Inspiring Innovations, Inc.

Businesses…governments…agencies…restaurants…stores…(and the list could go on) all spend a significant amount of money to effectively market themselves.  Think about the TV commercials, billboards, radio ads, mailings, social media spots, promotional flyers and consider the price-tags that can be calculated with each activity.  Then ask:  Do they really get a solid return on their marketing investments…or are they just reacting to what the competition believes is the necessary thing to do?

Well today no matter how anyone answers the previous question…this TRIPLE III TIME message suggests a more simplistic and “natural” marketing technique:

**AVA (Add-Value-Actions) Marketing!**

Let me ask:  When was the last time your work group put together and implemented an AVA Marketing plan?  When your business decided…as a real marketing strategy to employ unique Add-Value-Actions as part of yourproduct/service delivery process.  If you don’t get what I am asking…here are few add-value examples:

• ​Hand write a thank you message and send it to a customer.
• ​Give a family of 4 one free meal at your restaurant.
• Deliver a newly purchased used vehicle to a customer 60 miles away…so he doesn’t have to miss work.
• Give away a new book to a bookstore customer…just because.
• Meet a human service client at a coffee shop instead of an office (and yes pay for their coffee).

As you can see this list could be uniquely endless…and consequently the AVA (Add-Value-Actions) Marketing! potential could likewise be endless!  If all in your workplace prioritized and made AVA Marketing personal, consider these positive impacts:

• progressive reputation building
• greater person-to-person promotion
• an always special opportunity
• an all staff engagement responsibility
• a customized marketing technique…always

I haven’t mentioned the cost-savings that could happen…but I will let you do the math.

This quarter’s American Society for Public Administration article offers innovative insight into the use of one learning strategy a totally different way! Developing Public Administration Clinicals for those studying for jobs in the public sector… only seems appropriate and necessary.  Clinicals have always been a “staple” in the training of nurses… but wouldn’t it have a similar impact on positions in the public administration field.

“Borrowing” learning designs across different areas of study is often overlooked by public sector innovators… yet the use of clinicals has been around for a long time. As you read the article, stop and think about different professional public sector jobs and how having a clinical learning experience during college degree attainment… may have been a GREAT thing!

Enjoy the article.

Introducing:  Public Administration Clinicals

Sometimes some of the greatest innovations are built using creative designs which are historically successful in another service area. For example, some may use the fast-food “Meal Deal” ordering system to re-introduce a series of public sector workforce development opportunities. Or perhaps use the college orientation process to create a customized FFA–Day (Future Farmers of America) for a group of high school chapters and effectively spread the word on agri-business career options. Or even adopt a scaled down version of the TED-TALKS phenomenon and build a comparable learning event that serves a unique group of citizens!

Well this quarter my ASPA article is again focused on the usage of public sector innovation. Specifically this Introducing:  Public Administration Clinicals writing will offer a timely recommendation for the use of “clinicals” as a learning tool for public administration employment. Similar to the nursing field which requires and applies college credit attainment to assigned work experiences in the health care profession…so too could this opportunity be structured for public sector employment preparation. Although it could be argued that internships are already available to students at different stages of their education, the unique value of blending public service knowledge within the collegiate learning process makesIntroducing: Public Administration Clinicals a logical option.

First think about creating Public Administration Clinicals with qualified universities in certain career areas like: Fiscal Management, City Planning, Corrections Programming and Workforce Development Policy. Consider the variety of REAL WORK experiences that could be appropriately blended into a public administration course!  Effectively every semester could be organized to contain a three (3) credit Clinicals course.  Understandably college credit would only be awarded if the Clinicals time was credentialed with a passing grade. Unlike traditional internship models, the Public Administration Clinicals learning time would be measured based on advancement of  public service comprehension.

Next, let’s consider the implementation factors that would be necessary to establish Public Administration Clinicals. Initially a non-traditional Curriculum Committee would be formed. The personnel make-up of this Committee would naturally include public administration faculty from participating universities. Additionally, leaders from multiple public sector organizations interested in obtaining great public service employees would also be recruited for the Committee. The major goal of the Public Administration Clinicals Curriculum Committee would be to draft the minimum “Scope-of-Practice” (learning exposure areas) that would be followed by students during a specific semester.

