Am I asking the right questions?

Good morning,
I pray the day finds you well.

Life is different now. Work is different now.

We spend most of our time staying home, wherever home is right now. Whatever home is right now.

We do most of our communication with others either on the computer, our phones, or yelling from a distance (which if you remember is my CEO's preferred method of communication).

At our "Y", the team is diligently trying to figure out how to best serve the community that we are part of.

The process is as follows:
1. Ideation
2. Narrowing to a need
3. Strategic
4. Execute

In these "Ideation" meetings we popcorn things, (and when I say "things" I mean ideas), around. All ideas are considered valid until we get to the "Narrowing" phase.

In the "Narrowing" phase we condense to one, or two, or a few things we can do, depending on what they are, for the community that we are part of. The "Community that we are part of" is vitally important. We may be able to do something for a community we are not part of, and we may, but strengthening the community we are part of is our mission.

Let's stick with our mission.

After the "Narrowing" phase we move into what the best way to accomplish the goal (or program however you want to look at it) is. This is the Strategic phase.

Strategy, strategy, strategy, everyone gets tired of strategy. This is the phase where people get grumpy. Terms like, "Why are we talking about this? Why don't we just do something?" comes up quite often. Do you remember the movie "Thelma and Loise"? Well they just did something and ended up driving their car off a cliff.

I don't like driving cars off cliffs. It isn't good for their alignment, just sayin.

After Strategy comes Execution.

The execution phase is were we actually do something. We do the goal, (or program however you want to look at it). This is where you find out if you did a good job on the first 3-phases.

Did I mention that I teach at a local university?

When I say this, the first thing that comes to mind is, "Well it obviously isn't English!" Duh.

No, I teach a variety of classes, some of which are business classes.

Oh great, now I have to read about how wonderful you are as a teacher, Ok Norm (not his real name...) no you don't have to sit and hear how wonderful I am, although I am pretty darn wonderful if I say so myself!

Can you tell I have been taking the John Handy school of self worth, "Because people just like me darn-it".

One of the questions that I ask the students is, "Are we asking the right questions" when it comes to solving the problem or filling a need, a niche, a Blue Ocean?

Back to the "Y".

In our meetings the question comes up, "What does our community need?" good question, but is it the right one?

The next question that gets asked, "What does our community want?" another great question, but is it the right one?

Then the team really starts to dig in, "Can we even provide this?" (whatever "this" is) Another awesome question, but is it the right question?

Then the homerun question, "Will we get paid to do this?" ding, ding, ding. The crux of the problem!!!!!

Remember we started out wanting to serve our community during a trying time.

We wanted to help.

Now we ended up with a business proposition.

I have said this before and I will say it again,

"These are tough times to be a shrubbier!"

You see the fear. The fear that leads to an agenda.

I never mind agendas. No, Agendas in themselves are good things.

Everyone has an agenda. Jesus Christ had, has and will have (the whole omnipresent, omnipotent thing plays in here) an agenda.

It is the hidden agenda that gets scary. Judas had the hidden agenda (we all know how that worked out).

Now I am not saying that because somebody raised the, "let's get paid" question that they are Judas.

No, what I am saying is, "Jesus is the pure love (serve our community) agenda, and Judas is the fear-based (if we don't get paid we are at risk) agenda.

So, to some up this diatribe.

Regor Nottub once said, "If you do something good for someone and expect something in return you are not doing good, your doing business. Do Good!"

The question is, "Are we doing good or merely doing business?"

Something to ponder.

Blessings,
Roger