Innovation

We hear a lot of talk about “out of the box” thinking, but most of it comes from people who really mean they want us to come out of our box, and come into their box.  That’s why, when a real-world example comes along—in this case, from a film I saw that I can’t remember the title of—you can’t help but look at it and say, yeah, this is it.

Our hero was planning a Person of the Year fundraiser for the local police department, something that surprised quite a few people, since the organizer had, shall we say, previous encounters with the police that were less than upbeat.  Over time, his friends grow impatient with his lack of candor.  Finally, he gives in, and tells them what he’s really up to.

Any fundraiser for a police department, be it the retirement fund, youth outreach, or crime prevention, is a guaranteed money maker, since everyone either wants to support the police, or at least appear to support the police.  As a result, the best way to make real money is to create a fundraiser that has maximum payout and minimum payback.

Enter the Person of the Year program.  You schedule the event and hold it in the high school auditorium, which, if you’re lucky, holds 500 people.  The school board donates the space, or charges $1 for rental.  Similar discounts come from the caterer of the event, the DJ or other entertainment for the evening, the photographer, and the printer who produces the tickets and program.  This puts costs at an absolute minimum.

Now, about the tickets.  The price can be a little on the high side since this is a police fundraiser.  But the real profit is realized in the number of tickets sold.  For something like this event, you sell about 2,000 tickets.

At this point, you may be thinking this looks like a bit of a dumpster fire—how on earth can you sell 2,000 tickets for a venue that only has 500 seats?  Bedlam ensues once everyone shows up, feeling are hurt, the guests of honor feel offended, and lawsuits are likely in the offing.

And then reality hits.  The police may be beloved enough to get people to buy tickets for their fundraiser, but it isn’t enough to make the ticketholders actually go.  It doesn’t really matter if they show up, eat rubber chicken, and politely clap their way through an evening of well-intended but poorly constructed speeches.  The police have their money whether ticketholders go or not, and going doesn’t give the police more money.  So they support the effort, skip the event, and enjoy a night of pizza and Turner and Hootch at home. 

Since the police and their families kind of have to go, as do the families and friends of the Person of the Year, the auditorium loosely holds the 150 or so guests who actually do show up.  They get all the food and drink they want, the night still has special meaning to them, and the honoree still feels truly honored.  Best of all, no one can legally claim they didn’t get what they paid for, which is a seat and related benefits, since the only people who didn’t get what they paid for didn’t show up.

 This is the kind of innovative thinking you can’t help but admire.  Of course, I wouldn’t begin to think of trying something like this, since mine would be the first Person of the Year even where 600 people showed up.  Still, mighty clever.

Vision

Legend says
The Chrysler Building
Had huge holes in its walls.
Structurally sound
But a little weird
And dangerous to a passing glance.

Fear not
Said the financier
Those holes will fill up
Once air conditioning is invented.

Whoa.

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