Do you count on other people to get your stuff done?
Whether you lead a team, draw on volunteers or contract with outside resources to get your work done (or some combo) it’s key to keep your people moving, motivated and feeling upbeat about their work. Recently, I was reminded of a very simple truth that reinforced this point.
My new friend and Fishhook client, Mike Ducy of Run2Relay has been involved in the running and competition event business for 20+ years. Before launching Run2Relay as a low-barrier community event for churches to incorporate into their outreach strategy (and a all out fun event for competitors), Mike owned End Result andGetMeRegistered.com. Mike sold these two businesses to allow him the time and focus to create Run2Relay. Recently, Mike and I spent time together connecting with people at theNorth American Christian Convention. We were both wearing Run2Relay shirts and the shirts were a giveaway in his booth. We had devised a simple game people could play that engaged them in learning the Run2Relay story. As it turns out, everybody wins the game and everybody got his or her own Run2Relay shirt. What amazed me was to watch men and women, teens and kids stop dead in their convention-induced-walking-trance to play the game…to get the shirt.
As Mike and I spent time together, he said, “People will do anything for a free shirt,” and proceeded to tell me several stories about how he has used event shirts as the way to get all sorts of stuff done over the years. Convention center dockworkers would drop what they were doing and lend Mike a free hand to unload his stuff…in exchange for a airborne tossed free shirt. Event bystanders would roll-up their sleeves and jump in to help man a table or water station…for a free shirt. And the stories went on.
So, here’s a simple idea.