So, rumor has it that some of you had a bit of a
conversation around my last blog “What comes first, Of course since I live in
the 1950’s, in other words not on Facebook, I have absolutely no idea what all
you guys said. But thanks to my
dear fellow My Jewish Coach, Donna Schwartz, I have, in spite of crashing my
1950’s computer, kicking and screaminly entered your universe and joined Facebook!!!
As soon as I accomplished this ever so mighty feat, I felt
really proud of my very clever self.
But there was one small problem…I have absolutely no idea what to do
now. And most importantly, I have
no idea how to communicate with you guys (please note that a guy is very often
a woman!) when each and every one of you decide that the following is something
you simply do not agree with!
Yes. I still
believe NO MONEY – NO MISSION.
Yes, the MONEY must come first.
That being said, without a compelling mission, (remember your really,
really really great idea from last month?) finding the money is gonna be a tad
difficult. Does that mean that the
MISSION comes first? Hum. I do
believe that we are now smack dab back in that whole chicken and egg conundrum.
So now here are the three Jane P. Stein recommendations for
getting around this whole mishegas.
1. Take that really really
really great idea – now becoming in your own mind a sorta mission statement –
and call the very smartest person you know. To qualify who this particular very smart person should be,
it needs to be someone with a whole boat load of money and a willingness to
part with it for organizations with compelling missions (you know…that guy with
the philanthropic soul).
2. Make an appointment (a
date for coffee or “just 15 minutes of your time at your office”) to meet face
to face.
3. Use the nine magic words
“I really would love to pick your amazing brain” followed very quickly (no
breathing allowed) by the eight even more magical words “I promise I won’t ask
you for money”.
And BINGO! You are on your
way!! This is your opportunity to
test drive your idea. Call it your
very own personal feasibility study (and just like those fancy and very
expensive feasibility studies we all know and don’t particularly love) your
very smart person knows that you will be back one day asking for money! But at this meeting, DO NOT ASK FOR
MONEY…and if this very smart person begs you to take money to get started,
please, please keep your promise and DO NOT TAKE THE MONEY. You are there to paint the picture of
how much better the world will be with the implementation of your mission
idea. This is your chance to
engage another person into dreaming your dream with you.
Of course if you cannot engage this very smart person into dreaming with
you, it may be time to go back to the drawing board. No engagement, no money. No money, no mission.
But if you see this guy’s eyes light up. And you see this guy move forward to the edge of that great
big scary office chair, pitch your little heart out, but be sure that you take
a whole lot of the time to get input from the very smart person.
Because once that input starts getting put in, you will find yourself
with a new partner to your dream…one with the money (and the friends and the
contacts and the connections) to get your mission up and running. And then guess what???? MONEY AND
MISSION!!!
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