other person doesn’t even realize you’re dating!

I’m learning to stop letting myself feel hurt by someone when I really just need to be patient, and let go of my preconceived notions. That’s why it is important to let the relationship evolve in time without rigid, un-communicated expectations. My lesson of recent: it is important to remember that while a spark’s there when you meet, the flame might not last. Or it may continue to burn but not quite so brightly. In other words, don’t get ahead of yourself because of the excitement of the possibilities in a moment.

Despite the notion that you should close the sale as quickly as possible (a reason “we should rethink sales as we know it” Daniel Pink). There’s truly no need to rush into a professional relationship. Take some time to make sure it’s a good fit. Get to understand each other’s passions. Communicate any expectations openly and directly. And consistently explore formalities as appropriate.

In case you’re wondering if you need to shift down a few gears, here are three signs you might be rushing it rather then building quality relationships.

1. Within a short time frame of meeting you make a long-term commitment to work together that is loosely structured.
2. Things seem to be progressing, but you feel obligated to make a compromise, a leap of faith that you’re second guessing.
3. You have expectations you’re not comfortable talking about.

The entire experience is difficult to summarize because it was both enlivening and exhausting. A total of 12 people took 2 hours out of their day to hang out with me and talk shop. That in-and-of-itself amazed and touched me. Especially because these were busy people, accomplished entrepreneur’s and leaders that I admire and whose insight I value.

While it was invigorating, the preparation, the discussion and the followup were also a little bit draining. I spent hours developing materials to share for the discussion. I built models for growing my business, and worked diligently to hone in on which details were relevant to the discussion. Despite all that effort to prepare, there’s still so much work to be done….And my mind’s been racing since the Mind Jam as I process everything that was shared.

Earlier this week I had the privilege of attending the Fort Collins NewTech Meetup for the very first time. This is a fun and supportive community of tech savvy entrepreneur’s where participants have the opportunity to pitch their business and gain feedback from their peers. It was awesome to bear witness, especially since I now have a new level of respect for the people that presented that night.

I could sympathize with how the folks giving their pitches felt. So excited about what they were working on they couldn’t wait to share it with the world. Yet a little confused and in need of direction, clarity and support for successfully creating their vision. Open to feedback, lingering on what other’s say as they evaluated the relevancy of the comments or questions made.

Seeking this kind of feedback is great if you have follow through. You have to process through many comments or questions, many that are difficult to hear, and decide what to do about it all. One of the things I heard from a few different people on Friday was that they thought it courageous of me to seek and organize a method for gathering feedback and “opening my kimono” so to speak.

But I think extending oneself like that just gets you partway there. The fully courageous act is leveraging what you learned to improve yourself and your business. That is about knowing what pieces of advice to ignore, and which pearls of wisdom to act on. Putting yourself out there and seeking input from your community is only as powerful as your ability to synthesize, modify and deliver a better product or service as a result.

So now the challenge is on, both for myself and for the businesses that pitched at the NewTech Meetup: do each of us have the courage to apply what we learned and take our businesses to the next level? Only time will tell!

But it got me started, I bought a label maker, implemented the filing system, and organized my email according to Allen’s recommendations among other things. And while these changes have helped, there’s still room for improvement (I’m a work in progress).

The biggest challenge for me has been to create habits where before I had a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach. Doing what I felt like doing when I felt like doing it. For years I (unintentionally) fooled many into thinking I was more organized than I actually am…now I don’t mean to say that I’m slovenly or completely disheveled. The challenge was, how do you create habits for the compulsively un-habitualized, classically routine-less, creatively free-spirited entrepreneur.

Well, I learned from The Power of Habit that you start with a vision for where you’re going and a keystone habit to initiate the subtle shifts that lead to more substantial change. In other words, you start small and build from there….I realized my “tackle it all at once approach” was why my efforts to fully implement GTD were thwarted. I needed that keystone habit. For me that started with creating and following a morning routine.

