It ’ s Just an Idea
“ I have an idea !” These four words tend to send members of my team , associates and especially my wife and business partner , Denise , running for cover . Not because all my ideas are bad , mind you , but because , they often represent a heck of a lot of work for those crazy enough to get involved .
A little background … In May 2016 my company , The Chariot Group , received some excellent national press featuring it as one of the “ 10 Hottest Collaboration Solution Providers - 2016 ” by Education Technology Insights . We even made the cover ! I , of course , wanted to maximize its exposure as it was great PR and valuable marketing material , but I had a challenge ; re-printing just the article didn ’ t seem sufficient , it needed more context to appeal to a larger audience .
I have an idea ! I would reach out to a couple of business associates and ask them to help . Each would write a short article focused on business , innovation and positive outcomes . It would be a win-win situation ; they would get visibility for their companies and I would wrap my company ’ s positive press into a broader platform . The publication would be a one-time simple thing , or so I thought . Within a week , it had grown to six contributors and 16 pages with a mission of being an opposing force to the dark economic cloud that was descending upon Alaska .
This simple idea turned real in July of 2016 ; STRIVE magazine was published in just three weeks , from concept to print . But something bigger and more important happened along the way . We fell in love with the idea of sharing positive and innovative ideas that illuminate a path forward during challenging and disrupted times . In short , we all caught the positivity we were trying to share .
Since that time , the enthusiasm has continued to build . We realized that regardless of the economic climate , nationally and / or globally , people and organizations of all types are struggling to cope with the maddening pace of change that is impacting their careers , businesses and industries . Regardless of whether it is technical innovations , such as robotics and artificial intelligence , or changing markets and global competition , everything is changing .
The question becomes how does one provide decisive leadership in a future that has no resemblance to what we know ? If everything is changing , then what we used to rely on , including our old models for problem solving and measuring success , must change as well .
I have an idea ! Let ’ s start a new company and provide resources and services to help illuminate the path forward . At that moment , The STRIVE Group was born . Our intent is to aggregate innovative and positive people and ideas with the goal of accelerating what we call “ the Ah-Ha moment .” Ah-Ha – when the light goes on and we have a clearer vision of the path forward .
As for this publication , it is our intent that the articles be primarily first person accounts of innovative success and / or a positive vision of things to come . We hope Strive provides a platform for emerging thought leaders of all types and from all disciplines .
I know , it all sounds a little audacious . It is just an idea .
Rick Thomas , CEO & President The STRIVE Group