| Did you ever see the move, "Pay It Forward," starring Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment and Helen Hunt? In the movie, a young boy gets an idea. He will help three people. But, rather than have those three people pay him pack, he has each one of them do for three other people as he did for them. Clever idea. But, the movie, which is based on a popular novel by the same name, is fiction. However, due to the immense popularity of the movie, the author starts a foundation called "The Pay-It-Forward Foundation." The purpose of the foundation is to apply the same principles in the book and movie to real-life situations and make a difference. Well, the impact of the Pay-It-Forward Foundation has been felt around the world changing communities for the better utilizes young people from elementary school to college age.
An insurance man in Atlanta by the name of Robert Littell picks up on this "pay-it-forward" idea and applies it to commercial business. I read his book, The Heart and Art of Netweaving. The book emphasizes the application of the Golden Rule. That is to say, you make a special effort to help others ahead of yourself. In so doing, Littell says you become a "goto" person - a valued resource for other people to seek out. Littell also emphasises the importance of forming small groups which brainstorm to help each of its members out. Then, connecting these small groups together to take on bring projects. Does this sound familiar? Two years before Barak Obama announced plans to run for the Presidency of the United States, he was forming small groups around the world to help his then-unannounced campaign.
I changed the name of this network from "Project-Middletown" to "Clusters-Small Business Group Netweaving" not just to help spread the "netweaving" idea, but to help people succeed in whatever they are trying to accomplish.
I believe just about anything is possible when you have a small group of people who meet three criteria:
1) They CARE about each person in their small group. That means each person genuinely wants to help all others in the group succeed.
2) They CONNECT with each person in their small group - via email, instant message and voicemail, etc.
3) They have a GOOD DESIGN for whatever the members of their small group wants to accomplish.
Does the "clustering" idea really work? Well, we seem to be on our way. Members of Ryze recently collaborated on an idea sparked by Sherry Simoes of Canada to create a to-do-list board and spread the idea to Chamber of Commerce members in Lake County, CA. Meanwhile, several other Ryzers have collaborated on some advertising in both the Middletown Times Star and the Lake County Record-Bee.
What's next? I believe more of the same will be forthcoming during the holiday season. Why? Because business branding for the coming year is often popular as a Christmas gift.
Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
(707)709-8605
Need PR?...Call Lamar! Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 (new win) |
