Hot Causes And Cool Solutions

09. Dec, 2008 4 Comments

How do you get your team all fired up and motivated?

The answer might be: Hot Causes and Cool Solutions!

In his book “Market Rebels: How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovations“, author Hayagreeva Rao explains that …

“… if you want to mobilize networks of people and markets to embrace and spread an idea, you need the one-two punch of a “Hot Cause” and “Cool Solutions.” A hot cause like deaths from tobacco or medical errors can be used as springboards to raise awareness, spark motivation, and ignite red-hot outrage. And naming these as enemies is an important step in mobilizing a network or market.

But creating the heat isn’t enough; the next step needs to be cool solutions. This doesn’t just mean identifying technically feasible solutions, it also means finding ways to bind people together, to empower them to take steps that help solve the problem, and to create enduring commitment to implementing solutions.” (as mentioned by Bob Sutton)


If your offshore team isn’t performing well, it might be that your objective stinks and you are using old school technology.

Being at the other end of the world can give you a sense of “being left out” or “in the dark”. When you are working “just for the money”, you are not likely to provide exceptional results (or even pay attention).

Being part of something bigger, using the coolest, latest, state-of-the-art technology will light everyone’s fire.

When facing your next problem, think: Hot Cause, Cool Solution!

This resonates very well with my “Be Like Al Gore”-philosophy and “Project Tribe” concept.

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4 Responses to “Hot Causes And Cool Solutions”

  1. Maria | Never the Same River Twice 09. Dec, 2008 at 4:37 pm

    Great post, Bas. I completely agree that people need to be inspired by their work to really work productively on it. Communicating that inspirational message is a major part of a project managers guide.

    I’m reading Made to Stick right now, and recommend it to anyone that needs to learn how to communicate a message in a more inspiring manner (ie, everyone!).

  2. Bas 10. Dec, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    Thanks maria. I just added Made to Stick to my wishlist for christmas :)

  3. Josh Nankivel 11. Dec, 2008 at 1:41 am

    I second Maria’s recommendation. Made to Stick is an awesome book. After I bought and read it, I put it on my recommended reading list immediately.

    I wrote a post about the book in September and how it can relate to project management.

    Thanks!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Second Turn: Structure For Resilience — Project Shrink - 20. Dec, 2008

    [...] you have a hot cause with cool solutions that inspire people, motivated people will work hard to achieve the big audacious goal. They will [...]