I’ve got fifty interviews underway exploring how an interesting, and highly diverse, group of people have set out to meet big hairy audacious goals – by bringing other people with them (or not as the case may be).
But why you ask?
Because we have one ourselves here at @alignyourorg: A world where both leaders and followers have the inspiration, tools and techniques to make change happen together – without waste of time and energy. I reckon part of the answer will come from this highly diverse group, drawn from across three continents, which counts arctic explorers, entrepreneurs, founders of non-profits and social movements, conservationists and an Olympian or two as well as a Chess Grandmaster.
So how are we going about it?
Over the next year or so I’m hitting the road across three continents (possibly four) asking each of the inspiring people four simple questions:
- “To go fast, go alone – to go far, go together” – bearing this West African proverb in mind, can you describe a particularly memorable situation where you set about achieving something audacious, either on your own, or with others?
- When you approached the situation – what did you think was going to work?
- What actually worked?
- In conclusion: what is your advice for somebody else setting about something similar?
The structure of the questions follow the ORID model, rolling through four distinct phases: Objective > Reflective > Interpretive > Decisional (thanks to Martin from the Align Your Org Advisory Board for suggesting that technique). Not familiar with ORID? Then learn more here.
Where can I get to these?
I’ve done five so far and aim to have fifty done by first anniversary for Align Your Org (June 2014) but you won’t have to wait that long to tap into the insights. With a bit of help from the post-production team, we’ll soon start posting interviews weekly – in full HD with transcript / commentary and useful links – and will also find a way to get the audio onto iTunes etc.
Want to contribute? Let me know.
Michael Ambjorn is founder of // Align Your Org – you can follow him@michaelambjorn for a dose of all of the above. You can also join the conversation:#ALIGN.
