It’s not about the money, sweetheart

Image by Social Butterfly from Pixabay

It’s not about the money. It’s never going to be about the money, sweetheart.

It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about your business, your nonprofit, or your social enterprise. It’s never going to be about the money.

We all know it, but it’s easy to forget when the pressure is on to bring in the dosh – people buy from people. Even easier to forget is that people don’t just buy from you, or donate because of you, they also buy or donate because of the people on whose shoulders you stand – your staff and volunteers.

True value

This is why it’s crucially important to value your people. Do you know without a doubt that you have their trust and respect, or do you hope you have it?

If you really value your people, they’ll know that they’re part of your brain trust. A leader who wants to make sure their organization doesn’t just survive but thrives, understands the importance of involving and supporting their teams in creative problem-solving. These are leaders who launch more innovations than other companies. They know that the sum is greater than the individual parts when it comes to solving problems effectively.

Jazz it up

I used to be a jazz singer. There’s a standard approach to playing jazz. In the first and last parts, the head (the song as it was written) is played. In the middle part, the musicians improvise. No one tells them what notes to play. Other than having some kind of a relationship to the head’s skeletal chord structure, they can play whatever the heck they want. The result is often awe-inspiring; even if you’re not a jazz fan, it’s hard not to admire the newness – the innovation – of the mid-section that arises out of this improvisation.

It’s the same in creative problem-solving. In brainstorming there is no one dictating how to think – the thoughts just come pouring out – and those thoughts are eventually combined into a creative solution, maybe even an innovation.

What does creative improvisation look like?

If you’d like to see what creative improvisation could look like for your team or organization, contact me at Ellia@ThePotentialCenter.com to arrange a time to talk.


With the right support, any individual, team, and organization can learn creative ways to solve problems. I’m hired by visionary leaders to coach them in designing a kickass culture of innovation and training their teams in creative problem-solving techniques. Light Bulb Thinking™ helps solve problems in the here and now, and guides decisions about what to do going forward,… while building stronger, happier teams.

Would you like to see what tapping into creative potential could look like for your team or organization? Arrange an exploratory call - email me at Ellia@ThePotentialCenter.com.

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Fun with brainstorming

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How the Customer/Donor Experience Could Drive Innovation