Not Sure What Millennials Are All About? Just Ask One.

Millennials. Everybody talks about them, but nobody can agree on what they’re all about. They are lambasted as a lazy, entitled, and narcissistic generation, or praised for being diverse, open to change, and connected. Given the intense debate around positive versus negative generational differences, we should not be surprised that millennials themselves actually reject the label in large numbers. Generations are just like people in that they have personalities, and negatively stereotyping a generation can feel just as off putting as boxing a person in to an inflexible personality type.

I am an old millennial. There, I confessed. Lately, I am increasingly appreciating the need to stand up and own my generational label, for better or worse.

Take, for instance, an example from two weeks ago when I participated in an IQ Charrette at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. “IQ Charrette” is a clever term for “brainstorming session,” and we took on no small task:  brainstorming to help shape the future of the garden. Over the course of two thought-provoking days, participants spoke a lot about what the garden means to us personally and as a city. We talked about how to ensure that the garden stands the test of time, yet appeals to all kinds of people, in a way that contributes to a diverse, inclusive, community.

At the start of day one, I shared with the group that Lewis Ginter holds a special place in my heart because it’s one of the first places in my adopted city that made me feel less nervous about the scary, life-changing decision I made to move here. When I first arrived in Richmond, I had trouble identifying with the city’s cultural touchstones because they felt so different from up North. Lewis Ginter reminded me of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, helped ease my homesickness, and made me feel open to everything else Richmond has to offer.

I shared that story with the charrette participants hoping to convey what Lewis Ginter means to a transplant, but upon reflection, the story is also one with which other millennials can identify. I graduated law school in 2010 – a peak year of the recent economic crisis that has affected millennials like no other age cohort. I did not want to leave New York City, but I would have moved anywhere for a good job in my field (soul-crushing student debt, another feature of millennials’ lives, will certainly give you motivation). I was incredibly lucky to get my dream job, but watching the career paths of the generations before me scared me. I worried that I might not like my new city and would be stuck in one place, forever. (Sidebar:  in case you’re wondering, it seems like a myth that millennials change jobs more often than prior generations.)

By the end of the second day, I took the opportunity to vocally identify with the label “millennial.” The charrette facilitators assigned participants a cast of different “characters,” and asked us to plot out on a paper map how those people might spend a day at the gardens. My small group took on a day in the life of what can only be described as a #squad of young hipsters. As my team and I talked about what new features we would build in the gardens for makers and vinyl records collectors, the words “I would love that!” leapt out of my mouth. I told the group, “Well… um… I am a millennial. An old one.” I waited for them to think of me as self-absorbed and addicted to my iPhone.

Of course, my teammates had a fantastic response:  they didn’t engage in silencing, negative stereotyping. They, most older, took the time to engage and listen to my personal perspective. While nobody can speak for all of their demographic, I felt empowered and included to speak up for what I personally enjoy about the gardens as a young(er) person. I felt even more welcomed in to the Lewis Ginter community that the charrette participants so rightly strive to grow.

My take away is this:  if you are not sure what millennials are all about, just ask one. Asking someone else’s perspective turns on your creative thoughts and helps shape the future in ways we can never accomplish when we in-authentically label. Lewis Ginter knows this lesson, and I am so appreciative that they invited me back to join a small group of millennials for lunch, where we will continue discussing the garden’s master planning process. I am so happy to be included and feel honored to be asked.

In other words, I am so excited I can’t even. Stay tuned for more, after next week

In Case of Emergency, Put on Your Own Mask First.

We recently kicked off our 5-day Manager Development Program. (MDP) During the first morning, we asked the group to think about a great manager in their life and to list what made them great. Collectively, this is the list they generated.

 

 

The MDP participants from 12 organizations varying in size and complexity, will explore numerous models, approaches and techniques to figuring out what their best management looks like and how it impacts others. Our hope is that each workplace is also a bit transformed by each manager’s experience. 

The Manager Development Program specifically addresses what each manager can influence. We aren’t trying to change organizations, bosses or teammates. Our focus during the program is to guide each participant to answer the question, “What is my best management style?” 

Just like the list above, it is easy to get overwhelmed with the “many”, but choosing to narrow our scope to the “few” can be freeing. 

