Response and Ability

If you’ve been a long-time blog reader of mine, you may remember me telling you about Wardrobe Wearabouts, #nerdalert.  Don’t you love the alliteration and the punny spelling?  Wardrobe Wearabouts was an invention of mine in high school.  It all started at the North Park Mall in Marion, Indiana.  You must harken back to a time when old-school malls were bustling; a true destination for locals to walk, talk, shop, and eat.  It was that very mall where ‘it’ happened.   ‘It’ was unacceptable. ‘It’ was uncalled for.  ‘It’ was about to go down.  ‘It’ was seeing my sister’s best friend wearing MY sweater. (Oh, the horror.  It was a simpler time back then, what can I say?)  I veered down the corridor and vividly remember feeling the blood rushing up my neck like a thermometer in the summertime.  And I also remember this—knowing that I would do something so ‘it’ never happened again.  As a young teen, I didn’t even like the idea of sharing clothes with my sister, but Mom said we had to.  So, I had to take matters into my own hands, found the loophole, and solved the problem myself—I created a Dewey Decimal System for my clothes.  And that’s how Wardrobe Wearabouts was born.

The idea was simple enough.  First, I had to sort all my clothes and hang them systematically on the left side of our shared closet.  Then, just like a library book, if she wanted to wear something of mine, she had to check it out, literally.  I had pens and papers and pockets—I was the linen librarian. My sister was about to get organized, as if it was my superpower. If she chose to wear my clothes, she’d have to take a paper from the pocket, write down the name of the item, the day she took it, where she was wearing it, and the date she’d check it back in after it was clean once more.  This way I would at least know the whereabouts of my wardrobe at all times.  My response to the problem was to look at my abilities.  At that time, I didn’t have the power to demand that she not wear my clothes—my mom had bought them after all.  But I did have the ability to organize.  So, I organized a solution to my problem. 

A guy named Richard Pimentel learned a similar lesson while in the military.  Preparing to embark on a dangerous mission to save other troops, his leader, Sargent Parker, said, “We have to do this. It’s our responsibility.  You know what responsibility is Richard?  It’s a word made of two words:  Response and Ability.”  He points out that it’s not what someone puts on you to do, your lengthy job description, or even a legal agreement that you sign.  To me, this is significant.  Remarkable even.  This can determine not only how we act, but if we should act or not.  He specifically asks, and we can ask ourselves, “Given our abilities, what then will our response be?” My mind just exploded a bit.  That’s an amazing way to look at all problems. 

In Unreasonable Hospitality, Will Guidara says “A leader’s responsibility is to identify the strengths of the people on their team, no matter how buried those strengths might be”. You’re the leader.  It doesn’t matter if you’re the CEO or even a manager--you lead from where you are. What are the strengths of your Team and/or Board?  How can you leverage those strengths to lead your donors to take action?  People not only shine, but they are excellent problem-solvers when they are able to work within their own genius.  That’s how I organized my sister out of haphazardly commandeering my closet.

Left Brain Marketing Methods:  When you’re thinking about communicating with your donors, who are your left brainers who can help you sort out who the people in your database are that have an affinity for your mission and the capacity to do something about it?  Who knows the perfect tool for giving that your donors need to hear about and what time of year is best to send it to them?  Which Excel aficionado can plug all this information into a spreadsheet that calendars out these tasks so there is a method to your marketing madness?  That’s response and ability.

Right Brain Marketing Moxie:  When you’re thinking about communicating with your donors, who are your right brainers who can help you sort out what to send those people in your database that have an affinity for your mission and the capacity to do something about it so they will actually want to open, read, and react to your direct mail?  Who knows the best story your donors need to hear that shows how that perfect giving tool worked so well for them—that’s that story your donors need to hear about at the perfect time of year.  That’s response and ability.

Guidara says these actions are unreasonable—because not everyone does them—as simple as they are. And he drives home this point by stating, “The way you do one thing is the way you do everything”. That’s response and ability.

You don’t have to have all the answers, you just have to agree to wake up and use the skills, talents, gifts, and abilities you have access to each and every day.  Seems manageable, doesn’t it. That day, many moons ago, Richard Pimentel, Sargent Parker, and four other soldiers got up and used their abilities to protect their fellow soldiers from the enemy, so they could safely return to their basecamp then, eventually, home to their families. That’s responsibility.

My personal example is much less remarkable. I married and had two boys, so no one has wanted to share my clothes for nearly 40 years. I, on the other hand, really appreciate an over-sized hoodie and my husband’s closet is filled with them. Somebody’s gotta wear them. I consider ‘it’ my personal responsibility.

All My Best,

Dawn
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dawn brown creative, llc.