1000 Cranes Blog

Happy Blog Action Day!

Well, I must admit, I haven't been good at all at blogging.  It took a reminder from the coordinators of "Blog Action Day" to get me motivated.  So thank you folks for getting me out of my blogging hiatus. 

So, what can I say about the environment...I think my biggest passion right now is supporting local farmers and local businesses.  Especially with this tough economy, it makes the most sense to put your money into the local community to make it thrive.  This also reduces transportation costs and keep prices lower. 

I still don't understand what the allure is of bottled water from Fiji.  Sure, the bottle is pretty cool, but in the end, your spending so much money on the plastic packaging and the transportation costs from half way around the world!  So the tip of the day...buy local distilled water.  It's the purest form you can get without any additives, and you can find local bottlers, thus supporting the local economy.   One simple step can make such a big difference!  Drink up! 

Success Comes from Planning and Execution

I finished a one day retreat session with Rodney Walker for the Robey Theatre Company at the beautiful Descanzo Gardens in the greater LA area. Retreats at beautiful locations are a wonderful way to engage Board members to address challenging situations. Facing tough decisions at an offsite location are best.

We spent the day discussing current methods and future ideas and came away with a commitment from the Board members.

In the end, as with most non-profits, clearly understanding the competitive dynamics and adapting to a fundraising plan are critical to the success of an organization.

One of our success philosophies is "Success comes from planning and execution." Now that we have pulled together a solid strategy, it's just a matter of refining and executing the plan.

The board is committed to this, and we have no doubt their sustainability plan will be a success!

Do you follow-through after making plans from a strategy session?

Why do you think organizations stumble after extensive planning?

Why is it difficult for some to execute?

Sensory Engagement

I'm working with Rodney Walker with Walker and Associates here in Southern California, and in preparation for our retreat tomorrow, he does the following:

1) Sound - Rodney sets up an iPod with uplifting music.
2) Smell - Rodney uses scents to alert the attendees that this is a different event.
3) Taste - Interesting savory and sweet foods are available during breaks.
4) Sight - Rodney uses colored markers, colorful handouts, and interesting visual elements to keep them engaged.
5) Touch - Binders are provided to give attendees something to hold.

Great tips to use for my next offsite retreat!

Meeting Customer Expectations

I'm here at the Hyatt Century Plaza in Los Angeles preparing for the National Association of Asian American Professionals Leadership Institute sessions.  Planning an event remotely has been a challenge, and I can only imagine that event planners go through lots of headaches when getting an event running. 

It has been interesting working on the logistics of the event as several people have been involved.  I had hoped that by now at literally the 11th hour most of the items would have been covered.   I've been extremely pleased with the flexibility of the hotel staff.  It's been interesting how well they have adapted to our requests.  They recently had a management change, and inspite of that, they are still doing well.   

The AV support, however, has been very sketchy.  I haven't seen anyone nor have I been contacted by the AV team, so it's hard to tell whether we'll have the right AV support for the event.  It's not good to get an uneasy feeling this close to "opening day." 

Regardless, the show must go on!  It does say, though, that people are impressed when you follow through on what you say you're going to do.  They are also impressed when you come through and adapt to changes.  They are NOT impressed when you leave them wondering about that status of a situation. 

How do you are meeting your customer expectations and how to you reassure them when their expectations are not met? 

What do you do to delight your customers and give them excellent customer service? 

Why do you think customers get nervous about your service, and what can you do to prevent that from happening? 

Amazon S3 allows Toastmasters to store and host videos!

I'm thrilled to have discovered Amazon S3 for my own 1000 Cranes videos, and I have been sharing that information/technique with several people who are starting to host their own videos.  I was very excited to hear that our Advanced Toastmasters club known as the Speech Acrobats has now started offering that to its members! 

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and in my case, it was very illuminating to view my speech patterns through video recordings.  I tend to do a "two-step" motion where I move up and back which can be distracting for the audience.    Awareness is always the first step to improvement, and I'm very blessed to be part of this group that is technically savvy enough to videotape sessions and make them available for review.