At Floricane, our work is guided by the strongly held belief that we can change the world by providing space for folks, to breathe and explore their own path. It’s like the adage, in an emergency put on your own oxygen mask, before you help anyone else put on their mask. MDP, as we affectionately call it does just that, making it okay for managers to put on their own mask first.  

Innovation = Brain On Fire

There are questions that all of us – individually, and within our organizations – ask every day: How do you do your best brainstorming? You probably know at least a little bit about how you work best, but how do you grow? How do you learn new ways to think and solve problems?

Perhaps you’re like me – you want to focus on facts and details, follow a consistent procedure, reason logically first and consider emotions second, and persistently question. Picture this guy. If you’re like me (and Spock), it can be challenging to work on unstructured projects, think “outside the box,” and be open to unconventional solutions.

Luckily, last week offered an amazing opportunity to learn new ways of thinking when Floricane joined our friends at Child Fund International for a rapid innovation lab. Child Fund strengthens communities and families by supporting the resources children in poverty need to succeed, from education to health to nutrition and more. Unfortunately, across the international philanthropy sector, charitable gifts are stagnant. International nonprofits, like Child Fund, must innovate and attract new, sustainable donors.

Enter the rapid innovation lab as a creative, “outside the box” problem solver! Rapid innovation labs are an active, fast-paced method for building capacity, designing solutions, and creating and testing products. Lab facilitators help participants through a series of exercises that lead people from thinking big picture to thinking about concrete plans. Participants work in small groups and as a whole to generate ideas, design prototypes that bring their ideas to life, and receive feedback.

During last week’s session, three members of Floricane gathered with community stakeholders and Child Fund employees at the James River Winery.  The variety roles represented in the group all but guaranteed a solid foundation for productive brainstorming: from new college graduates to folks with a lifetime of experience in their careers, across disciplines.

The Child Fund lab focused on identifying new types of donors and developing new ways to capture them. First, we talked about products we love, and why (everything from mascara brands to favorite airlines). We then developed a list of ideas for donor engagement that tapped in to the themes associated with why we love the products we love. When coming up with ideas, we always said, “yes, and…” so as not to stifle the brainstorming process. Then we played with pipe cleaners! I never consider myself creative, but working with your hands to draw or model an idea truly stimulates your brain in new ways. By the end of the day, participants had generated a list of dynamic donor engagement programs, and the start of action plans that the Child Fund innovation team will take back to further develop.

Honestly, at first I was nervous. I wondered if I would be able to contribute effectively to a creative process that starts by focusing on the big picture. I worried about whether we would come up with the “right” answers for Child Fund. Needless to say, it’s hard to step outside of your comfort zone! In the end, the group was swimming in fabulous ideas. You could feel the energy in the room as action plans poured out of us. I left feeling like my brain was on fire – in an amazing way – reveling in the excitement of learning something new.

I am so glad I went “outside the box” and learned how important it is for me and the organizations we serve to shake things up, adapt, and take time out to innovate and dream! 

Can I Get An Amen (for new experiences)?

Last week, I spent the better part of two days volunteering my consulting and facilitation time with the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. I didn't suddenly "catch" religion, and the folks at the Virginia Conference certainly weren't calling on me for my deep theological expertise. No, I was part of a small team helping the Virginia Conference UMC "accelerate" seven church-based programs.

I blame Todd Nuckols of Lighthouse Labs RVA for all of this.

Lighthouse has helped to accelerate some 20 start-up companies in Richmond in recent years -- taking groups of entrepreneurs through 12-16 weeks of intensive work to shape and refine their business ideas. I've had the pleasure of being on the periphery of Lighthouse's work. The co-located one of their acceleration rounds in the 1E collaborative workspace we've built with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. I've also been in the room with Todd and others in recent years discussing Richmond's own start-up ecosystem.

Late last year, Todd connected me with Chris Bennett, the pastor at St. Matthew's UMC in semi-rural Goochland County, Virginia. The three of us met, and Chris talked about his idea to accelerate a group of church-based ministries, or community programs. Chris had the programs, which received some funding from the Virginia Conference, and a date on the calendar. Todd had connections to mentors who could help them focus on and refine their efforts. I had a few ideas on designing the session and was tasked with facilitating slices of the day, but mostly spent my time trying not to use any bad language.

