Tinsel Strikes Again

Jenna is just the person every family needs around this time of year.  Her energy for decorating (and the dollar outlay goes with that) is boundless.  Last weekend she decorated no less than five trees at the house.  In fact, Susan put the foot down on tree capacity (see Holiday Hope)  at the household last year but Jenna found a thin six foot tree for the corner kitchen, quickly decorated it and won Susan's approval for this year.  

This is a short Christmas season given that Thanksgiving is late this year, so Jenna's early November energy has transformed the house into a feeling of Christmas already - music, trees and even pine smell.  It motivated me today to put up the outdoor wreath. 

I have told the story many times about Jenna's letter to Target offering her services to decorate their trees in their store and her entrepreneurial idea to set up a Christmas decorating business (Tinsel LLC).  She created a  marketing flyer and distributed throughout the neighborhood. 

I guess I'm her largest (and only) customer this year :)

Passionate Tie Breaker

Last night the Investment Committee met to select the "winner" for our 2013 Investment cycle.  There was a tie vote in the written ballots of the general partnership Wednesday night. So this meant that the Investment Committee was faced with breaking the tie.  There was great passion (heart) and logic (head) revealed around the table as we compared and contrasted the risks and rewards that might accrue with the two finalists.  There was no easy logic on a tiebreaking principal and picking both non profits was not an option. 

S.Z. did a great job of facilitating the twelve members on the Investment Committee and just like the elimination round of the TV shows, Idol, America's Got Talent, and The Voice (now my favorite) there was no real bad choice.  Anne M. punctuated this point talking about the poem I remember (and blogged about) on flipping a penny - "Half a Decision".

No coin flip was required and by an overwhelming majority the Investment Committee picked Lawn Life - providing disconnected youth with an opportunity to gain real work experience and transferable skills.

Congratulations to Lawn Life! ..... and to the runners up Literacy Network and Faces without Places.

 

 

SVP Cincinnati "The Voice"

Tonight the SVP Cincinnati Partners meet to select the 2013/2014 Non-Profit Investee that we will both grant money and more importantly coach and advise to greater sustainability and impact.  This will be our 6th Investee in our "portfolio of good".  The final three are Faces without Places, Lawn Life, and Literacy Network.  They will present their organization an more importantly describe their needs and how they fit with what SVP Cincinnati could provide.

As I was sitting in the car with Ellen this morning I told her what was happening this evening with "The Voice" of these three Non-Profits.  When I asked her what choice she would pick (based on my elevator pitches of each), she chose LNGC - Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati.  You might think I have a bias also to this Non-Profit given my past posts of the "The Need to Read" - but actually it will be a very hard choice. 

Just like the judges on the television program "The Voice", I see all three of these Non-Profits as great performers in their own space.  I don't think there could be a bad choice.  Congratulations to each of the three for making the finals.

Matrix Matrix on the Wall

At the Board Development meeting for our SVP Cincinnati investee, they handed out a matrix of questions/skills/attributes that each Board member would complete.  It is a great tool in evaluating where there are gaps in an existing Board that a nominating committee can use to determine whom to recruit as a future Board member.  However, the most important portion of the matrix is determining the questions or attributes that you want - not a boiler plate list of items.

Too often surveys and questionnaires are designed without the projection of what data will be received (e.g. the completed questionnaire).  Misinterpretations, redundant data, incomplete data, and/or just worthless questions (once the responses are seen) can create an exercise in wasting time (both the survey designer and the participants).

It's as if the designer hopes that once all the data is received and the Matrix is complete, he/she can put it up on the wall and exclaim "Matrix Matrix on the Wall ...... tell me, tell me ...... about it all".   The answer will magically appear!  The answer never appears - even with the best designer's intent.

The reality is the exercise of design is 80% of the value and the data received is 20% of the value.  Thinking through the questions (regardless of the data) will yield what direction you are trying to decide to move toward.

So you should be saying:  "Matrix Matrix in my head .... instead"  :)

Prideful Physics

You know the type - full of air and "blowing their own sails".  Actually I tried to find this idiom and found nothing.  Clearly boasting and bragging is inferred by "blowing your own trumpet" and the expression "taking the wind out of his sails" implies a challenge to someone's boasting or arrogance.   So putting these together, you could assume the context of "blowing their own sails" is all about pride and public pomp. 

More interesting is the Myth Buster's experiment with blowing your own sail - is it feasible?  The physicists can weigh in on this one - and many did  - see http://www.ellipsix.net/blog/2011/5/blow-your-own-sail.html. 

So -  I guess blowing your own sail does work.   But only if you have fans :)

Myth Busters Episode #165 May 11, 2011
http://mythbustersresults.com/blow-your-own-sail

Silent Vote

The conference discussion was dominated by the passionate few pleading their points. Many sat silent, pondering the principles and flexibly yielding to the passionate in the efficiency of time.  "Call the Question" and the vote was voiced - the majority absent in response.  After all, a "NO" uncomfortably breaks the silence, contaminates the unanimous, exposes the individual,  and .......

     slips the silent majority into a prison of dominance. 

Break the silence today.

God's Canvas

Sunrise  - Cincinnati, Ohio  11/4/13


 

Ellen pointed out the sunrise today - daylight savings time ended yesterday - were now on God's time :) .

 "How could anyone believe there isn't a God", was my remark. 

A constant living canvas - the master artist.


Sunset - Naples Florida  10/25/13