What habits are you aware of that need improvement?

How would you react to seeing a video of yourself speaking and what steps would you take to improve yourself? 

How can video hosting and streaming help your business or nonprofit? 

Individuality in the Cubicle Workplace

Uniformity and replication often make the workplace more productive.  When the cubicle was introduced as a work environment, the walls and workstations were deliberately made in a uniform fashion so they could be easily constructed and implemented in companies. 

In the classic movie "Office Space", there is a scene when one of the main characters decides to tear down his cubicle wall in order to have a view.  Funny enough, in some environments I worked in, these end cubicles became coveted real estate as employees would do a similar thing by popping out panels in order to see out the window. 

Gone are the days of the private office with the view.  Private offices today seem to be either windowless dens or glass enclosed fishbowls.  You either feel trapped or in the spotlight.   In the CNN article, "Cubicle Land -- How to Stand Out", several examples are given of employees who bring their favorite hobbies into the workplace or themes from favorite shows to make themselves feel more at home. 

So when faced with these work conditions, it seems that naturally people will want to express their individuality in some fashion...to make their work life somewhat more "homey".  But as one person's trash is another person's treasure.  Similarly, one person's art is another person's eye-sore. 

Companies and organizations are now faced with how to regulate these areas of expression.  Similar to dress codes implemented in the workplace, some organizations are setting up guidelines for decorations in their human resource manuals. 

Some would argue that the company or organization culture will provide guidance to what is appropriate.  In a sense it is almost peer pressure that causes people to either limit their behavior or expand upon it.    

What makes sense to keep a professional environment and yet give people an opportunity to express themselves creatively? 

Look around your own workspace, what kinds of things do you have decorating your environment?  Are there things that could be offensive or deemed "unprofessional?"

Are the decorations chosen considered "freedom of speech" or "freedom of expression" and if so, does it make sense for companies to control these? 

The Power of Referrals and Name Recognition

In the last month, we've received more inquiries into our business which I believe is due to the power of referrals and the name recognition of 1000 Cranes. 

In one case, we've partnered with a firm in Los Angeles in providing instructors for some of their grants training.  We have a partner consultant up in Jersey City, NJ working with their students for this week, and we recently assisted them with engagements in Seattle, WA and Raleigh, NC.  All of this work came from a simple request on our web form. 

Since we provide quality customized instruction, coaching and consulting services,  and even though this group never met us, they were ready get 1000 Cranes involved with their programs.  The recognition and reputation of the 1000 Cranes brand got their attention, and web search engines that picked up on our grant instruction led them to us! 

This week, we've received two inquiries from personal referrals.  When a friend recommends us, I believe that is one of the highest compliments we can receive.  That friend is putting their reputation on the line, and they know they want to give their friend the best advice.   

We haven't met either of these prospects, and yet they already trust us.  This is how valuable personal references can be. 

Here are some ideas to increase your referrals to your business:

1) Create the ultimate product or service that people will give rave reviews to their friends.  It doesn't matter how good your marketing is, if you don't have a good product or service people won't come back. 

2) Give useful items that help your customer.  There have been many times where I've given customers and prospects books that I think will help them with their planning efforts.  One of these, for example, is the Standards for Accountability Codebook which is something board members can immediately use and can be easily shipped in a 6x9 envelope. 

3) Create appealing high quality brands and trademarks and protect these. We invested in hiring Image Associates early in the development of our company to focus on graphic art for our brand positioning.  The colors, artwork, and placement were all provided through a professional service.  If your company comes across as looking unprofessional because you don't have quality images, your customers will also feel you don't spend the quality time with them as well. 

What are you doing to encourage referrals and name recognition with your organization?

Do you give away useful items to potential customers and reward customers who keep coming back? 

How are you positioning yourself to get into new market opportunities, and are you hiring the right professionals to help you get there? 

