Impactmaking is hard.  We are asking each other to live within a construct yet be creative.  We are encouraging reckless, courageous leadership but setting parameters.

In order to lead an impact project you have to have a certain set of characteristics.  Much of the E-Impact blog concentrates on great leadership and learning activities.  They come together to form a powerful force and are necessary in the impact movement.  You could say that we are recruiting a certain type of person but I don’t think that type of person needs to be recruited.  In fact, we really shouldn’t be convincing anyone to join us.  If it gets to that point, it’s probably not a good fit.  Impactmakers are naturally inclined to make impact (hense the name).

Controlled Agression

It’s a fine line but it seems that we actually have to reign each other in.  We are so motivated to do good things in the world that we must slow down at times.  It’s a hard thing to hold your fellow impactmakers back but it can be for the best in the long run.  

The great impactmaker leads with extreme motivation and maintains an operational pace at the same time.  They are able to keep the passion and prioritize the most relevant tasks at any given time. 

Living in the Moment 

What is the most exciting thing you have ever done?  I have never been hang-gliding.  Nor will I ever be.  I guess you never say never but given my fear of heights I think I’ll stick to metaphorical hang-gliding (I’m sensing an entry on overcoming fears in the future…); a great example for the impactmaking movement. 

I am convinced that hang gliders have a special gift and it’s not lack of fear.  There is something about jumping off a cliff without a motor that requires an attention to detail and a desire for the unknown.  In watching a Red Bull action sports video, I often find myself considering the worst case scenario for the athletes.  

I am sure there are pretty advanced glider technologies these days but there is no artificial propulsion in hang gliding.  What happens if there is a strange wind gust?  Or, something hits you while flying?  I suppose you can avoid jumping if the weather doesn’t permit.  But, there just seems to be too many things that you have to rely on for a successful flight.  

A hang glider has to be so confident that they are in control of their equipment at a given moment that they are able to explore the beautiful scenery.   They practice consistently to build up their skills.  As they become more experienced they can take more challenging leaps.  But, they can never forget the fundaments of gliding.  They have made something so dangerous rather routine.  As a result, they can participate in an amazingly freeing activity because they can operate within the safety and operational constraints required to glide through the air with just natural forces.  

Most people who live in the moment fail to look at the bigger picture of life and sacrifice long-term stability for short-term pleasure.  The hang glider actually masters the isolated skills to experience something much broader.

The Bigger Picture

A great organization has to look at the bigger picture consistently.  The mission and vision must align.  We have examined this in E-Impact !$#%!#@.  It is up to the leader to make sure that the proper actions are taken once these things are established.  The bigger picture relies on the small things that make it up.  Living in the moment is also beneficial in this sense.

A great hang glider loves to jump off cliffs.  Their vision is soaring in the clouds and looking down upon the beautiful Earth.  The mission is experience God’s great creation and often document the experience for other less daredevil inclined people to see.  I am sure there is an adrenaline rush before a flight. But, they cannot forget the details and they must take the moment seriously.  

A great non-profit leader, for-profit manager, and local project volunteer must all pay attention to the details in order to accomplish the greater mission.

Under the assumption that impactmakers tend to ere on the side of “jumping” as stated above, we have to help each other operate the glider.

My Plane Crash

When I was in high school I was part of a terrible plane crash.  Thankfully, no one was injured or worse.  The experience taught me a few lessons that I have stuck with me over the years.  The lessons are indelible like those discussed in E-Impact !$@#%!@.  

It was either my Dad’s or my fault that the plane crashed.  No one else was even involved.  We were co-engineers.  My dad was the air-traffic controller and I was the pilot.  It was a novice’s remote control air plane.  Honestly, I should have known RC (remote control) aviation would have been a disaster for the DePasquale boys after we absolutely mangled a fancy RC car by backing it into a curb.  I couldn’t control it going forward.  I am not sure why we decided to try backing it up.