Another critical area of development assigned to the Clinicals Committee would be to formalize the credentials required and grading processes retained by the personnel in charge. Given that every Public Administration Clinical engagement would be based at an established public sector organization, the Clinical learning experience would always be a “working-for-my-grade” situation. Clinicals course work could be divided into “units-of-learning” such as staff evaluation, budget preparation, service marketing, program eligibility determination, etc. Interestingly, if a “units-of-learning” model were used, it may make sense that a team of Clinical Supervisors be recruited to oversee and participate in the student grading process.

Public sector innovation could also play a tremendous role in the formation and implementation of every Public Administration Clinicals situation. For example, building Clinicals supervisor credential requirements. Would they(supervisors) need an advanced degree or could long-term job experiences allow someone to qualify as the best supervisor? Degrees aren’t required to run for public office… so shouldthey be required to serve in a Public Administration Clinicals oversite role?

Use of mid-term and final exams would be another importantconsideration by the Clinicals Curriculum Committee. Would traditional academic components be used to measure learning attained during the Clinicals experiment? Or would public sector innovation approaches facilitate creativity… and “real-time” work experiences force public program influences? Would the exams be totally essay-driven or would multiple-choice/true-false questions be appropriate?

Additionally, should it be acceptable for students to organize their own Public Administration Clinicals site? Perhaps thisinnovation opportunity would foster greater student ownership in potential learning elements and thereby enhance the engagement of the public organization they select? As with any partnership arrangement, there could always be the incidence of mis-use of the Clinicals reporting/grading situation. Possiblythe supervisor may be less-than-appropriate in their oversite role when assigning grades based on friendships past. Human bias could thereby be a factor in maintaining a quality Public Administration Clinicals system. However, assuming that every Clinicals site would receive no-cost benefit from the student “real-work” contributions made during the semester assignment…mutually beneficial results of the special learning situation would hopefully limit any inappropriate professionalism.

A final innovation consideration would be the use of some form of electronic simulation tools that could be effectively blended into a Public Administration Clinical. Think about the aviation sector and the simulation programs that pilot trainees have toexperience as part of their overall instruction and testing! As we referenced early in this article, the nursing profession regularly uses patient simulators to give students real-life situational examples involving injury/disease circumstances. The solid learnings are impactful for every student… and wouldn’t it be the same utilizing Public Administration Clinicals?

Author: Marvin N. Pichla, Ph.D., is the owner and creative adviser of Inspiring Innovations, Inc. Sharing his unique entrepreneurship and innovation in public service experience, Marv consults with public and private business, education and community organizations to develop new and different problem-solving methods through real-life, example-based learning.

One particular strategic planning area that is often overlooked is:  Measuring Capacities.  You know what I am referring to RIGHT?  Well put in more formal terms…we are talking about the amount of product or services that a person or business can produce under regular conditions.  At first glance this planning action may seem easy…however accurate capacities measurement can prove be very elusive given the specialness of your product and/or the complexity of how your service is constructed and delivered.

So do you/your company give Measuring Capacitiesenough planning consideration time and discussion to be continually progressing?

Well, I believe that Measuring Capacities (of people/companies) is a huge TRIPLE III TIME topic and could easily spin-off in a host of other directions!  But for today…we will just list a few planning points as a guide to begin maximizing your Measuring Capacities knowledge areas.

1. How many people do you employ and are they co-equal in product/service production knowledge and experiences?
2. Does your product/service experience “highs and lows” via customer need?
3. Is your product/service impacted by “shelf-life” concerns?
4. Can you determine specifically the number of products/services that can be produced in an hour/day/week…by each person/or group?
5. If overproduction occurs…is there appropriate storage space?  Or if Measuring Capacities in a service field…how do you determine if too many staff are TOO MANY?
6. Finally, how does one reasonably factor in the future when Measuring Capacities for specific products and services?

I have to admit that I was not focused enough when Measuring Capacities of staff or the organization as a whole in my Director days.  But because I had great people in all components within the agency, quality Measuring Capacities information was always shared…discussed…and applied!

“Indispensability:  The fact that someone or something is so good or important that you could not manage without him… her… or it.”
(Cambridge Dictionary)

Indispensability is a topic that I have considered many times as an important focus for my TRIPLE III TIME blog. Why? Mostly because I think I want/need to pass along the message of how “replaceable” we all are.

