Jessica Marcel — November 17, 2009 — Social Good
References: bit.ly & epicchange.org
Stacey Monk is an entrepreneur who is using the power of innovation to change people’s lives. Monk was a management consultant until she took a life-changing trip to Africa in 2007. Since then, she has created EpicChange.org, a site dedicated to helping people around the world.
Three Questions With Stacey Monk
1. How do you keep your work on the cutting edge?
I’m constantly on the lookout outside of my sector and try to swim in a sea of others’ ideas in global, cross-sector gathering places like Twitter. Invariably, this leads to new brainstorms and connections that foster innovation in my own organization. In my own work at Epic Change I try to let others, like Mama Lucy Kamptoni, our partner in Tanzania, lead—which means we’ll pursue ideas I myself might never have pondered, and adapt our own ideas in ways I might never have imagined.
2. How do you reset yourself to become creative? Do you have any rituals?
Sleep and play. I think it would be difficult, for me, to ritualize creativity because the best ideas come when I’m not really looking for them. The trick is being brave enough to follow where an idea leads even if it wasn’t at all what you’d planned.
3. What is an example of a time where you have thrown away an existing idea to force yourself to find something new?
My current organization was created when I went wandering on a break from my previous startup, Funken Consulting. I took a life-changing trip to Africa knowing it was time to move on, but not knowing what toward. Epic Change was the result of that trip.
Check out Stacey Monk’s upcoming project TweetsGiving which will be held November 24 - 26. For more information on the project, check out the links below.
Three Questions With Stacey Monk
1. How do you keep your work on the cutting edge?
I’m constantly on the lookout outside of my sector and try to swim in a sea of others’ ideas in global, cross-sector gathering places like Twitter. Invariably, this leads to new brainstorms and connections that foster innovation in my own organization. In my own work at Epic Change I try to let others, like Mama Lucy Kamptoni, our partner in Tanzania, lead—which means we’ll pursue ideas I myself might never have pondered, and adapt our own ideas in ways I might never have imagined.
2. How do you reset yourself to become creative? Do you have any rituals?
Sleep and play. I think it would be difficult, for me, to ritualize creativity because the best ideas come when I’m not really looking for them. The trick is being brave enough to follow where an idea leads even if it wasn’t at all what you’d planned.
3. What is an example of a time where you have thrown away an existing idea to force yourself to find something new?
My current organization was created when I went wandering on a break from my previous startup, Funken Consulting. I took a life-changing trip to Africa knowing it was time to move on, but not knowing what toward. Epic Change was the result of that trip.
Check out Stacey Monk’s upcoming project TweetsGiving which will be held November 24 - 26. For more information on the project, check out the links below.
Trend Themes
1. Cross-sector Collaboration - Opportunity for business professionals to collaborate across different sectors to foster innovation.
2. Unconventional Leadership - Opportunity to let others lead and pursue ideas that might not be considered in traditional leadership roles.
3. Serendipitous Creativity - Opportunity to embrace unexpected ideas and follow where they lead.
Industry Implications
1. Non-profit - Disruptive innovation opportunities in the non-profit sector by incorporating cross-sector collaboration and unconventional leadership.
2. Consulting - Disruptive innovation opportunities in consulting by encouraging unconventional thinking and embracing serendipitous creativity.
3. Social Media - Disruptive innovation opportunities in social media platforms like Twitter to gather ideas from different sectors and facilitate cross-sector collaboration.
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