I’ve been to MIT and helped to lead a strategic planning process for a gifted group of researchers. I know that session went well, but I don’t think I wowed them with my ideas like this young man from Sierra Leone wowed me and the MIT community. Kelvin Doe is a 15-year-old, self-taught scientists. This video of his residence at MIT as part of the Visiting Practitioner’s Program has been making the rounds online. If you haven’t watched it yet, take a few minutes.
Kelvin is persistent. His determination to find materials, often items discarded as trash by others, and transform them into tools that can bring his community together is remarkable. Kelvin is the type of young man that will find a way to express his point of view, even when faced with obstacles. His natural curiosity and persistence has benefited from professionals who are looking for ways to engage young people in community problem solving that cultivates their talent and generates solutions from within their communities. I’m excited to see how Kelvin’s next project goes. He wants to build a windmill to increase the electricity supply for his community.
Kelvin’s story is interesting, and it makes me wonder about the voices and ideas that we never hear. At Giant Leap, I get to work on a lot of different things. One of my favorites is stakeholder interviews. I get to interview people one-on-one and learn about what inspires them, frustrates them, what they hope for their organization, their concerns for the future, and their ideas. I often find that people will tell me things within 10 minutes of starting our conversation that they do not tell to colleagues they have been working with for years. Sometimes it is because they are reserved, but most often it is because they have never been asked.
I understand that people have to take personal responsibility for stepping up and speaking out. I also understand that some leaders do a much better job of creating an environment that supports those displays of courage. Kelvin has found a global community that is nurturing his intellectual development. Have you created an environment at the local level that encourages those around you to speak up and try new things?
Great ideas are not born exclusively in the C-Level offices. Great ideas may already exist in the mind of a mail clerk, veteran administrative assistant, or rookie sales team member.
Those great ideas may be out there, but do you have a way to hear them? Kelvin has the Innovate Salone to support his creative problem solving. How are you seeking out the diversity of voices and ideas within your own organization or community?
To learn more about the Innovate Salone, visit Crowdrise.com.
