A year ago I never thought I’d be running an event in Helsinki today, or meeting the incredible people I’ve got to meet, or spend a day consulting Finland on their Social Media strategy.

But more so, I never thought I’d appreciate people I’ve never physically met so much.

Thank you guys.
Scott

This thought comes from Scott Gould's thinking blog for thinking people. Scott is also on Twitter and Facebook.

In A Year…

I am, of course, thrilled. I’m going to be meeting some exceptional people over this coming week, as well as taking with me a contingent of exceptional people to Helsinki to engage in a very exciting learning experience.

This has also been a learning experience for me. I can tell you right away I’ve made mistakes and learned some valuable lessons for the future, mainly about community and how to organise an event over email and phone, without being there. Whilst I’ve spoken at events and planned events around the world, this is the first time I have planned an event from afar. I’ll be sharing these lessons over the coming weeks – probably in video form – which will be good to get your input on too.

Want to know one of them now? Ok, you’ve pulled my leg.

We received a lot of  praise and feedback for how well Like Minds Conference 2010 was organised, which I have to agree with. Without being arrogant, it was the most well organised event that I have designed, and it was the best event that I have ever been to with regards to being minute perfect (which is mainly down to my wonderful wife Faye.)

We were pretty prepared for that, but I never knew how easy it was until planning Like Minds Conversation Helsinki. The level of preparation that you need for an international event that you are organised virtually, as opposed to physically, is ten-fold, and likewise communication is ten-fold and the amount of lead time you require, and advance booking of all the elements is also ten-fold. I’ve already outlined how to improve this, and am already drawing up the partnership documents and the event run sheet for Washington DC in September and then Exeter in October now.

My Itinerary This Week

My itinerary is arrive in Helsinki on Tuesday, and then meet with the local press and media as well as locals in general during the day. If you are in Helsinki, let me know. I want to meet you!

Wednesday night I am speaking, as you know, at Dicole Oz on People-to-People (which will be streamed live), and then Thursday 17th June is the big day – Like Minds Conversation Helsinki.

You’ll be able to follow the event live online at http://www.twitterface.com/likeminds, thanks to the wonderful team at Fresh ID, lead by my friends Lisa Qualls and the inestimable Kristi Colvin. Please do support me on the day by tuning in and also engaging on the #likeminds hashtag.

Then Friday I am privileged enough to take our team of speakers and guests and spend a day with Visit Finland, the tourist board of the country, discussing and developing a Social Media plan for the country. I can’t begin to tell you how humbled I am that I find myself in this position – it doesn’t seem real to be honest to think I’ll be consulting a country – and I certainly feel the weight of the responsibility. Of course, the team of people we have is exceptional and I have every confidence that we will deliver a very high degree of value for Visit Finland.

Probably the biggest thing in all of this (and as much as it seems a big deal, I know it’s still a small thing in the grand scheme and all), is that this is all happened quite unexpectedly. This is a theme I want to discuss later – I can categorically tell you that 6 months ago (with Like Minds already underway), I didn’t think I’d be here. And a year ago, I certainly didn’t think I’d ever be here.

And where is here, exactly?

I’m not here for profit. I’m here for a cause. I believe that the connections I am making, and the community I am fostering, will be a force for change, and ultimately, for the spiritual and physical benefit of many.

Photo from Like Minds Conference 2010, courtesy of Benjamin Ellis.

This thought comes from Scott Gould's thinking blog for thinking people. Scott is also on Twitter and Facebook.

Like Minds Conversation Helsinki

A year ago today I met Trey Pennington: 26th May 2009.

We got talking on Twitter in early 2009, and when he was due to come over to England, we arranged to meet up. Trey actually did one better, and came down to Exeter for one of our first tweetups.

For those of you who know the history, it was the same day that Like Minds began. Trey suggested we do an event, hooked me up with Olivier (whose blog I had been reading for sometime), and we set the date of Friday 16th October 2009.

You know what I love about Trey and people like him? They connect like minded people together.

There’s a saying that you can be a king, or a king-maker. You only get to be king once, but you make many people kings. When I look at Trey I see a king maker, and it inspires me to do the same. Trey never seeks to build his own kingdom, he just helps others build theirs. Another friend I made, Chris Brogan, would call it being the elbow.

