The NOW! Organization

[Blog]

If the project that you are working on (your company, non-profit, etc.) were a guy, what would he be like? Is he charming? Is he cute? Is he erudite? Is he caring? Is he someone who every girl would fall in love with? How clean is his room? What are his relationships like?

People often treat projects as inanimate objects or concepts. (They are inanimate after all, no?) But something today made me realize that to take each project to the next level, we need to think of it as a person – a person with dreams, strengths, weaknesses, personality, emotions, etc.  A friend of mine showed me what he envisioned himself to feel like in two years about everything from health, relationships, mindset, to success. It suddenly occurred to me that too often in project planning, people over-emphasize the inorganic and brief over the organic.

When planning projects people often set goals such as reaching abcd number of people, $xxxx in revenue, and yyyy% in annual growth. But how about thinking more about how the project will make people feel and the relationships that it develops? We often hear that that people might forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel. You buy a dress not necessarily because it is 0.6m wide. You buy it because it makes you feel gorgeous and special: you want it because you’ve developed a connection with that dress. If that store always sells dresses that make you feel gorgeous, you will keep going back. The store is as though a cute guy who makes you feel gorgeous and special. You’ve developed a relationship with that store.

By putting yourself into the shoes of your “project person”, you will discover how you could turn your inanimate project into an unforgettable person that engages the heart and soul of the participant/customer/etc – and develop strong relationships with them.

Musings: turning your project into Prince Charming in three simple steps?

1. What does your project need?

What does a person need?
- a loving family [is your project nurtured by a loving team?]
- knowledge [does your project have good content?]
- personality [how does your project make people feel? how does it channel its positive energy and love?]
- appearance [what impression does your project leave?]
- relationships [what's your project's relationship with its audience?]
- opportunities [is your project surrounded by opportunities that can take it to the next level?]
- mentorship [does your project have access to the guidance and advice it requires?]

etc.

2. Paint a picture of your project in ___ [insert time]

An example (answering questions in step 1) could be:

NOW! is a caring, smart and charismatic guy growing up in a loving environment that encourages creativity and holistic thinking. NOW! loves to learn and adventure. NOW! loves to play guitar. Erudite, simple, honest, and elegant, NOW! charms everyone he sees and develops meaningful long-term relationships. People remember NOW!’s passion, dedication, and energy in community service, empowering young people, and building interdisciplinary solutions. NOW! make people feel powerful, loving, caring, and happy. NOW! has big dreams and cherishes the mentorships and opportunities that will help turn his dream come true.

3. Determine what kind of person your project is currently, and what kind of personal development can help your project become the best person it could be.

An example could be:

1. NOW! could be a more approachable guy [find ways to make NOW! more accessible]
2. NOW! needs more long-term relationships [find ways to help NOW! participants etc. develop emotional connections with NOW! sustainability programs]
3. NOW! is a little lost about where to head. [get the NOW! team together to figure out NOW!'s focus]
… etc.

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Thoughts?

Cheers,

Janny