Start Something That Matters

not as errors that impede the flow of progress but as opportunities to build more trust in your organization as you work through them, you turn a negative into a positive that will build the trust you’ll need.

Footage Firm (www.footagefirm.com),

Together, these six elements offer lessons that will challenge you to look at your business and your life from a different perspective: They teach that having a story may be the most important part of your new venture; that fear can be useful; that having vast resources is not as critical as you might think; that simplicity is a core goal in succes

No matter what you are giving—money, time, or even shoes—the people and organizations working on the front lines probably know more about how to use those resources effectively.

The lesson: The power of your story isn’t just a way to connect to your ultimate consumer but is also a means of making you attractive to potential partners who want to attach themselves to something deeper than buying and selling.

When you dispose of formal titles, no one knows the pecking order. Both an executive vice president and an intern can have solid-sounding titles. This framework forces people from outside the company to treat everyone they meet as though they were the most important person in the company—because they don’t know they’re not. Innovative titles offer

when giving is incorporated into your model,

You want prospective partners, employers, colleagues (and dates) to find you—your online presence gives you a wonderful way to affirm the impression you make in person.

Make sure your story is crafted to appeal to the people you really want to become your supporters and that it draws from your core strength.