Fast forward to last week, as 20 UMC parishioners joined together with 15 entrepreneurs to take a business approach to their community-centered ministries. There was a community garden, several food banks and meal programs, a preschool, and a home repair ministry. In no time, the teams were engaged in energetic discussions about the focus of and opportunities for their programs.

By the end of the second day, each UMC team had a six-month plan to take back to their church and implement. Each plan was built around a single idea -- such as, develop a younger volunteer base, build more community partnerships, raise money, increase services. The Virginia Conference plans to bring them back together in August to see how they've done.

It was, admittedly, a fast, imperfect acceleration. We knew going in that the process would tap Todd's acceleration expertise and my consulting skills in finite ways. But for a pilot program, we moved each group in the right direction.

Having opportunities to engage with different communities, groups of people whose life trajectory is uniquely different than my own, is what continues to make my life with Floricane so special. Whether I'm with a group of older Methodists talking about broadly familiar concepts of God, faith and ministry (with my checkered Catholic, Episcopalian and Quaker pedigree), engaged in strategic planning with a group of adoption attorneys, or helping academicians redefine the concept of leadership in higher education, the journey always challenges my perceptions, deepens my learning and is hella fun. (As the kids say, when they're not watching their language.)

We're already talking about ideas for a second acceleration with the Virginia Conference. I've cast my vote for a multi-demoninational approach that would bring together faith communities of all stripes from specific towns or cities to work collectively on an idea -- because that would be challenging and fun both. In the meantime, I'm off in search of another opportunity to engage a new community in some creative exploration. (Oh, hello there, Beautiful RVA. See you in a few weeks.)

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Six years ago, we decided that Floricane would honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day with postcards. It is a small thing, but we found that having a little reminder of the man and his dreams for the rest of us clicked. Each January, we mailed about 500 postcards -- an image of Martin Luther King Jr. and a quote.

We found the postcards were a good reminder to us each year about the real purpose of our work -- to meet the challenge of bettering the organizations we work with, ourselves and our communities, and ultimately our world. Maybe that's a lofty goal for a little consulting company, but who gets anywhere without a dream?

We admire Martin Luther King Jr. for the same things that everyone does. His courage and tenacity. His authenticity and ability to dream. His vision for a better America, and a better world.

Last year, we moved from postcards to digital -- images you could save to your iPhone or iPad or desktop. This year we stuck with the idea of sharing these images digitally. They serve as daily reminders on the devices that travel with us, literally, everywhere.

““If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.””
— Martin Luther King Jr.

This year's quote captures a fact that we know all too well. Lasting, effective change is not easy.  We see this not only in our own work here at Floricane, but more importantly, in our world.

Download an image on one of your devices. And keep moving forward.

HOW TO SAVE

Desktop:
Right click and select "save image as..." 

Mobile devices:
Tap and hold, select "save image."
For iPhone/iPad, change your wallpaper under Settings-->Wallpaper.

Phone Wallpaper:

2.png

Desktop Wallpaper:

iPad Wallpaper:

HOW TO SAVE

DESKTOP:
RIGHT CLICK AND SELECT "SAVE IMAGE AS..." 

MOBILE DEVICES:
TAP AND HOLD, SELECT "SAVE IMAGE."
FOR IPHONE/IPAD, CHANGE YOUR WALLPAPER UNDER SETTINGS-->WALLPAPER.

Find Your Strengths at Our $10 Toolkit

 

This Wednesday, we kick off a brand new year of $10 Toolkit workshops at Floricane.

The idea is simple.  You want to learn new skills, but your time is valuable – and you don’t want to spend $1,000 for a full day of PowerPoint presentations that fill your brain with white noise.

Enter our $10 Toolkit. One hour of your time, and ten dollars of your money, get you one hour of content – a focused bit of learning on topics related to leadership, change, strategic planning or personal development.

This Wednesday at 4pm, Lesley Bruno will unpack the world of StrengthsFinder, out of which the Gallup Organization has identified 34 “talent themes” (or strengths) that help shape our effectiveness. The concept behind StrengthsFinder is that each of us areas of skill or focus where we are most naturally effective – and that we should work to leverage those strengths, and to make them stronger.

The 34 talent themes sit within four domains -- as shown in the above graphic. And as with anything that has domains, there's the obvious suggestion you should consider how this may impact the composition of your working teams.

