As an Executive Business Coach, I'm pretty lucky to coach some really amazing companies to their next performance levels. That means I'm constantly surrounded by highly creative, driven, and successful people. The people I meet are never boring and it's often hard to sort out the really GREAT ideas from the really good ones.
Here are some GREAT ideas from people I have the pleasure of either knowing firsthand, or working with:
Bookwallah: Imagine a group of people who dedicate themselves to providing books to children in the poorest of orphanages throughout the world. "Book wallah" is Hindi for "book peddler" and I've featured them before but, heck, if you haven't seen what they're up to lately (or given them a donation) then it's time to check in with them again. I know these people personally and vouch for their organization as one that has "no fat" -- donating books or money to them makes a difference NOW.
The Middle East Peace Network: OK, I'll admit that I'm a passive board member, but other than that I've done nothing to help this initiative. While I'm admitting things, I should also mention that it was founded by my father-in-law, Shai Har-El, who was also the principle architect of the plan. Shai is an Israeli with a PhD in Middle Eastern History and believes that peace in the middle east is possible if we engage in a new way of thinking, if we engage people, citizen diplomats, and not just politicians in active dialogue. While most people don't believe that peace between the Palestinian and Israeli people is even possible, this network has created an amazing and inspirational architecture where peace is not only possible, it's inevitable. Read about it for yourself.
Peace Centers International
Again, it's time to confess -- I'm not only an active board member, I'm the executive coach for the founder, Margo Ruark. The vision of the PCI movement is that it should be as easy to find classes and tools for meditation, personal peace, and a conversation about transforming the world to its highest and best form, as it is to find a high-priced boutique cup of coffee. A minister and an inventive entrepreneur, Margo has adapted the Social Franchise model in order to allow other cities to have their own peace centers, including creating a "franchise blueprint" to teach people how to plan and operate a center in their own community. We're enlisting other centers as "seed", "designation" or "replication" (see site for details) to make it as easy as possible for all communities to have their own, unique centers. Check out the "one in a million" model for donations. Rather than go after big donors, we're looking for a million donors to each give a dollar, thereby funding the operation, while showing that this is an idea with social appeal.
So what's YOUR big idea? I'm always looking for inspiration from the many, many great ideas and projects out there. I'd love to find out more about them, possibly feature them here, and build a network of people who are up to something great. Please take the time to visit the groups I've featured today and make a donation or a contribution of some sort, even if that's just a word of encouragement, or passing them on via social networks.
These are not only big ideas, they're GREAT ideas and they WILL change the world for the better. In that game, we ALL win!