In fact, Trey so believes in making kings out of other people, that through doing just that he got to interview his hero (and almost everyone’s hero) Zig Ziglar recently, saying his classic line: “if you help others fulfil their passions, you’ll fulfil yours along the way.”

When I think about how much Trey means to me, as a friend and a person who kickstarted the vision that’s taken me thus far, I realise it’s far more rewarding, effective and exciting to be the king-maker, than trying to put yourself on the throne all the time.

While we’re here, I also want to shout out to my friends Ruairi Fullam and John Harvey, sat either side of Trey, who’ve also supported me continually and mimic Trey’s king-making talents.

So here’s to Trey. I love him, and I thank him.

This thought comes from Scott Gould's thinking blog for thinking people. Scott is also on Twitter and Facebook.

I Love Trey Pennington

I find the Social Media world can be a contradictory one at times.

One of the virtues that is extolled in this social world that we talk about is valuing people for who they are, being relevant to them, and celebrating uniqueness. Yet I find that whenever I talk about how I am a follower of Jesus Christ and a pastor at my church, the conversation goes cold.

Part of this, I think, is that the Social Media talkers have this idea that Faith is a dividing line that separates people and causes exclusion. But here’s the thing:

• Is not my faith who I uniquely am?
• Are not many people dividing and exclusive about their Social Media opinions?
• Are their not bigger fights on Twitter than those about faith?
• Don’t some people religiously believe in non-religious things?
• Isn’t faith all encompassing – as in, people have faith in Social Media?
• Shouldn’t driving forces for good be celebrated?

My Christian belief is the biggest driving force in not only my desire but my actions that are about helping people.

I spend most of my week helping people – whether co-ordinating the homeless and displaced in our city, helping people in trouble, guiding people to be all they can be, nurturing the Like Minds community, forging connections, running International Nite to celebrate ethnicity in our city, spending time on the phone with many of you, and providing content on this blog daily that is helping people.

One of the most disturbing things out of all of this is how many people, when I’m on the phone with them, secretly admit that “I’m a Christian too.” I have no problem in putting my faith and my role as a pastor on my blog and on my Twitter profile – yet so many do.

So today I implore you – don’t hide your faith – celebrate it.

Because Social Means Celebration.

And on that note, here’s a poem I wrote on Good Friday many years ago. I think the message of doing whatever it takes, no matter what, stands for whoever and wherever you are:

Could you be seized without a cause,
Then to give no reply, but pause.
To be stripped of your only possession,
And be paraded naked in precession.
To be battered, beaten, bleeding and broken,
And to have your back whipped wide open.
Could you endure
To receive yet more,
And be silent by,
To only later cry:
Eloi.

Could you bear thorns in mocked-fame
Of the right honour due to your name.
And be then taken to the tree, and tied to it,
Fastened, knowing that you were to die by it.
To drag it to Golgotha, where iron nails
Should pierce the saving hands of Israel.
Could you resist
The angel’s assist,
And stay in place
And seek yet His face:
Eloi.

Could you watch those around
Bet your nothing by the ground.
And, past your blood-blurred view,
See your Mother screaming after you.
And watch your very own, your trusted friends,
Deny and leave you to the bitterest end.
Could you still die
To be denied,
And finish this task
Never to ask:
Lama.

Would you live this life and mission:
To be slain by your own creation?
And, after all, having done all this,
Pray then for their forgiveness?
And taking the sin of the world upon you
Holdfast as your father leaves you:
Would you hang in loss
Cursed on cross,
And, Fatherless
Die, answerless;
Sabacthani.

Love you all. Scott

This thought comes from Scott Gould's thinking blog for thinking people. Scott is also on Twitter and Facebook.

Social Means Celebration – Not Hiding

This change happened largely over the course of two years. After finishing college, I became self employed, doing the majority of my work at my church, The River Dream Centre. In a strange twist of fate, I didn’t get accepted for university despite having the grades, and so for me this was divine intervention. I immediately began work on our youth program and created ‘Feedback’ – a monthly event initially aimed at 16 – 19 year olds.

