Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Dream - Graceful Crash Landing

I am viewing/touring a city from above - a jet creeps along the skyline with a trailer like hitch hauling a glider with plenty of seating (2 seats wide) and a great view. I am in the one of the front seats of this convertible glider. As we pull in closer to the Salt Lake City Mormon Temple, the spire with the angel Moroni nudges and torques the hitch for a few seconds before it disentangles itself. A few seconds later our hitch to the towing jet has released us.

I remember a brief apathetic thought that 'We're going to die.' We have some rudimentary wings, and as we accelerate downward to the ground I know that we are heading west somehow - by GPS or my own orientation I am not sure. We are heading to the end of the land to the west by a great sea, is it California? There is a large granite arch with tidal waters at its base before and beyond it. We appear to be going down to the water at the base of the arch's entrance when I have a great idea that will clearly save us all. We must all lean back! Our glider rumbles to a stop on the soft earth just within the arch. I believe everyone is ok.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Help us go out of business Part 2

The creative destruction of our economy due to technologic advancement continues to provide many examples where the deconstruction of outdated products, protocols and habits of organizations is desired. Some for-profit companies have had notable success with a vision that perpetually shatters the status quo and leads them from one decaying business model to another one more adapted to the times. These companies are exceptions to the rule but could provide a model that could be adapted to philanthropy. Consider providing philanthropy in a way that has enough momentum to avoid the perverse incentive to maintain a benefactor/beneficiary relationship.