Strategy / Serendipity

 

When is the last time you really challenged yourself? 

I mean a big risk. Something you didn't know you could do. High risk of failure. Butterflies-in-your-stomach kind of challenge? 

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T.S. Eliot

This is one of my favorite quotes and I think about this quite a bit. But how often do we really "risk going too far?" 

Probably not enough. 

One of my biggest fears is becoming complacent when it comes to personal and professional risks. Last year, as part of a goal setting exercise, I decided to seek our more risks. Find things that scare me and jump in head first. I'm in my 30's. If I don't do this now, when will I do this? 

When Peter Chee, founder of ThinkSpace, challenged me and others in the tech community to a run the Seattle Half Marathon (here's his post on how it happened), I couldn't pass it up. I've always wanted to run it but never sure that I actually would (or could). 

I'm not a runner. I'm a beach volleyball player. I like short distances and jumping. I get bored running more than a mile. In fact, the farthest I've ever run (recently, through training) is just half what I'll need to run tomorrow. The thought of running 13.1 miles sounds daunting. 

Why am I saying all of this? The point is I might fail. And I love this feeling. 

I haven't been nervous in a long time but today, checking in for tomorrow's race, I was surprisingly nervous. As I think more about this, I realize the importance of two things: overcoming at least one big challenge at least once a year, and having friends to encourage that risk taking. (Thank you, Peter.) 

A big challenge? For me, right now, this is it. 

 

For me, philanthropy is a responsibility, a passion, and an honor. And so far as I can tell—after being a parent—it’s the most gratifying job on earth. --Bill Gates

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invited hundreds of researchers, leaders, nonprofit workers and several bloggers to Seattle for the End Malaria Forum this past week.

Amid some powerful talks from leaders across the world, Gates shared some of his own thoughts on philanthropy.

So, how does one of the most influential people in the world (and in the nonprofit sector) approach his work? At the end of his speech, he offered his high-level thoughts, framed through a conversation with Warren Bufftet five years ago:

I still remember Warren Buffet and I having this conversation about our approach. He was drawing a contrast to investing (his career) versus philanthropy. 

Buffet said: "[With investing] I don't look to jump over seven-foot bars. I look for one-foot bars that I can step over. 

 When it comes to philanthropy, it's quite different. The easy things will get done or have been done. The uniqueness is that we can step back and take a long-term timeframe."

"We should go after the seven-foot bars. The things that are very tough but very very important." 

Malaria eradication is a perfect example of that.

We're going to have to learn. We'll make mistakes. We have to acknowledge those mistakes. We have to get smarter. We have to get new tools. Drive the cases down. There will be rebounds. We have to learn what causes those. We need a lot of focus. 

Year by year, we can see that the map [of malaria cases] will shrink. 

This won't happen four years from now. It won't happen eight years from now. 

But the work we're doing now will determine whether that's possible. 

This parasite has been out there killing children, injuring children and sapping the strenth of whole populations for tens of thousands of years. 

It's really hard in terms of deaths and morbidity to calcuate the harm that malaria has done, and is doing now. It's very exciting to get together and talk about charting the course to end malaria.

Once and for all. 

Here's a link to the video of Bill speaking at the End Malaria Forum in Seattle on Oct. 18, 2011. 

To read more about how Bill and Melinda Gates approach philanthropy, here's a post Bill Gates wrote in August 2011. Editor's note: it's quite inspiring; worth a read.

 

 

 

 

Looking over all the social media updates I shared this month. This one got 45 retweets and shares across all networks; most popular update over the last month. Interesting to look back and see the updates that other people liked best...

I have been looking forward to sharing some news for a few days and am happy to finally announce that I accepted a newly-created position leading the social media team for Nordstrom.

It's exciting news for me. I’ve always admired their work environment, excellent customer service and focus on quality. I'm ecstatic about the opportunity to contribute to an iconic, national, made-in-Seattle retailer.

As I write this, I feel compelled to pause for a moment and thank everyone I’ve worked with on this journey; not only former co-workers at the Seattle Mariners, Fox Sports Net, Comcast, Ant’s Eye View (and the team at Google) but also friends I’ve met online and offline.

I’m deeply thankful for people throughout my career who have helped me, given me constructive advice and ideas and taken time to show they care. It’s a good reminder to me: always look for ways to pay it forward.

Thank you to Dustin and my former co-workers at Ant's Eye View (pictured below) for the thoughtful blog post!

A fun week of recharging in Seattle, seeing friends and two amazing grassroots events. 

Brunch with my unofficial goal setting group, Eric Weaver (@weave) from Tribal DDB Canada and Heidi Miller (@heidimiller), podcaster and conversation director at Spoken Comm.

I love this city. A baby seal sitting next to me on the waterfront at Alki Beach. 

Team Up For Non-profits had their #Gigs4Good event and I had a chance to host the livestream feed and meet some incredibly talented musicians. The event featured The Royal Bear (pictured), Grand Hallway and Lindsay Fuller (who is opening for the Indigo Girls next week). The energy from TeamUp4NonProf is impressive. They're promoting talented Seattle bands and raising money for local charities in the process.  The SMC Seattle October event featured David Armano, communicator and SVP at Edelman talking about building social embassies. It was another sold out event of 175 people at the Canal in Ballard. Big thanks to Melissa Tizon and Swedish for sponsoring the event. 

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<br />Via: Online MBA Rankings

If you could change the world or improve your life with one new app, what would it be?

I was recently asked that question at the Mashable Summer Tour Seattle stop on camera with Sloane. Here's my answer:

A map of all the urgent needs in the community with real-time giving options via text or traditional methods. 

Pete Cashmore, the founder Mashable, was asked the same question and I like his answer. If you've ever been stuck in an eight foot by eight foot space with a stranger in front of the wheel who doesn't seem to value life to the same degree you do... this app is for you. Here's Pete's dream app idea: 

If you're reading this, I'm curious to hear your answer. Do you have any ideas for dream apps? Add a comment here, and let's pitch your idea at the next Startup Weekend. 

Thanks to Sloane for the interview. I can't wait to see what other apps people are dreaming up as you travel across the country on the Mashable Summer Tour.