A Royal Engagement and Innovation

Meghan Markle and her engagement to Prince Harry has been the focus of the media over the last week. Among the many noteworthy reports, one in particular caught my attention: her speech at the UN World Conference of Women in 2015. (You can find her speech on YouTube. The whole speech is sixteen minutes, and there are versions that are edited down to key points. A good balance between brevity and leaving both the message and presentation style intact is this version with a length of about four minutes.)

She relates how, as an eleven-year-old, she became upset over a soap commercial that used the tagline “Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans” and the reaction of a couple of boys in her class who said that women belonged in the kitchen.

In her anger, shock, and hurt, she was initially unsure of what to do and asked her father for guidance. She then followed through on his advice to write letters to influential people, expressing her experience and frustration. Within days, she would receive responses from the most powerful people she wrote to: First Lady Hillary Clinton, NBC journalist Linda Ellerbee, and powerhouse attorney Gloria Allred. They all took the time to acknowledge the emotions of the young child and express their encouragement to making a difference.

Meghan Markle also wrote to Procter and Gamble, the soap manufacturer. Within weeks, they had changed the tagline of their commercial, replacing “women” with “people.”

What a powerful experience for an eleven-year-old – and, in fact, for anyone.

This is not just a touching story – it shows us something about the reality behind innovation: Here is someone with an idea. The idea is a good one, and we can intellectually agree with it. Yet this is not enough. It’s not the idea itself that inspires and moves us to take action. Instead, it’s the emotion, story, and personal side that moves us and ultimately creates change.

No technical report, legal brief, or dry presentation of facts – no matter how right, accurate, or noble – can move us the way a personal story can. If we want to be effective with our ideas and innovations and have the impact and influence that we want, we need to focus on the Human Elements.

Make it real

Next week, take notice of a situation in which you present on a project, pitch an idea, or just make a suggestion. Whether it’s big or small, find the personal story behind it. Instead of focusing on the specifics of the idea – such as technical details, an implementation strategy, or a communication plan – put the personal story that is behind the idea first. Add the human side to your idea.

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