09.23.09: If You Don't Ask...

I attended a fundraising lunch today where part of the effort was to cultivate new donors and part was to raise as much money as possible. This was for a great group, which we have supported in the past. But this year is not the year for us.

As they talked about s t r e t c h i n g, as attendees consider their gift, by adding another zero to the gift, I was stunned. Impressed that they went here. Stunned that they expected the results. It was, overall, an innovative approach to growing the base. They will get our support, might have to be next year.

09.17.09: 6 minutes & 40 seconds

Tonight was the fourth local version of Pecha Kucha held in the Charlotte region. I have made two of these. The construct is a community-based, opt-in presentation on any topic, by anyone, in a non-commercial way through 20 slides (keynote, powerpoint, etc.) at 20 seconds each, totalling 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

To me, the neat thing about these presentations is they offer tiny vignettes into someone's point-of-view. (Although sometimes 6 minutes and 40 seconds can seem like eternity.)

And like reading the newspaper, where I regularly read headlines and skip articles, content is delivered to me in a way that I will learn/become aware without a conscious choice.

09.17.09: Room to Spare

This morning I had a coffee meeting scheduled with an old friend, who'd asked me to meet him. Except he did not show. Did not call, email, etc. to let me know he was not coming. Later that day, the email came with a sincere apology. I would've appreciated a call more, for him to own the fact that he screwed up. But anyway...

The irony is that I found an hour in my day that was previously gone, committed to this meeting. Once I realized that I was being stiffed, I was able to have fresh thoughts about work, uncluttered by to-do items, emails and call lists, because I had none of those with me, just a blank sheet of paper.

It was cathartic for me, to have an hour to reflect and not have a task that blocked clarity. I appreciated the empty seat.

09.15.09: On the 15th, the XV, XIX, and XXVI

During the course of 1870, 1920 and 1971, the US Congress saw fit - a relative term, especially these days, I realize - to extend the right to vote to all races, women, and eighteen-year-olds.

Today, it was primary day where I live. Turnout looks to be pathetic. No weather to blame, just apathy. No denial of the need for leadership, just empty gyms, churches, schools and rec centers.

Recently our state enacted no-excuse early absentee voting to ensure that voters could access the polls. During this primary, 0.2% of eligible voters voted early. The turnout prediction for the election today is estimated at 5%. It kind of shocks me that the voice of hte majority - 95% - is silent and deafening.

Definitely a lost opportunity. An un-exercised right. And a recurring theme in non-Presidential elections, when everyone's vote counts so much more...

PRWeek on Topics' Work for Special Olympics

PRWeek wrote up a little piece about Special Olympics selecting us for an educational outreach project to help raise awareness around intellectual disabilities. We are excited about undertaking this meaningful work and want to share some of the article with you ...

Special Olympics Hires Firm to Enhance Educational Effort
By Alexandra Bruell
September 10, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC: The Special Olympics hired Topics Education, a Charlotte, NC-based education outreach firm, to further develop and promote its decade old, “Get Into It” curriculum for K-12 students. The agency is tasked with promoting the curriculum, which aims to foster inclusion of and understanding for people with intellectual disabilities, through social media and teacher and student outreach. The organization hopes to officially push and launch the revised program in July 2010, during the Special Olympics event in Nebraska...

The announcement follows a competitive RFP review involving four undisclosed firms specializing in student and service learning curriculum, explained Andrea Cahn, director of Special Olympics Project Unify, the organization's national youth engagement program which is largely funded by the US Department of Education and overseeing the curriculum initiative.

“We knew and decided that having an organization like Topics, which has all the credentials but is not necessarily a large firm, would mean we'd get more customized service and interaction and maybe have a more collaborative process,” said Cahn.

In phase one of two, leading up to the games, the agency is working on developing the new curriculum and a strategy to engage the maximum number of teachers and help solidify relationships with the education community and national partners, explained Bruce Nofsinger, principal and cofounder of Topics Education.

In phase two, he said the agency expects to focus on promoting the program via social media platforms in the new context of educational outreach, as well as create resources primarily for students that are more multimedia and interactive.

“The Special Olympics recognized that the curriculum wasn't having the kind of impact they had hoped it would have,” he said. “The classroom has changed in last 10 years with the whole advent of social media.”

Full article, here, (subscriber only).

09.14.09: It's Monday

This morning, as I walked out to my car, I saw that someone had hit my side mirror and broke the mirror and bent the entire mirror against the car. It was a great way to start a Monday, especially since the cost to me will be in both cash and pain in the rear section.

It got me thinking about the trickle down effects that our actions have that I rarely consider. The person will cost me $xx to have the mirror fixed, plus a trip, or two, to the dealership, time spent not getting other things done and the overall hassle factor.

Then I think where I have done something similar - less destructive - where I impacted someone's life and did not even know it. I guess that is the only lesson I can milk out of today's incident...

09.10.09: What is Progress?

I met with a state agency that is reviewing some changes in the way they allow state statutes to be met and are effectively moving from a paper-based approach to an electronic one. In this discussion, it became apparent that the "way we do it is the way we do because that's the way we do it."

And, on a broader point, to me, it illustrated how people's capacity to change is somehow limited by their ability to forget the past. In a conversation about moving to an electronic medium, many questions were related to how to print a paper version, even if there are multiple electronic versions.

Related - I guess - is a state process where to file a form electronically where you file a three-page form electronically AND mail a one-page, signed form that states that you filed electronically vs. filing a two-page form through the mail.