California Foundations to Invest in more Minority-Led Organizations

Today, I attended the Alliance for Nonprofit Management People of Color (POC) Affinity Group here in Dearborn, Michigan.  Unlike previous years where the POC met the day before the conference in a separate session, this time the group met during concurrent sessions where the turnout was less than in previous years.  Last year in Atlanta there were some 60+ people in the room, and this year we were at a modest 15. 

However, as the saying goes...size does not matter!  The enthusiasm and support of this community for the work in the nonprofit sector is still strong and vibrant!   

Whenever I come to the Alliance conference, I learn something new that is taking place in the sector.  In this case, I learned about an organization called the Greenlining Institute out of Berkeley, California.  The Greenlining Institute was supporting legislation that had been proposed by Assemblyman Joe Coto, D-San Jose, which had proposed that foundations disclose the amount of funding that was going to minority-led organizations.   

The legislation was an effort to have foundations disclose their funding patterns in this fashion which they have traditionally not done. 

In response to the proposed legislation, ten foundations came forward with a proposal to self-regulate and disclose their giving patterns with programs starting at the end of this year.  According to the article on the Greenlining site,

"The foundations – including the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Ahmanson Foundation and the California Endowment – said in a joint statement that nonprofits play a critical role in addressing the challenges facing minority and low-income communities.

The foundations reaffirmed their commitment to help minority organizations compete for grants and said they would issue annual reports about their efforts."

This is an interesting and welcome sign regarding the relationship of the foundations with minority-led organizations.  It is anticipated that similar efforts will be replicated in other areas of the country with support and assistance for the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. 

Do you think this announcement will affect support for minority-led organizations throughout the US and why?

Are there tools that can be developed to help foundations analyze the work that is being done by nonprofits in the community?

Where could foundations best spend that money? 

Four Day Work Weeks, the New Future?

With gas prices soaring to new heights, companies and organizations are looking at ways to reduce expenses for both the company and its employees.   Some are implementing work from home programs while others are using technology for remote access. 

Today, the State of Utah announced moving to a four hour work week beginning August 1st in order to reduce expenses.  Workers will work ten hours for four days, Monday through Thursday, with no cut in salary.  Some offices will close on Fridays reducing the cost of utilities and saving the State $3 million per year from their $11 billion budget.  This is also being promoted as a green strategy as it's anticipated the State of Utah will also reduce its consumption of gas as Fridays it's fleet will be parked. 

Critical services such as police, prison guards, public university employees and court employees will continue to work their normal schedules, but other departments will now begin following this new schedule. 

People are finding this to be an innovative way to save on fuel costs for both the State as well as its employees.  It has also resulted in increased morale.  It's anticipated that more States will follow-suit as budgets start to tighten. 

What benefits do you see in a four day, ten hour work week? 

Do you see any downfall with moving to this method?

What other strategies can be implemented to reduce costs and be more environmentally friendly?

Can Smoking Get You Fired?

I came across an article called "Can your company force you to be healthy?" which piqued my interest as it covers several issues regarding a company's right to invade your privacy.

The popularity of "health and wellness" programs at company sites has been motivated more by increasing health care costs and lost productivity with the increase of obesity and diabetes in our country.   

In fact, some organizations are using lifestyle choices such as cigarette smoking as grounds for firing their employees. 

Scotts Miracle-Gro company recently fired one of its employees because a blood test returned a positive result for nicotine.  Since the company bans all smoking at any time, it used this rule as grounds for firing him.    In addition, the article mentioned that University of Massachusetts Medical School also bans smoking anywhere on the premise, and if you are caught smoking in your car in the parking lot, that could be grounds for firing as well! 

Cigarette smoking is legal in this country, and if an employee chooses to smoke at home during his or her private time, does a company have the right to fire them for this act?  The Scotts Miracle-Gro case is still pending a decision, but if the firing is upheld, more companies may be looking at this more seriously with its workers. 

What other personal acts could a company monitor that could result in an employee being fired? 

What could an employee do to protect themselves from discrimination for raises, job transfers and other incentives if these kinds of programs are in place? 

What organizations do you know of provide a happy medium where employees can increase their healthly lifestyle and not have mandates imposed upon them?