Our first event was an utter reflection of myself (and certain obsessions of mine), and this wasn’t a good thing. We served no cold drinks, just gourmet coffee. No rock music: it was jazz. No games and shouting but more class and culture. But with each month’s event, I became more in touch with the team of people around me, and the audience that we wanted to reach.

It was at the same time that I was reading The Naked Leader by David Taylor, a very off-the-wall and alternative look at leadership that was contra the ’7 flawless and simply steps to success’ gimmick of most leadership books at the time. I didn’t get too much out of the book, other than enjoying my first steps into innovative thought (the chapters were not in order – you read them in different ‘tracks’). But the one thing I did get out of that book which has indeed changed my life was found in the chapter ‘How to build instant rapport’, where whatever it was that David actually wrote, I have always remembered as this simply axiom:

To build rapport with someone, talk about their favourite subject: Themselves.

The lights went on in my mind. I had finally found a way to assist me in building relationships – and boy, did I need it! I began changing my conversations with people from a subject line of myself, to them. I began to love learning about new people by asking questions – this wasn’t some mind trick I was using – I found such joy in connecting with people, and found that talking about them helped them open up and engage on a deeper level with me.

Over the course of one year, Feedback changed from middle class coffee-cocktail party to 350 teens crammed in a room for ‘The Battle of the Bands’ – 350 teens that a year ago, I would’ve have struggled to talk to and connect with, that now were 350 teens that I engaged with, found out all about them, and was able to help them. Our numbers increased month on month at an astounding rate – one month we had 400+ people in the auditorium with another 200 or so waiting outside – and my favourite place to be was at the door, speaking to every single one, remembering their name, and becoming a part of their world.

I needed to make room for them. They needed to know they could talk, they could share what was going on at home and at school, and that someone did care. I became a confident to many, and a leader to well over a thousand young people over that year. Feedback stood for more than fun and music, and even more than community. There was openness and honesty, a culture that wouldn’t have existed if I hadn’t grow from being self-centered to focussed on others.

Essentially, what I think I learnt was empathy. I became more aware of the person sat across from me than I did myself, and emotionally invested into them for a short while. This empathy has become one of my non-negotiables. Whenever I speak to someone new, I’m always thinking now “how am I making this person feel valued”, not because I’m trying to manipulate them or play them, but because I’ve discovered that every person has incredible value, but few people make room for it.

This thought comes from Scott Gould's thinking blog for thinking people. Scott is also on Twitter and Facebook.

Making Room For People

Or there was the time when I got into fitness training. Every morning I would do skipping and running, and bought all the equipment I needed including a stop watch. Suffice to say, that all now lives in a sports bag in the closet!

What I have come to know about myself is that I’m obsessive. When I get into something, I immerse myself in it and become as close to an expert as I can over a very short period of time. The trouble is I often do this to the neglecting of other priorities in my life, and it is because of this that my wife Faye is so wonderful because she completes me and brings balance to my obsessions. The benefit, however, is I have acquired a spectrum of in-depth knowledge in random things, which is really useful when I meet new people because I have a wealth of experience in different things to connect to them with.

It was at the beginning of 2009, when Faye and I needed to get our finances in check, that I had the revelation that I can control this obsession to my advantage. In other words, I hacked myself. I put immense focus for a month into budgeting and being very strict – but the result now is that we are beating our budget – something we’ve rarely done before.

I’ve written about how GTD saved my future. The way I did this was to obsess about getting things done, sticking to a system, and forcing everyone to email tasks to me, rather than text or by voice. I hacked what has been a weakness, and made it a strength.

How do I control my obsession? Firstly it is through my obsession, that I obsess about controlling my obsession – if that makes sense! Secondly I have multiple obsessions at once – that way I don’t over balance on one over the other. For areas in my life, like work or running a particular project over a long period of time, I inject new obsessions into it in order to stimulate my creativity and motivation. I also have time everyday where I disconnect and just relax.

I am an obsessive person, so my question is, how can other people hack themselves who aren’t like me? What traits, personalities, feelings, obsessions can you manipulate in order to gain results where you previously had failure?

This thought comes from Scott Gould's thinking blog for thinking people. Scott is also on Twitter and Facebook.