It boggles my mind to think that so much time and effort is spent on paper and ways we did it yesterday. I guess two good examples are that the width of our roads and the width of our rail tracks in this country are based upon the yoke width of a Roman chariot and that many of our first paved roads were former cowpaths.

09.09.09: Strategery

I spent the entire day, before driving to state capital, in a client session focused on integrated new initiatives into their long-term strategic plan. This client, a non-profit, is trying to shape a new model for its organization, after 50 years. Such a culture shift, a break from history, a new take on its legacy, is a hard path to choose. The volunteers, leaders and participants of the day, were engaged and yet - in some cases - hard pressed to leave a strong history and test out a new direction.

Safety. Security. Certainty. These seemed to be desired attributes to pair with Innovative. New. Different.

At the conclusion, there was consensus around experimentation and testing to get to the future state. And that, to me, is progress and a step in the right direction.

09.08.09: Are you ready for some propaganda?

Today President Obama delivered a speech - via website, audio, printed materials - to students across the country. The past few days has had a number of people raising the flag of concern about brainwashing, politicizing our education system, etc.

When I step back, I think that someone who has spent a life dedicated to public service, who is taking time to talk to students to stay in school, to study, to work hard and to make a difference, what parent wouldn't want children to hear that from EVERY elected official - regardless of political affiliation - across the country?

To me, too quick are people driven to dismiss, ignore, and castigate efforts before they know the details. It's unfortunate if we raise our kids that way too.

Viacom Launches Five-Year Public Affairs Campaign

Viacom, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have set out on a five-year public affairs campaign coined, Get Schooled. The multi-platform, multi-year campaign is designed to "put education at the top of the cultural agenda and to mobilize politicos, corporate leaders and local communities" to find solutions to our nation's education issues.

You can read the full article at Variety.com.

The campaign kicks off September 8th at 8 p.m. (tonight!) with a premier broadcast of "Get Schooled: You Have the Right." The 30-minute documentary will air across all Viacom networks including BET, MTV, VH1, CMT, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV and Nickelodeon.

09.03.09: Coming together

We met with a recently acquired client to present preliminary findings, to discuss concerns and implementations and then shift accordingly.

This all day meeting, with approximately 14 people, ran the gamut from basic information to strategic initiatives and then plan adjustments

To me, it was interesting to note how that many people can look at one entity and the future with multiple, slightly different points of view. Often complementary, yet broad and deep, but not truly unified.

It made me realize to be careful not to project a common point of view onto any group - regardless of their size.

Top Five: Funny Wedding Clips

Our Creative Director, Billy, is getting hitched this week! In honor of the big event (which is in Ireland, lucky him!), we are sharing our top five favorite wedding video clips with you. Best Wishes to Billy and Rebekah from all of us here at Topics!

1. Bride Falls in Pool - Groom trips, physical comedy ensues.
2. Corey and Rachel's Wedding Invitation - Stop Motion invitation to a Vampire Weekend song.
3. Groomsman Faints at Wedding - Ouch, this had to hurt.
4. JK Wedding Entrance Dance - Wedding party enters church to Chris Brown's hip-hop song
5. Wedding Thriller Dance - Wedding party breaks into seemingly impromptu Thriller dance at reception.

Inspiration, One Student at a Time

By Liz Barrett, Manager, Marketing and Communications

Of the 300 students at Ashley Park Elementary School one in every six students does not have a permanent home; only a handful live in homes with both a mom and a dad; nearly all are on free and reduced lunch and with budget cuts and new assignments for this school year, over 50% of the teachers and all of the administration are new. This school, around the corner from our office in Charlotte, NC, isn’t the only one facing such daunting challenges, but it’s where our company has been involved over the past three years and it’s the one we know most about.

When we heard last week that the new Vice Principal, with whom we had been cultivating a relationship all summer, was transferred on the first day of the new school year, we shook our heads in dismay wondering how many changes and challenges this school could handle. I started to feel like I was becoming the only constant in the eyes of the returning faculty and staff, more so than the people who are hired to lead the school.

AP is in a neighborhood where some kids don’t show up to school until after labor day because the parents don’t know when school starts or simply just don't care. AP is a school that relies on corporate partners because of a severe lack of parental involvement. Facts like these would suggest to me the importance of constant and consistent leadership, which is to needed to cultivate trust and engagement from their students’ parents. No one asked me. But they didn’t deter me either.

Recently, we met with some friends who are implementing a new approach at a different, nearby elementary school with needs similar needs to AP’s. They are creating relationships with the parents and empowering them to view the schoolhouse differently, in a way that encourages communication and trust. For, they have found, it is the parents and families who can really impact change in the lives of the students at home and in the school. Our friends shared stories with us about creating small ripples that they continue to nurture, determined to turn them into something bigger for that school.

As we listened to them, I thought, how and where would our office ever find the time to be able to really give Ashley Park the attention it needs — that it deserves. We mentor some select students once a week, take lunches for the teachers sometimes, and fulfill other needs here and there. They are so appreciative of what we do, but you begin to wonder how much change are we really making?

But then, we get help from people like Erik at Action Plus Ideas who is thrilled to design a logo and print up shirts free of charge for the students. And then we meet people like Christy who are working tirelessly to mend a broken system and implement effective change. Their inspirational work inspires me — inspires all of us. And then, I re-watch Dave Eggers in a TED talk dream of a day where all adults reach out to one student in our nation to help them with dramatic results, and I’m compelled to try and rally more folks, one more mentor for one more student. Maybe we can make an impact. One school … No. One student at a time.