Are You Backable?

I have to admit I once had a hush crush on Dan Pink – at the time his message just resonated with me.  For those less familiar with the author, he made his way into my orbit with his book A Whole New Mind.  He had a follow-up book called Drive some years later, which was also more than worth the read.  I lost interest after that for no real reason and have not really kept up with his work in over a decade.  Then, I recently came across a podcast in which he introduces the listening audience to Suneel Gupta.  You may have heard of Groupon but this CEO is way more than a retail coupon guy – see for yourself (click here). 

In August 2010 I was a featured speaker during our back to school kickoff pep rally.  I’d spoken at these types of events before but at the time we had a new superintendent and were using a new venue.  I can remember doing a walk through the evening before with our communications boss and our thought bubbles were surely in-synch.  My bit part in this convocation was to provide the state of the district address – performance-wise how were our students doing?  I had some slides to guide my speech but after 1 minute on the stage with 2,700 staff in seats waiting and needed technology not working, I winged it from memory.  One key part I pitched to the crowd was “what was their sentence” which was an idea I borrowed from Dan Pink’s first book and a project he ultimately launched (watch this short video for more information).  Back then I told the audience my sentence was “he provides the right folks with the right information.”  As I look back now I realize I was the lowest person on that totem pole should things have gone sideways.  They didn’t, thankfully, and I delivered my address on memory.  As a very small side note, I’ll indulge and share that a senior cabinet member at the time pulled me aside to share off the books appreciation.  I saved my hand written speech from back then as reminder…  

But what if I hadn’t kept it together? What if, on that day, I clammed up and folded? Backable was a good find for me and timely – it reaffirmed things I believe to be true and the power of proper preparation. As the adage goes, chance indeed favors the prepared mind. And as Suneel Gupta shares, your ability to get others to take a chance on you is largely dependent on your ability to inspire. As I watched the podcast, it made me instantly think of the parallels to what teachers do non-stop. They likely rehearse 21 times on average like the Groupon founder suggests before delivering a lesson. And they always check for understanding in ways that reinforce the learning. They have and always will be, BACKABLE.