77. The Power of Big Thinking - Jonathan McCoy, CFRE and Becky Endicott, CFRE
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Overview
It's your time. Time to step boldly out and embrace the big thinking your mission needs to scale and grow long-term. We're finishing up our final entrepreneurial hacks series with one of our favorite topics: thinking bigger. Fair warning: it requires us to employ cognitive diversity (gosh, we love this expression!). By digging into big problems to debate root causes and solutions, we can eliminate roadblocks and find a clearer path to news successes.
Evolved professionals don't let challenges get in the way of achieving their goal - they let it inspire them to think critically. We're talking risk-taking and big, bold thinking that allows us to break out of "the way it's always been done." Join us as we share our own risks and how we channeled bigger thinking to seize opportunities. Hey, this company is living proof that big risks can yield amazing rewards.
“Thinking big is a learnable skill. You can do this. Who you are surrounding yourself with is speaking into that. You will either be growing or shrinking your thinking”
Episode Overview
The power of big thinking (2:40)
Cognitive Diversity - include people who have different styles of problem solving for new perspectives (3:00)
Start with your values and understand what those really mean (6:00)
Take the risk that your mission deserves (6:30)
Quit looking for best practice case studies and just implementing them as is (7:40)
Jon & Becky’s 5 tips to embrace big thinking (10:45)
The role of community in thinking bigger (17:20)
Ask yourself: what community could you leverage? (17:40)
Thinking big is a learnable skill (18:44)
Powerful quotes
“This day is all about big thinking.” -Jon
“If we have different thoughts and values and experiences and beliefs in life, that has shaped what we have experienced. Cognitive diversity is looking around and seeing where other people are coming from.” -Becky
“We should be looking at other industries to gain inspiration for how we can do our work better and deliver more value to those we are serving.” -Jon
“The world is so wide, and our missions are so big. The way that we can impact each other is lifted up when we can link arms with each other and learn from one another.” -Becky
“Start with your values and understand what those really mean. That is the perfect launchpad to dream really big.” -Jon
“Our missions are requiring us to take big, bold risks. We are taking on the world’s biggest problems. We have to get comfortable with failure, be standing firmly on our values, and lean into these big dreams.” -Jon
“What community could you leverage? If you don’t have one readily available to you right now, could you make your own table?” -Becky
“You are either going to be growing or shrinking your thinking based on the time that you’re spending and ways you are pouring into yourself and others.” -Jon
“Community will help you break down your walls and challenge you to go for it.” -Becky
“Thinking big is a learnable skill. You can do this. Who you are surrounding yourself with is speaking into that. You will either be growing or shrinking your thinking based on the time you are spending.” -Jon
“At the end of the day, it is all about community.” -Becky
Jon & Becky’s 5 Tips to embrace big thinking
1. Dare to dream
Sorry if we sound like ridiculous idealists. If you are feeling stuck in a vicious cycle of playing it safe, flip the script. This is all about mindset. Failing is an expectation that you put on yourself anyways.
2. Write down your goal
Write down your goals and make it visible. Ask yourself how are you implementing it today? When your big dreams and goals are visible, it becomes top of mind.
3. Rethink your vision
Ask yourself, “Is our vision big enough for what our causes deserves?” Find a just cause that you are fighting for. It lives beyond you and drives you to show up and dig in.
4. Don’t slice the pie, make the pie bigger
Most people don’t think big because they see the pie as a fixed size. They think in order to get a bigger piece, others need a smaller piece. This will do nothing but create a win/lose scenario for you. We want to create win/win solutions for you. Expand the pie.
Susan McPherson shared that there are times in our life when we don’t know how to employ community and are feeling isolated. She encourages us to make our own table.
5. Actually set aside time and space for creativity
You have to be intentional. Step away from the day to day and create space for creativity. We’re here to tell you it is not just going to happen.
Big Thinking Podcast Episodes
76. Crash Course on Building a Strategic Development Plan + Raising $100M+! - Bill Littlejohn, CFRE
75. Reimagine Corporate Partnerships + Discover The Lost Art of Connecting - Susan McPherson
64. Leveraging Data to Raise More Money This Year - Adrian Owen Jones, CFRE
63. Real Talk: How to Recruit + Empower a Diverse Team - Kishshana Palmer
47. How to Bring Your Best Self to Grant Applications - Dulari Gandhi
41. A Mission to End Human Trafficking: The Story of Guardian Group - Jeff Keith
23. How to Rock Donor Experience + Taking Stewardship to the Next Level - Lynne Wester
2. How to Save the Worldwide Water Crisis by Putting Ourselves Out of Business - Matt Hangen
