1.Poke the Box
April 8, 2011

2. Agenda

Welcome

3. Overview of Poke the Box 4. Poking the Box 5. Conclusions?2
6. Main Premise
Start something,
then
Ship
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7. Overview: Not Allowed

Curiosity is the first step to shipping

8. Be curious; go beyond not allowed 9. Starting demands finishing 10. Intellectual integrity requires that you put your ideas into the world 11. It might not work- so what?4
12. Overview: The 7th Imperative
Guts
Heart
Passion
Ship
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13. Overview: Economic Inputs

An idea

14. People to work on it 15. A place to build or organize it 16. Raw materials 17. Distribution 18. Money 19. Marketing6
20. Overview: Why We Dont Start
FEAR
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21. Overview: Fear of What?

Success and Failure

22. Fear prevents starting8
23. Overview: Start Now

Become the starter, the center of the circle

24. Starting is an artful choice; when should you use the buzzer? 25. Do something audacious 26. Pick yourself; you dont need to be validated9
27. Overview: Pick Yourself

Art is hard

28. Selling is hard 29. Go to work on a regular basis 30. Nap laterThe job is to invent the status quo, not chase it.
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31. Overview: Failure

Failure = Not shipping

32. If you cant fail, it doesnt count 33. Be prolific in your failure 34. Embrace failure11
35. You cant snooze your way
to greatness.
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36. Overview: The Map that Isnt

Organize for joy

37. Give people the freedom (& expectation to create, connect, surprise) 38. Embrace someone who makes a difference 39. Embrace the discipline of poking 40. What you end up with may be different from what you set out to accomplish 41. Starters need support 42. Formulating a plan is a rare and valuable thing13
43. What Do You Think

Does Seth advocate anarchy within organizations, disregarding the current structure and the preparation needed for change?

44. Does he press for continuous change within an organization without regard for peoples readiness to change, managers readiness to manage the change, and the stress of continually changing? 45. Does Seth argue for change for its own sake?14
46. BREAK
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47. Poking the Box: Novelty
Make a list of what you should have, could have, would have done, if only
If you were invited to give a TED talk, what would it be about?
If you were given the opportunity to start something that would change the world, what would it be?
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48. Poking the Box: Novelty
Heres a few more questions. Please write down the answers; then well share:

How do you react when someone comes to you with a new idea?

49. How do you treat risk-taking? 50. Do you blame?17
51. New Design Activity
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52. Poking the Box: Novelty

What do you need to support new ideas?

53. What kind of support do you need to encourage risk-taking? 54. What will help you; what will derail you?19
55. Poking the Box: Climate
Lets spend a few minutes writing down the answers to the following questions; then well share:

What support do you need as you begin to poke?

56. Who will help you; who will derail you? 57. What type of training is necessary to start things more often? At what levels?20
58. Funny How That Works
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59. Poking the Box: Climate

How will you continue poking when the environment doesnt support poking?

60. What do you need to be your creative best? 61. What most prevents you from being your creative best?22
62. Other Elements to Consider:
Autonomy
Stretch Goals
Fun
Trust
Gossip, Rumor
Idea Exchange
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63. What Are You Waiting For?
Go where there is no path .
And leave a trail.
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64. 25
65. Your Presenter - Barb Babij
A former COO, Barb now helps clients design strategic roadmaps; define and align vision, values, and organizational infrastructure with business objectives; translate organizational strategy into operational reality and build internal workforce capacity to achieve sustainable growth.
Shes guided change initiatives for distribution, manufacturing, financial services, and non-profit organizations.
Barbs credentials include an MSc in Creativity and Innovation, and certification to use a number of assessments and facilitate CPS. She is an SPHR, holds an MBA in Accountancy, and is a CPA.
She also serves on several not-for-profit boards, in two countries.
Barb can be reached at: 905-894-1586 or barb@InSync4.ca. Please contact her with any questions or comments.
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66. Preparedby Barb Babij for the Organizational Development Network of Western New York, and presented on April 8, 2011.The content is based on and adapted from the book, Poke the Box written by Seth Godin, and its workbook, Start Now, written by Ishita Gupta, Amy Richards, and Alex Miles Younger. The workbook was designed by Alex Miles Younger.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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