Times… products… services… situations all are facing more constant change than ever before.  And are we all ready, willing and able to change at a high rate… maybe?!

Also it is critical to recognize and understand who and/or what determines your Indispensability? You may believe that an organization can not progress and “live without you”. However, at no time can or should you consider yourself immune from job cuts, techno-replacement, AI advancements or customer priorities!

During my Director days, I tried to convey a leadership message that encouraged an Indispensability goal. That if we followed a consistent operational style of innovation and retained a personality of specialness in our area of work… that we would remain indispensable. In addition, we discussed the service principle that even when times were good and we could take a “slow-down-break”… that no matter our status…NOW was the time we needed to improve and be creative even better than before!

Bottomline: If you truly adopt a goal of attaining Indispensability in your world of service or product provision… be as innovative and operationally special as you can. Progressively convince all that work with you to adopt similar goals. And understand that “perfect” Indispensability does not exist… but it sure can be fun if you pursue it EVERYDAY!

We have all heard about and experienced the term:  Return-On-Investment…Right?  This phrase simply means:

“The return is the profit you make as the result of your investments.”

And I believe we have also directly or indirectly considered our own Return-On-Investment status…especially when it affects our pocket-book!  But today I want to shift everyone’s professional focus by changing just one word in this traditional expression.  Creatively, this TRIPLE III TIME is going to address the benefits of your:

​Return-On-PARTICIPATION!

​“The return is the PROGRESS you make as a result of your PARTICIPATION.”

My definition…but think about it!?

First whether you are meeting with someone or a group…people really do appreciate your participation in a professional discussion.  Not only do they benefit from hearing your input on the issue at hand…but you also gain greater understanding on what a person/group wants to happen and/or the best outcome given certain circumstances.

Second, there is always a gain of mutual respect that comes to you as a Return-On-PARTICIPATION result.  This return may not be directly noticeable, but will be reflected in a colleague’s discussion with others.  They may indicate that you had solid recognition of the challenge issues and offered quality responses to questions/concerns.

Finally your Return-On-PARTICIPATION may be gained through a more open opportunity to share innovation/creativity concepts.  Too often co-workers, colleagues and/or business partners are hesitant to share new ideas.  Consider how many might benefit from yourinterest in their initiative.  How progressively helpful it would be if everyone adopted a Return-On-PARTICIPATION engagement practice every time…everywhere.

Do you follow a R-O-P strategy??

Great communication is and continues to be a major focus of many TRIPLE III TIME blog messages.  Whether the communication information is delivered in-person, letter form, phone call, email, texts or via video (and I’m sure everyone could add at least one more option to this list), Choosing The “Right” Words has become a much greater challenge no matter the delivery method.

Let me explain with an example.

In my American Government & Politics classes as students prepare their weekly “Position Papers” on multiple topic areas, it is always evident that they assume I understand certain circumstances or event actions that drove the Position information that they were sharing.  Whether my communication confusion or unawareness was caused by their modern-day techno-speak…acronym over-use…slang words and/or half-sentences, the result was:  (1) a lower point score, (2) questions from me that didn’t make sense to them…or (3) too many unforeseen course assignment mis-understandings between myself and the students!  Do you see the challenges??

So if you are wondering…the bottomline for this TRIPLE III TIME message is to push the need to blend COMMON-SENSE PROFESSIONALISM into all of your communications and practice Choosing The “Right” Wordsas a critical life-skill priority everyday…EVERYDAY!

And maybe start practicing with this short TOP 10:

1. Greater people-based diversification requires greater communication simplification.
2. Attempting to please everyone with more…bigger words…may bring on more, bigger confusion.
3. Don’t ramble and thereby over explain.
4. Pick words that have common-sense understanding.
5. Don’t assume clarity…say things clearly.
6. Consider you may have only one chance to make a great point.
7. Saying less can often say much more.
8. Be sure you research who your communication audience is.
9. Minimize words that can be mis-interpreted.
10. Re-read your messages a couple of times to pay greater attention to achieving communication that bridges the age and life-style gaps.

There is a ton of Choosing The “Right” Words advice in this message…did I choose correctly?