Think Big...in Small Steps

I was thinking the other day that we are so used to big things: big cars, big buildings, big promotions, working for big companies, wanting big houses, waiting for the big break… Companies want big market shares, big profit – more often than not the shorter the term the better – and big ideas. And we forget that it’s the small things that matter. Or, that by taking small steps we get to the big…everything. I am a true believer that by investing a little more time in relationships with employees, vendors, friends, or family the pay off will be a lot bigger.

This idea is based on my experience as a customer, employee, and student/leader. I will only give you two examples. I used to be a WaMu customer and enjoyed a very good and personal service. Now with Chase, I can see a difference. They are such a big company, so highly regulated and probably so preoccupied with branding Chase in SoCal that they neglect the small things that matter: thinking about what the customer needs and training (or allowing) their employees to offer a fast, reliable, and quality service. A friend of mine told me the other day that his company - otherwise very big, international and in-tune with the consumer’s needs – considers its employees very expendable and therefore only pretends to care. And I could go on and on with examples.

With this in mind, when it was time for my fellow Challenge for Charity Co-President, Ashley and I to discuss our strategy for this year, we decided we wanted to achieve big things, but by taking small steps. We did set a big goal for this year, namely to create awareness and increase the number of members, which in turn will lead us to the second goal of raising more money for our two charities: The Special Olympics Southern California and the Children’s Lifesaving Foundation. We, however, started with cultivating relationships with the incoming class as well as the charities we are representing. We went to both charities to discuss expectations, understand what they need the most, and also see what they are doing. Seeing is believing, right? So instead of assuming that our members are always ready to give us money and time just because we know it is important, we wanted them to get to know the organizations and understand why their money and time are so important. And we set up to create a two-day mini-consulting project during orientation, where our incoming class could meet the two organizations, listen to how they change lives every day and also propose solutions for challenges our charities are facing. The project was a success! Ashley and I were very impressed with how involved the students became once they understood how important their contribution is. After three hours of brainstorming and discussions, we left the room with 3 pages of very creative and valuable fundraising ideas and the commitment of all present.

Ashley and I realize this is an investment year but we know that we are pretty confident that we can create a legacy and a tradition that every Pepperdine MBA student is a Challenge for Charity member.