Hacking Yourself

I guess I’ll start with the vital statistics. A praying woman. Blonde bombshell. A very insightful wife. A Youth worker and number-two at Women In Touch. She’s also tall, which is great when you’re 6′ 3″ yourself. Also, she’s the holder of my heart and companion of my life.

I met Faye when she was 15 at a prayer meeting. I remember thinking “wow, she can pray” – unfortunately a rather rare thing among Christians today. It wasn’t long before I became very (*very*) fond of her and started writing poetry about her in secret. On August 27th 2003 we started dating. We were engaged a year later, and married on 25th June 2005, which as of writing, is 4 years ago today. So, happy anniversary sweetheart! (P.S. You can see wedding and honeymoon photos on flickr)

Faye is an outstanding woman. First of all, she’s a smart cookie. She excelled at college and university (she has a 1st) despite being dyslexic. She’s employed by the The Ivy Project, Devon County Council and V Involved, where she waves to her targets as she passes them by every quarter. Her work with the young people at Ivy, as well as the detached youth work she does two evenings a week, are a joy to her. It’s a funny thing to watch your English Rose go from cream tea and Paul Smith to relating with teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds and talk their language. But that’s the woman I’ve married and I love it.

It’s the same passion and desire to help people that drives her at Women In Touch – the Women’s ministry that operates out of our church. I am astounded how, after working in a target driven youth organisation, she can then come and work (as a volunteer) at WIT and manage their yearly Touch Conference. This year they are giving away a car, have 200 ladies coming from around the Country and Europe, and are running at a budget twice the size of last year.

She always jokes that as a husband, I need to “upgrade” every quarter to stay up-to-date. But she is the one who continually reads, thinks, asks questions, and pushes herself to do more than she did last year. For every young man reading, this is the kind of wife Proverbs 31 talks about. And I encourage you not to settle for less. I was the first man Faye kissed – it seems out of date for many, but she has absolutely no regrets. She was the first and only serious relationship I’ve had.

Faye and I say that when you give God your best, He gives you the best, and this is never truer than it is today.

And you’ve got to know, she has a way about her. Like Billy Joel said,

She’s got a way about her, don’t know what it is, but I know that I can’t live without her…
She has a smile that heals me, don’t know what it is, but I have to laugh when she reveals me…
She comes to me when I’m feeling down, inpsires me without a sound…

“He who finds a wife finds a good thing” is what Proverbs says. And oh, how I have a good thing in Faye. What once was just a beautiful relationship, over 4 years has become an intimate, supportive and joy-bringing union.

So, my wife, I love you and thank God for you. To quote Jerry, “you complete me”. You’re my dulcissime.

This thought comes from Scott Gould's thinking blog for thinking people. Scott is also on Twitter and Facebook.

Introducing Mrs. Gould

Then the insult came: their boat was displayed during assembly because of how good it was. I was frustrated. Not angry, frustrated. Because in my mind, design had obvious principles for building better things – and surely everyone knew them. To not follow these golden rules of design was somehow a transgression against the very order of nature itself.

20 years later and I’m still the same, getting frustrated over bad design. If you’ve read a little about me, you’ll know that I have (as described above), an obsessive fascination for details, which my wife actually considers to be an acute form of OCD. When I sit down anywhere, I like to neatly arrange everything in a grid – whether it be knives and forks, computers, paper pads, or furniture that “clearly hasn’t been thought through”.

There’s no branding gem here that I’m trying to get across – although businesses reading this would do well to consider, ‘how is our brand design?’ – but to simply introduce you to my burden for detail. In reading Malcom Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point“, Gladwell makes the point very well that ideas/pandemics/revolutions tip not through one great event, but through the culmination of smaller, incremental pockets of activity. I agree.

Gladwell’s mantra, “Little things make a big difference”, for me is an update of the bible’s assertion that “it is the little foxes that spoil the vine”. Details matter. In marriage, in business, in friendships, in marketing campaigns, in revolution, in sickness and in budgets, it is the small things that do indeed make a big difference – whether to our advantage or disadvantage.

This thought comes from Scott Gould's thinking blog for thinking people. Scott is also on Twitter and Facebook.

Early Memories of Design Fascination