This endeavor also took a long time to “perfect.” In the beginning my intentions were idealistic. My plans for a morning routine included, lying in bed while playing words with friends, then doing yoga or meditation, journaling or reading, and at some point I should eat breakfast and get dressed…..My overly ambitious yet lackadaisical efforts just dug me deeper into despair, like when your car wheels just spin in the snow because you forgot to keep kitty litter in your trunk…

So, what changed? I read Your Best Just Got Better by Jason Womack in February as part of 12 books (full disclosure, I also received a free, signed copy in exchange for which I agreed to write this, “book review”). It was my beacon of light, gently illuminating the ways I was holding myself back while also sharing insights to help me accomplish what I so desperately yearned for, a system that works for me.

What I love about Womack’s book is that he includes insightful activities that help you understand and develop personalized solutions for your unique needs. Some of the activities I’ve done so far include creating your ideal day, brainstorming a list of when I’m at my best, identifying my Most Important Things (MIT’s), documenting how I’ve been spending my time and noting my energy levels throughout the day.

Womack makes a good case for gathering and collecting “data” about your own work habits, energy levels, etc. Doing so helps you to understand where you have room for improvement and how to optimize your potential. As a result of monitoring my energy levels I realized that my expectations for my morning routine were unrealistic. I’m not a morning person, so getting up and immediately being super productive is not in my DNA, not to mention that my initial plans weren’t realistic given my limited resource of time!

Now I’ve come to create a morning routine that energizes me and sets a good, productive, pace for my day. I wake up at 6:30am (I used to hit the snooze button but Womack says that’s a bad habit as you’ll continue to disregard the intentions you set throughout the day), make tea and clean the kitchen. Then I read a book for at least 15-30 minutes while I’m drinking my tea; this habit inspires, it helps my brain wakeup and ensures that I’m investing in my personal/professional development daily. I get showered and dressed, make breakfast and plan out my day as I’m eating before I dig into work.

I’ve just brushed the tip of the iceberg with the opportunities and suggestions that Womack and Allen both share in their books (incidentally they are very complimentary, like a hand in glove). There are countless recommendations I couldn’t share here that you might find helpful for improving your productivity. There’s only one way to find out, get yourself a copy and dig-in. I’d love to hear what you’ve found valuable from Womack’s book.

Get inspired! We’ll be discussing both Womack’s and Allen’s books at the next EntrepreNerds Discussion on May 16th, 2013. Join us for a quality conversation that is expertly facilitated to help you grow by sharing your experiences, challenges and insights with others.

Photo by Jose Meis Meaño

Many of the books I’ve been reading lately talk about finding and modeling the people that you strive to be like in life. And that’s a great rule of thumb, generally speaking. But there are times when you’re dealing with people or situations that demonstrate the antithesis of the values you strive to embody.

It’s easy, typical even, to complain about these situations. It’s you’re stupid boss, that idiot presenter, the disrespectful waiter. Everywhere you go, there are moments where you learn from bad experiences, from the anti-model.

The anti-model is that person that does the thing you want to avoid doing. You know you’re in the presence of one when their actions, words and behavior make you shudder (think nail on chalkboard type of reaction here). That feeling can pre-empt a conscious decision not do “that thing.”

Following through on that intention takes continuous effort.  First you must identify the negative cause and effect. Then you must be present within yourself to know when you’re crossing the line.  From there you have to self-correct.

Sometimes a person you looked up to is actually the anti-model. I just started reading Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam Grant (which I really like so far) and that’s one of the very first things he talks about. Some takers act like, and appear to be, givers. Many people think they’re givers, this can go on for years as was the case with the CEO of Enron. But it turns out they’re takers and while they appear generous or giving their purpose is ultimately always self-serving. It is evidenced by a few tall-tale signs the authors go onto explain.

Anyway, I digress! The point is that having bad experiences, being treated unfairly, feeling disengaged or disrespected. All those moments where you want to complain about someone else. These are golden opportunities to learn. They’re doing something that you want to learn NOT to do. What is it?

I’ve learned many valuable insights from these kinds of experiences and I’m sure I’ll continue to. I learned a lot about what not to do at my old job. The founder dude modeled terrible workflow habits.  It was all fly by the seat of your pants, do what needs to be when it needs to be. There was no structure, no accountability, no planning to work and working the plan.  Communication was negligible…I could go on.

