Distinctiveness
is how you respond
There is a ancient saying that says the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. Meaning there is no magic formula for living a charmed life. There are elements that are out of our control, like weather or market conditions, where we were born, our family connections, our gender or ethnicity. But what we do control in every situation is our response.
How you learn and respond in difficulty and how or what you celebrate in success is your distinctiveness as a person and an organization.
I recently read an article in the San Francisco chronicle (you can read the article here) about a nonprofit organization in Redding California. Several years ago while their organization was doing well the city of Redding was struggling. So much so that the city needed to lay off four police officers because they couldn’t afford to pay their salary. This nonprofit choose to respond by donating the amount of the officers salary to the city so they could keep them on staff. The organization couldn’t control the city budget but they could control their response. While some would protest, wait for a vote or simply complain this organization choose to respond by using their resources to fix the problem.
Last year many of us watched from a distance as the California Carr fire, the seventh largest fire in California history, tore through the country side and destroyed over 1,600 structures including over 1,000 homes. This all took place on the outskirts of Redding. The same organization that donated money for salaries in good times used their influence to raise money in difficult times to give every family that lost a home $1,000 regardless of their affiliation with the organization.
What is the distinctiveness of your choices saying about you? The choices we make everyday communicate volumes about who we are. Do the choices of your response line up with your mission and vision?
