Unlikely Friends
Over the past few months a couple of themes have continually infiltrated my brain. For the time being I’ve tagged these kindred territories UNLIKELY FRIENDS and LATERAL EMPOWERMENT. I plan to explore and experiment with these in the coming months, but in the meantime I thought I’d share a couple stories I’ve recently enjoyed around this thinking.
1) Learn To Run For Smokers
“Just because you smoke, it doesn’t mean you can’t be physically active.”
This a program that my bud Marc helped run out in Nova Scotia. I love the idea of creating behavioral change by teaching a new and different skill that aligns with a desired lifestyle shift. By taking an indirect approach, this program bypasses traditional problem areas and motivates individuals to quit smoking if and when they feel they are ready. It’s not difficult to see how this thinking can be applied to other behavioral challenges.
2) Homeless Book Club
“Just because you’re homeless, it doesn’t mean you don’t read”
When I was doing a quick search for “Unlikely Friends”, this story turned up (along with countless fuzzy photos of improbable animal companions). This is such a simple, smart idea born out of a casual relationship between two people from very different worlds. Adjacent Learning is a very hot topic in the world of business innovation these days, and it’s an area I hope to play in a bunch in the coming year. I truly believe there is endless potential in mobilizing motley crews to turn mash-up thinking into other beautifully uncommon outcomes like this one.
More HBC coverage here.
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