The plane that we had was supposed to be pretty easy to get in the air.  It didn’t take that long to build and maybe that is what the problem was.  We had it all put together in less than an hour.  It looked pretty sweet.  The craftsmanship was amazing.  The snap on wings were in the ideal position for ultimate upward force.  The manifest was slick.  The decals added a decorative touch that even Bahamas Air would envy.  The wheels…well it had no wheels.  It was such a beginner’s device that it didn’t take off from a ground position.  You had to manually launch it.  In other words, it was a RC javelin.  Truthfully, I think I would have been a great javelin thrower.  But, we didn’t have this sport in school growing up so I never got into it.  

For the purposes of our operation my dad was tasked with throwing the plane into the sky.  I was going to fly our glorified lego set with stickers.  My natural pilot instincts (the ones I learned from heavy fighter pilot training on my Playstation) told me that I needed to pull back on the joy stick to lift the plane.  I was prepared to execute seamlessly.  However, right before take off (which consequently threw my dad’s shoulder out and required surgery), in dad’s preflight briefing, he noted that I should push the joy stick forward as soon as he hurled the battery operated javelin.  A pilot always listens to ground control. 

In the moments before take off, I let go of all my hours of electronic flight training and honored what dad said.  Dad was a heckuva baseball pitcher in his day and was in his forties at the time.  He was in the correct role as part of our flight crew.  And so he took his place on the runway.  He got a running start and launched the plane high and hard.  I followed the orders I was given and jammed the joystick upward.  The plane immediately rotated its nose downwards and drove directly and forcefully into the ground.  It exploded.  The pieces went everywhere.  It was sudden and tragic. 

Dad and I looked at each other in disbelief.  I said, “You really launched that thing”.  He said, “What the hell did you do?”.  I explained that I followed directions and I was sure I should have pulled back on the joystick.

In a matter of seconds, we destroyed hours of work because we didn’t pay attention to the details.  In the aftermath, we took a look at the directions and confirmed that I was indeed supposed to operate the remote as I had originally intended.  

There’s three potential lessons from this experience:

1. Trust your intuition no matter your age.

2. Video games are a pretty good simulation of reality.

3. Pay attention to the smallest details, especially when trying something new.

Don’t Mask the Tasks

The most important tasks of your impact project may not be the exciting things that motivate you to do the work but they have to get done.  I am typing this as a fly home from an amazing weekend with family towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.  My cousin was married and we had an unforgettable time with loved ones we haven’t seen in over two years.  

My cousin was a big fan of the band Blink 182.  There was quite a bit of their music played after the band shut down for the night.  I was never a huge fan.  However, I do remember one of their famous songs entitled, “Small Things”.  Honestly, I don’t even know what it was about.  But, I do know that the small things are incredibly important in impactmaking.  

You CANNOT confuse the task with the passion.

We are all passionate about the causes we support.  This is why we are here.  It’s why Speaking of Impact just started year #2.  It’s why E-Impact continues to have positive concepts.  It’s the projects that are directed by the passion and not distracted by it that sustain excellence.

Your passion is all of the “why” (see Speaking of Impact episode E!@$@#).  The daily tasks are most the “what”.  Make sure those are done well.  Don’t move on to what you think are bigger and better things until you have mastered what you already do.  

The biggest mistake that impactmakers make is that they try to broaden their efforts before mastering them.  

Step by Step

I encouraged you to consider all the tasks that are involved in your efforts and make a checklist for even the simplest of things.  I think you’d be surprised at how many things must be done.  You’ll also be surprised in how many of them you and your team have already mastered.  You can set those aside and use as training material for new team members.  

One you have identified the things that are not mastered, you can determine which ones are most important to work on initially.  You may even have to “break to build”.  There could be somethings to shut down for a short period of time while you work on the efficiency of the others.

I promise you that perfecting your processes for the daily tasks will make the operation much better.  As the rhythm develops you’ll be able to start thinking about what things you can effectively add to your offerings.  

Growth

Growth is easier with a solid foundation.  Master the tasks that make up the bottom of your “impact pyramid” and the levels above it will be that much more likely to succeed.

Train the tasks as you pursue the passion.