Needless to say, I have been consciously running my business and consulting my clients with those lessons learned of what not to do in mind. It’s part of the reason I’m so determined to read, learn, grow and improve. Because I saw firsthand the negative consequences of not seeking and applying new knowledge and skills. That’s how we apply lessons learned from an anti-model.  One thing I’ve been focusing on lately is fine tuning my workflow process to improve my productivity, because I don’t want to be that person that’s disheveled and always complains about never having enough time (We’ll be talking about Improving Productivity at our May EntrepreNerds book discussion)!

That’s just one example of a lesson I have learned from an anti-model. What bad experiences could you learn from? Who’s an anti-model in your life right now?  And what are you going to do about it?

My new folio, isn’t she great!

Actually, there were no options I could find locally that fit my needs or style. So I took to the web, and I finally found exactly what I was looking for on Etsy. It was my first Etsy purchase ever (thank you Watermelon Wishes for making the perfect folio to order for me, how awesome).

It’s such a personal experience buying something on Etsy. You talk with the crafter, get to ask for special touches to make it just right. I even got to pick out whatever fabric my heart desired. That turned out to be a rather stressful endeavor. I swear there were literally thousands of options to choose among.

I tried being rational about my decision in the beginning. I looked through the new releases (which was miles long) and marked patterns I liked to review later. I spent over a half hour doing that and got about 8-10 patterns in the cue. Unfortunately, none of them really spoke to me. They were too feminine or too plain or too light. In short, they just weren’t me.

But searching for the perfect fabric felt daunting. I’d already invested 30 minutes in this endeavor, the pressure was on, this effort better pay off in improved workflow productivity!! Clearly my strategy for searching wasn’t working. I had to try something new. But how do you narrow down thousands of fabric choices?

Impulsively I clicked on the link that listed the fabric in alphabetical order by name of the designer…The page loaded with a list. I laughed thinking to myself, “like this is going to help, I don’t know any fabric designers by name.” As I scrolled down the screen, there was something I rarely see. Someone with my last name (that I don’t already know) was listed! Carolyn Friedlander’s a textile designer. Intrigued, I clicked on her name to find her designs.

Amazingly, she had the most perfect fabric for my folio, called scribbles. That’s when my prolonged search suddenly ended, all efforts to make a rational decision null and void. I placed my order, ecstatic that I’d found exactly what I was looking for (even though I didn’t know what I wanted going into the search), and giggled that I got to support a fellow Friedlander in such a round about kinda way.

Here’s a pic of the inside of my new folio!

Anyway, the entire experience got me thinking about how powerful a thing familial connection is. I was swimming in a sea of fabric choices, too overwhelmed to confidently make a decision. And then, wham I’m looking at Carolyn Friedlander’s designs and my decision is made without another thought.

It’s safe to say I was pre-disposed to like her fabric, which begs the question would, I have chosen that design without the familial connection?  To be fair, there was nothing else like Carolyn Friedlander’s designs on the site, her stuff was original and fit my style (it must be a Friedlander thing)!  But my decision to look at her designs rather than any of the other names listed was definitely influenced by the familial connection.

Have you made a decision recently that was influenced by a familial-likeness? How’d that work out for you? For marketers, leveraging such a pre-disposition for the familial can be a mighty fine advantage. But for the smart decision maker it can be problematic if all rational criteria is overshadowed by familial-likeness!

Thomas Edison once proclaimed, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that do not work”

Now that’s dedication!

This witty remark is from Woody Allen, “If you’re not failing, you’re not trying anything.”

How’s that for reframing failure.

And Beverly Sills gave this retort, “You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.”

So in other words, fear not and go forth! Failure isn’t a bad thing; it’s a reality of a life fully lived. Don’t let the potential for failure hold you back from creating your dream.

Sometimes, what we intellectually know and what we deep down believe are two different things. I recently realized that while I understood the importance of failing forward towards success I didn’t want to believe that I might actually fail. “Oh no the horror of failing!”

I dream big, but I don’t always step forward into acting on those dreams. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take risks. But setting my sights on a big dream and putting myself out there to potentially fail publicly feels rather daunting (and humiliating). I realize now my predominant thought process went like this, “I’m willing to make mistakes as long as people know I don’t make epic failures.”

