That's not quite the point that the post was making, nor the reason I brought it up. Seth's among the most expert marketers in the world, so I'm pretty sure he considered the rules of the grant contest before posting - and his point wasn't the problem with the rules, it was with how people choose to operate within those rules.
As community-focused efforts, its common practice to "call in favors", be it this google group, to an industry partner, to another coworking space, within our coworking spaces, etc. The problem isn't in asking for those favors, it's in how they're presented. Truth be told, I've been guilty of this in the past so this isn't me pointing fingers but instead taking an opportunity to look at how we can do this better in the future. >From the post: "One significant way around this: have the outbound messages of the tribe be about more than the grant. Figure out how putting in the effort to help your local organization actually strengthens ties, instead of weakening them. The pursuit could be even better than the prize if you establish the right groundwork." This is what stood out to me, and what might have been missed because of how close it was to the end. In fact on opportunity was in what you've gone on to outline, Toni: > Sure, chances might be slim but I believe it > gives serious business owners another opportunity to look at their > goals and business plans. While many might not have mustered up 250 > votes, they have revisited their vision and will hopefully move > forward with a renewed commitment to do everything they said they > would do if they received the grant. > > Framing the initial ask with that purpose in mind sets a path for different potential outcomes instead of the single outcome of "having enough votes for a chance to win". Rather than: "Chase & Living Social are having a sweepstakes, your votes could help put us in the running!" or "Please vote 4 ____________" You can lead with a "why (http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html)", an intent, and a purpose that brings the people you ask closer together even if you don't win the grant. Invite people to be a part of something bigger and have their vote just be a step in that journey. Their buy-in not only makes it easier for you to achieve the desired outcome, but tends to lead to a multitude of other positive outcomes that you couldn't have predicted or asked for. p.s. this isn't really about the Chase/Living Social sweepstakes, either :) This is an example of how we engage our communities in general, and the opportunities we miss all too often. -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thursday, July 5, 2012 at 3:00 AM, Toni Hogan wrote: > It assumes the entrants believe that just by getting the requisite > votes they will win a grant. > It assumes that once entrants receive at least 250 votes they will > THEN have to complete an application for the grant, and many that > won't be able to do so. > > The program rules are very clearly stated. If anyone believes that by > simply getting 250 votes they will win a $250K grant, that might be > the fault of the entrant and not the sponsors. > > Once the votes have been received and validated, there's nothing else > for the entrant to do but wait. The application is done at the start > of the process before the entrant begins to solicit votes. (you can > find ours on our website) Sure, chances might be slim but I believe it > gives serious business owners another opportunity to look at their > goals and business plans. While many might not have mustered up 250 > votes, they have revisited their vision and will hopefully move > forward with a renewed commitment to do everything they said they > would do if they received the grant. This goes for those who did get > the required number of votes as well. > > 2cents, > TH > > On Jul 4, 7:29 am, Tom Brandt <[email protected] (http://gmail.com)> wrote: > > What is it missing? > > > > --- > > twb > > Sent from my Phone of i > > > > On Jul 3, 2012, at 7:37 PM, Toni Hogan <[email protected] > > (http://theofficeconnexion.com)> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > yeah, so...I think this might fall short of a few facts. > > > > > TH > > > > > On Jul 3, 6:22 pm, Alex Hillman <[email protected] > > > (http://gmail.com)> wrote: > > > > For all of you who are in the running for this grant, some food for > > > > thought: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/07/all-we-need-is-250-vo... > > > > > > -Alex > > > > > > -- > > > > /ah > > > > indyhall.org (http://indyhall.org) > > > > coworking in philadelphia > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Jeff McMahan wrote: > > > > > PLEASE VOTE 4:www.RealSeat.com(http://www.RealSeat.com) > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Sunday, June 17, 2012 1:35:33 AM UTC-4, Toni Hogan wrote: > > > > > > Hi All, > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Thanks to a program sponsored by Chase and LivingSocial called > > > > > > Mission: Small Business℠, your support could translate into a > > > > > > $250,000 > > > > > > grant that would help promote economic empowerment through > > > > > > entrepreneurship. But we need at least 250 votes at > > > > > > missionsmallbusiness.com (http://missionsmallbusiness.com). If you > > > > > > haven't already, please visit > > > > > > www.missionsmallbusiness.com(http://www.missionsmallbusiness.com) > > > > > > and search/vote for "The Office > > > > > > Connexion". > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Thanks a quarter-million. > > > > > > > > If anyone else has entered their space/company please reply here so > > > > > > that we can vote for you as well. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > TH! > > > > > > > -- > > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > > > Groups "Coworking" group. > > > > > To view this discussion on the web > > > > > visithttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/coworking/-/XS_U3Y5aPxQJ > > > > > (http://groups.google.com/d/msg/coworking/-/XS_U3Y5aPxQJ). > > > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > > > > > (mailto:[email protected]). > > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > > [email protected] > > > > > (mailto:[email protected]). > > > > > For more options, visit this group > > > > > athttp://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > > "Coworking" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > > > (mailto:[email protected]). > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected] > > > (mailto:[email protected]). > > > For more options, visit this group > > > athttp://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > > > > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > (mailto:[email protected]). > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > (mailto:[email protected]). > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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