Butterflies, Hurricanes and Another Idea for Greater Good
My hands are trembling as I type these words. Partly from the angst I feel from launching this idea… Partly from the kettlebell workout I was in the middle of when Muse’s Butterflies and Hurricanes hit my Spotify playlist. Timely lyrics now blasting out of my Google home speaker perfectly capture the tumult in my stomach. …You've got to change the world…Your time is now…
I’m not so naive to think I can change the world. But I do hope to inspire a collective sum far greater than one group or entity to ignite change through the marketing industry.
I woke up early to start putting wheels in motion for an idea that I’ve been stewing on for well over a year. An idea that needed time, conversations, critique, feedback and space to breathe and evolve. It’s had some of those things and it needs more. So, it’s time to start talking about it publicly. And someone finally said, “You’re kind of blowing my mind on this, let’s do an event around it.”
Our time IS now. I believe there are forces at play in the marketing industry that when unified in focus and direction, could create big impact for the greater good of the world.
There are many stakeholders and unique ways this general idea could come to life. So this is the launch of an open discovery process, to see if this idea is something we–a collective of current and future marketing industry minds and talents–can stand behind and make a reality, whether in our own pockets of the world or in one big splash. This process may or may not result in an open-source strategy or playbook of some kind, depending on how these conversations turn out. Pretty vague and hard to pin down because it’s shapeless until the process decides the proper form and if it’s even worth forming at all.
In November, I’ll be moderating a panel discussion through Kindred Members, a network for socially responsible business leaders. The event will serve as a time to present the basic premise of this idea to an audience of key stakeholders, with a panel of bright minds from across the industry as an anchor for discussion. We’ll dig into the opportunities and challenges the idea presents and explore what it could look like out in the world in order to have a positive impact on multiple levels, for all stakeholders.
Why an open discovery with sharing along the way? Simply put, this idea cannot be built in a vacuum and be successful—something my early conversations made very clear. And by sharing my personal feelings in a truly open discovery, the wins and setbacks, moments I’ve jumped for joy and those when I hung my head in shameful embarrassment, I hope to share something of value–a good story–even if the idea turns out to be a bust.
Whether your ideas are about working towards some difficult change in a public way, or whether you are aspiring for progress in a much more singular and personal way, we can all benefit from someone else’s story in the pursuit of better.
So now, with butterflies in my stomach and potential hurricanes in my path, I’m making moves for More Movement with Marketing.
PLEASE! Lend your voice to the effort.
