SUMMARY:
charity: water Founder and CEO, Scott Harrison understands the power of story. In this conversation with Trey McKnight, not only does Scott share how he uses stories for greater impact, but he also shares his own personal story of transformation: how he went from a New York City night club promoter and partier to non-profit CEO, and even how some of his skills as a promotor contributed to charity: water’s success.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
DON’T LET YOUR PAST HOLD YOU BACK. Regardless of what you’ve done in your past, there’s always an opportunity to write a new chapter. Furthermore, sometimes the skills you learn doing something you are ashamed of actually help you build something meaningful and worthwhile.
STATISTICS AND NUMBERS CAN ONLY GO SO FAR. Lean into story—through audio and video—to really capture the hearts and imagination of people.
STORIES MATTER FOR MORE THAN PR OR MARKETING. Use stories—both within organizations and with the public—to illustrate your values.
EVEN BAD NEWS CAN POSITIVELY HIGHLIGHT VALUES. For example, a crashed truck can actually be used to talk about the tenacity and persistence of your organization. Don’t be afraid to see the positive inside the hard news.
LEADERSHIP CAN BE LEARNED. Experience, a “passion for cause and purpose”, and positive action can teach valuable leadership skills.
GOOD SYSTEMS MAKE THINGS SCALABLE. Sometimes entrepreneurs can get too focused on the creative and visionary aspects of their work and forget that good systems can really help fuel growth and effectiveness.
SEEK TO SERVE YOUR ORGANIZATION UNIQUELY. Ask yourself as a leader how—based on your skills and passions—you can best serve the organization’s mission, and then continually reinvent that as is necessary.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK PEOPLE TO BE GENEROUS. People may be flattered that you believe they are capable of responding with that much generosity.
RELATED LINKS:
Thirst Book on Amazon (Affiliate link)
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