When I hear a story of this nature, I recall the famous quote from the renowned Rosh Yeshiva of Aish HaTorah, Rav Noach Weinberg zt”l, whostarted Aish in a musty apartment in the Old City of Jerusalem and built it into a kiruv empire.
“When I started in kiruv, people would point with their finger and say: Rabbi Noach, the meshugeneh. The dreamer. When you start something new everybody says you’re crazy. When you’re halfway successful they say: I knew it all along. You know when you’re really successful? When they say: I can do it better than you. Do you get it? Baruch Hashem, today they all know how to do it better than me.”
Successful people know that that the naysayers are often reflecting their own weaknesses, or lack pro-activity or inspiration. This needs to be handled on a few levels, the first of which is to treat it as any objection to the sales process, and objections are made to be overcome.
So if someone remarks that brochures end up in trash bin, (if it’s worth your time) it might pay to ask that person if he ever received a piece of unsolicited mail that he opened, and if so, what grabbed his attention? Or if someone objects saying we don’t have the budget to produce sales or fundraising literature, you might counter by saying, let’s say budget was no factor, how would you recommend we promote our new product or program?
On a different level, the idea-presenter must ensure that the idea is well-thought out. It is best to iron out the kinks and find solutions to possible objections before formally presenting it to your board by discussing it first with those who you would trust to execute it. That way, if objections arise in the meeting, you have an ally who will speak up on your behalf.
Also, the more effort you invest in planning ahead, the wiser use you will be making of your and committee members valuable time. KnowHow NonProfit, a project of the Cass Centre for Charity Effectiveness in London, recommends putting thought into who you invite, the environment, and the time of day (or night) when the meeting will be held. Then, make it clear that the ground rules of the meeting will be to use a range of creative thinking techniques under the banner of listening and building on others ideas, anything is possible, and then have fun and go all out.
Now, you may ask, what happens if I am attending such a meeting and I hear an idea that I truly and legitimately feel is not right for our organization or company. Don’t I have an obligation to speak up?
This is indeed a fair and honest question. In her book Creativity in Business: A Practical Guide for Creative Thinking,Dr. Carol Kinsey Goman answers that the best way to phrase such sentiment is in a straightforward manner, such as: “Here are some concerns that I have. Could you help me to understand how they would be overcome?”
By directing the situation back to the person who proposed the idea in a diplomatic and positive fashion, you allow that person to develop a response to your concerns, while still keeping the door open to further discussion that could hone the idea and turn it into a real winner for everyone.
This Week’s Bottom Line Action Step: Be known as an ‘idea creator’ not an ‘idea killer.’
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Yitzchok Saftlas is the CEO of Bottom Line Marketing Group, a premier marketing agency recognized for its goal-oriented branding, sales, and recruitment and fundraising techniques. Serving corporate, non-profit and political clientele, Bottom Line’s notable clients include: Mike Bloomberg for Mayor, Dirshu and TeachNYS.
Readers are encouraged to submit their marketing questions to: ys@BottomLineMG.com
