Two children begging in a third world country

Hi Barb,

I was walking down the streets of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on my first day in India. 

Two children wearing dirty clothes, not unlike those in the photo above, moved toward me. One had a deformed arm. The other had straggly hair that hadn't seen a comb, perhaps ever.

Even though I didn't understand their words, their beseeching eyes and outstretched hands were clearly asking for help. 

Our guide for the day shooed the children away. "Don't give them anything, or we will be surrounded by 50 others like them. You can't fix it. Don't put yourselves in danger."  I watched the children slip away into the crowd. 

A few days later, we asked Dr. Pauline King, an elderly missionary, to help us know how to help. She gave us the same advice. "Don't give them anything," she cautioned somewhat sternly. 

Her face and voice softened as she added, "Work to change the conditions that make them poor."  

Dr. King practiced what she preached. Starting at age 48, she adopted 7 Indian children and raised them as a single mother, while teaching nursing full-time at a Medical College and serving as the founder of a home for children, widowed women and destitute elderly. Her legacy, the Family Village Farm, has served hundreds of the poorest of the poor in that area for over 50 years.

While I volunteered at the Family Village Farm over the next 3 months, I pondered the question "what is it for ME to do about poverty?" Playing with the children was simple. Giving the right kind of help seemed complicated.  

I'm still pondering the question. What could I give and to whom, that would make a lasting impact? 

To help me figure this out, I'm asking for help from Carolyn Keller of Curio412, a social impact expert. Carolyn helps businesses to plan, organize, and implement impact with a measurable outcome in mind. Carolyn and I are in the early stages of planning a November workshop about social impact for me and others who have small businesses. 

Are you interested in learning more about social impact for yourself or your business? 

Help us shape the session. What are your questions? Reply to this email and let me know! 

Warmly,

Barb Bickford

Making Decisions in Small Governing Boards: A Liberating Experiment
-- online, Wednesday August 14, 2024, 5 PM Central Daylight Time

Many non-profit governing boards cite Roberts Rules as their standard for running meetings. But merely referring to Roberts Rules can create problems for a board that doesn't know how to use them well.

Join Daryl Yankee and me as we unpack this rule-bound topic. First, we’ll explore both the advantages and potential problems of using Robert's rules. Then, we'll use the Liberating Structure "Min Specs" to identify the absolute minimum rules needed for a small governing board to make decisions. 

Help us discover what is essential. This is an experimental session hosted by the Washington DC Liberating Structures Community of Practice. All are welcome! Register here. 

Another request for help! 
Do you or does anyone you know use Liberating Structures in Alaska? If you do, please comment below or message me. I need help pulling off a 2-day event with 100 people or more in Fairbanks, Alaska at the end of October. 

Even if you or your friends aren't in Fairbanks, I'm hoping you or they can help me locate Liberating Structures fans in Fairbanks.

#1 Way to Fix Poor Communication 
In this podcast episode, Judy Rees explains how to improve team communication. I rarely listen to the end of podcasts, but this one had me hooked. So many good nuggets: "Clean language is not about talking, it's a LISTENING technique." "Happy workers are more productive." (obvious, huh!) "The essential thing is to realize that others are NOT like us."  That's not so obvious. Well worth a listen! 

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How to ask people to prepare for meetings

Meetings seem to go better when people prepare for them. What does it mean to prepare for a meeting?

Today's tip comes from Dr. Carrie Goucher, of Fewer Faster Bolder, who notes:

"Preparing for a meeting is another ‘to do’ on people’s very long list and one they probably didn’t ask for. Because so many people don’t do the prep, it’s become acceptable not to do it. A bad social norm that’s hard to break.

"Some people really want to read, consider and create in advance to be able to share their best ‘work’ on the day.

"And some people really don’t want to look at anything in advance and they do their best work on the fly. The act of talking stimulates their best thinking."

Carrie has found a way to honor those who do the prep without shaming those who don't.

She doesn't tell anyone how to prepare for the meeting.  She asks them to do what they need to do to be ready, by using the phrase: "Come ready to..."

   -- Come ready to share your most valuable insights from your new dataset.  
   -- Come ready to give a clear view on the three options we’re considering.  
   -- Come ready to update everyone on your project’s progress, your top three learnings and a list of blockers you need help with.  
   -- Come ready to share your opinion on what research needs to be done next. 

Carrie adds, "Person A might prep extensively in PowerPoint and Person B might prep by jotting down some notes. But the output they are expected to deliver in the meeting is clear. It’s up to them how they get there."

Just crafting a "Come prepared to..." statement helps me (Barb) to become crystal clear about the purpose of my meetings. And, it helps me gracefully accept the differences in how people prepare for them.  

Try this tip out and let me know how it works for you. 

Want even more tips? Access Ten Tips to Foster Online Engagement.

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Photo Credit: hadynyah from Getty Images Signature on Canva Pro.