How did I come to realize this rather disturbing limiting belief? Well, you know how they say to not take anything personally (and by they I mean Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements). It’s a good rule of thumb because most people’s actions, comments, etc. are not a reflection of you, but are a result of their own insecurities…

One day in the not so distant past I caught myself being pretty critical of others. Not just any people, I was being harshly critical of some entrepreneurs that I know who had dreamed big, got a few years into their journey and failed. As I reflected on my judgmental thoughts (yes, I admit I can be judgmental, but I strive to not be), I realized that I wasn’t just criticizing an element of their business, I was questioning their effort in general; why did they even bother! That’s a rather blasphemous thought for me to have given the values I hold near and dear.

Sure, there might have been problems with their business model, or ways that they led their organization asunder. But I truthfully don’t know that much about their situations to be so discerning. What I do know is that these people had the courage to show up and a willingness to be vulnerable that I’m aspiring to. And that’s the thing about vulnerability, people (the one’s whose respect is worth having) don’t judge you so harshly for “epic failures.” In fact, there’s a lot of respect to be gained from putting yourself out there, taking a risk and going for it. And while my own insecurities caused me to interpret someone’s failure negatively other’s saw character, creativity and strength.

That is how I learned that I needed to shift my perceptions, because acting on big dreams means putting yourself out there without any certainty of the outcomes. I’m embracing failure to succeed so that I may go forth into the unknown world of possibility.

We all have different fears or limiting beliefs that hold us back. I don’t know the obstacles that you need to overcome. But I will encourage you to take some time to develop awareness of how your own fear of failure manifests. Start by reflecting on the moments you find yourself being critical of the “failures” of others. What did they do? Why is their failure such a bad thing? And how does your critique reflect on your own actions or lack there of?

I had these grand visions and expectations of how we were going to make the Cottonwood Condos more green. We got our Climate Wise assessment and found that there were some big projects on there.  I presented a few ideas at the annual meeting later that year…our journey had begun.

Now, almost 5 years later, the Cottonwood Condo’s will be the first HOA to receive Gold level status from Climate Wise. We have a compost pile, upgraded our washers/dryers to high efficiency models, did a green remodel to the common areas…and we still have more projects in the works!

Yay Cottonwood Condos!

In addition to the building improvements we’ve created a stronger sense of community. We hosted two ZEDfest parties, organized community cleanups, worked together on projects and organized into sub-committees…We wouldn’t be receiving Gold status if it wasn’t for dedicated community members coming together and contributing (as volunteers mind you) to the overall effort, which has been awesome (thank you!).

We’re not good at taking pics…slim pickings!

But it wasn’t always like this. The last 5 years haven’t exactly been chocked full of huge wins and big feats of change. Not long after sharing my ideas at the annual meeting I learned that I was met with feigned interest and a lot of resistance. Many held the perception that we’d already done enough (all the light fixtures in the common areas were CFL’s after all) and that things were just fine the way they were!

Another obstacle I faced was the hefty price tag on most of the improvements. We’re a small organization with limited resources. And nothing causes things to come to a screeching halt like “the budget!”

Despite these challenges I did not despair, at least not right away. I joined the Board of Directors. I threw out ideas at the meetings. For example, we had an inoperable solar thermal system on the roof, Climate Wise said it was the biggest array in the city they’d seen at the time. This gem sat dormant for years. I was determined to get it up and running…that didn’t happen, nor did most of my ideas, not much happened for a while.

Just when I felt hope was lost for the Cottonwoods, residents began to step up and take an interest in our little community like never before. Things that weren’t at all a part of my own master plan for the association started happening. It felt rather sudden, “Surprise!” we are changing for the better.

You know what I finally did?  Do you know the secret ingredient to fostering positive change? It’s what I didn’t do; I stopped pushing the ideas I had for specific things I thought we should do. I’d actually felt like giving up entirely, I learned this by happenstance. It was when I let go, when I stopped caring so much about making my own ideas happen that other people started stepping up! The seed had been planted, people believed the Cottonwood Condos could be better.

So, that’s the secret ingredient to fostering positive change. Let go, stop caring so much about every little piece of the puzzle and making good on your own master-plan. It’s not just about you! What you are responsible for is sparking people’s interest. For providing a little direction towards an ideal destination and engaging your comrades by challenging them to help make the vision happen! If you fixate too much on your own grand plan you alienate people and without the participation of others nothing changes for the better.