Of course, our view is a bit more nuanced. We are absolute believers in the strengths-based approach, and the idea of positive psychology, as one aspect of personal growth. We also believe that you need to build awareness around those areas where you are less effective, and understand their impact. But that’s another workshop.

On the strengths front, here’s how Gallup puts it:

“All people have a unique combination of talents, knowledge, and skills — strengths — that they use in their daily lives to do their work, achieve their goals, and interact with others. Gallup has found that when people understand and apply their strengths, the effect on their lives and work is transformational. People who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged in their work and three times more likely to say they have an excellent quality of life.”

On Wednesday, Lesley will introduce you to the 34 talent themes, and take participants through an interactive exploration of how they shape our work. We’ll have a few handouts on the StrengthsFinder model, and a quick assessment you can use to get a feel for where your natural strengths may lie.

You can register in advance, or drop in –- we’ll be starting promptly at 4pm so you might want to meander by our offices in the Richmond Times-Dispatch building around 3:45 or so. We’ll have snacks.

More details, and registration information, can be snagged from the Floricane Events page.

 

 

We’re Not Getting Tilted

Click the image above to scroll through our favorite Tilted memories...

Four years ago, a group of small business owners decided to create an event for people like them – self-starting entrepreneurs who didn’t have the time or patience to sort the wheat from the chaff of local business networking.

The event was called Tilted, and for four years it drew about a hundred entrepreneurs together for a day of idea sharing, relationship building, and learning. Tilted was designed to be a little less ordinary, a little more relaxed, and – well, tilted a few degrees off from more traditional business conferences.

In fact, the organizers called it an “unconference.” And while it didn’t adhere strictly to the principles of unconference organizing – Yes, Virginia, there are such things as unconferences. – it tried to lean hard in that direction.

Here are a few things I valued about Tilted, as an organizer and participant:

  • Organizers worked to check their brands at the door. There were no sponsors. We tried to emphasize the people who helped make Tilted happen, not the businesses.

 

  • Participants provided most of the content. We approached the idea of crowd-sourced content a bit differently each year, but by-and-large the experts were in the room, and they were our peers.

 

  • Both time and design contributed to real relationship building. People actually got to know each other – and in some cases build lasting business relationships.

 

  • Each Tilted event had at least some of the unusual suspects. While there were always familiar faces from a core group of downtown, Twitter-savvy business people, there were always people I’d never met in the room.

 

  • It was an affordable, break-even event. We kept ticket costs low – between $25 and $40 for the day. And we kept our expenses low – mostly space rental and marketing. And we donated almost $2,000 to local nonprofits along the way.

On the flip side, Tilted came with its own set of very common challenges:

  • The faces felt too familiar. For a variety of reasons, we never managed to break the color barrier, and were hard-pressed to break the geography barrier. There were always a lot of young, white business owners from Richmond in the room – a smart lot with plenty of diversity of thought and business focus, but not entirely representative of the region.

 

  • It required a lot of heavy lifting. We deliberately limited the planning window each year to 45 days to keep from over-designing, but that meant 45 days of concentrated planning. That’s hard to do when you’re running a business!

 

  • Collaboration is hard! The organizers each year came together to generate great ideas, and everyone pitched in on the day of the event, but it was challenging to spread the work evenly.

As Floricane, which has historically initiated each Tilted event (and hosted in our home in the Times-Dispatch building), looked at a fifth round of Tilted this winter we balked. We’re starting what is shaping up to be the best year in our small company’s history with a mostly new team of consultants. Trying to manage the heavy lifting of Tilted V, and keeping the bar high, felt too daunting this time around.

The good news is that the Virginia Community Economic Network’s Conaway Haskins has expressed interest in resurrecting Tilted as a statewide event. I’ll be interested to see if that gains some traction and becomes a thing.

In the meantime, I’ll always have memories – and a great community of co-organizers who I have come to know and appreciate more fully because of our shared work on Tilted. Thanks to Caroline Moyer, Tina Pearlman, Carra Rose, Aaron Dotson, Jon Newman, Rick Jarvis, Deanna Lorianni, Meghan Codd Walker, Peter Fraser, Tiffany Jana, Matthew Freeman, Sarah Milston, Jacob Geiger, Jen Tompkins, Andreas Addison, Theran Fisher,  and all the other contributors along the way.