Lucy May,
This morning I’m thinking ‘Starting Pitcher’ – the title I use to describe what I do well. I’ve been ‘pitching things’ my entire career, whether class rings, caps and gowns, software, and services. Perhaps I gained the ability to throw fastballs, curveballs, changeups, sliders, and the occasional knuckleball from my Grandfathers, whom I refer to as The Peddler and The Preacher. See below to learn more about how I am a combination of those special men.
Back in the day at Ridgecroft High, I was a pretty good baseball player. That’s me (above) in the dugout at the State Finals my Senior Year. We finished the season 26-2. I was actually an infielder and lead-off hitter and not part of the pitching rotation. This week, I challenged myself by going out of my comfort zone and submitting a proposal to the Autodesk Incubation Board.
“Incubation” refers to a specific approach we take at Autodesk to identify, select and nurture promising projects which have the potential to turn into new, material lines of business for Autodesk.
Submitting an opportunity proposal is a volunteer and extracurricular activity. My proposal involves AI and has a global social impact. You are aware of my developing friendship with Build Change founder, Dr. Elizabeth Hausler. After connecting Elizabeth to our neighbor and data-savant, Sean Dobson, some interesting things have happened. I’m reminded of my favorite Stephen Covey quote:
“When you engage in a work that taps your talent and fuels your passion — that rises out of a great need in the world that you feel drawn by conscience to meet — therein lies your voice, your calling, your soul’s code.”
Incubation at Autodesk is based partly on a consulting engagement with Geoffrey Moore and his work reflected in Zone to Win. This diagram shows where you want to land with a proposal, basically in deep-right field.
Win or lose, it has been a fun project and a great way to learn and grow. (PostScript Sept 22, 2020: My proposal ended up in left field, but it sure has led me to some powerful learning and some new business friends. Appropriate for incubation, but less likely to pursue.)
Next, on Make it a Great Monday, I will share how you can take a complex business proposal and turn it into a compelling (easy-to-understand) position paper. There’s a process you can follow when you need to simplify and explain your ‘pitch’.
Love,
Dad
PS. My grandfather, Poppy (Billy McDowell), was a businessman and salesman. He often referred to himself as a ‘peddler.’ I spent a lot of time with Poppy when I was a child, riding in his car, talking on his rotary-dial ‘car phone,’ learning the fundamentals of selling. “A good salesman always has a pen . . . listen more than you talk . . . and remember this poem: What’s behind the door, I am not sure, but this I know and know it well, the more I open, the more I sell.”
My father’s dad was a Baptist minister who passed away two years before I was born. I have come to realize I have a lot of my Granddaddy Singletary in me. People feel good around me, people come to me for counsel, people trust me . . . all qualities of an outstanding minister.
