Young Noggin' Power - Motivational Insights from Youth

Posted by Vince Poscente on Thu, Dec 06, 2012 @ 12:19 PM

On the surface, they have what they need to succeed. Thomas Franchise Solutions has a seasoned board of advisors, a sure-footed leader and committed staff, driven for growth. But, their founder and Chairman, Peter Thomas, wants more. A fresh, unconventional perspective. His brainchild, a Youth Advisory Board.

A Youth Advisory Board is not new to organizational development.

State Farm has a youth advisory board. Thirty 17-20 year olds are assigned to address issues important to State Farm and communities across North America. Their service-learning projects help State Farm with a local presence and goodwill.

Brewerytown in Philadelphia has a community Youth Advisory Council comprising of 14-19 year olds. Yours truly even got in the youth activism game thirty-five years ago. I chaired a Teen Board that complimented the adult efforts of the Strathcona Youth Association’s mission to build a local teen center.

The Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary has been using advising youth for years. According to avid supporter, Eric Perrault, "The Children's Hospital in Calgary (the big lego block) was based upon designs from our youth advisory. Not only were they consulted in the design phase, all structural and programs had to go through them for changes and approval. This may explain why the facility is one of the best of its kind."

TFS takes the Youth Advisory Board concept outside the somewhat insular corporate playground.

What’s innovative about Thomas’ Youth Advisory Board is their assignment. To submit a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). The youngest member is in middle school. Others are either in high school or college. The youth selected are armed with an entrepreneurial acumen and intellegence oozing with curiosity.

As it turns out, there are many check marks in the win category for TFS and the youth.

Win #1 A Younger Lens for a Bigger Picture - TFS gets to see through a younger lens. TFS's model of investing in franchise companies with a proven track record and profitable model could be strictly numbers driven. But Thomas wanted to augment his investment process with insights of those who the corporate world normally would rather have share of wallet share… not what the young minds have to share. Meanwhile, the youth know they need to look carefully at what they review and translate it for their elder colleagues.

Win #2 Simple Sophistication - The youth dive into the real corporate conversations. By being added to weekly internal communications and other information flow the youngsters gain insight into how bottom line results are driven by organizational decision-making. TFS forces themselves to keep their messaging easy to digest and uncomplicated. The keep-it-simple mantra is self-imposed while paying dividends.

Win #3 Evoking Insights and Outsights – TFS wants to scan for new franchise opportunities while balancing the demands of growing their partner companies. It is incredibly easy in any organization to get caught in the manage-what-we-have cycle at the expense of innovating towards new frontiers. To ignore dealing with change and managing change companies like Radio Shack and Blockbuster have fallen victim to this phenomenon. With the Youth Advisory Board’s consistent input, everyone at TFS pauses to reflect and seek beyond themselves.

Consider eliciting the noggin’ power of a few sharp, still developing, under 25 brains. Go beyond traditional focus groups or surveys. Create a youth advisory board and evoke a bigger picture with simple sophistication. A fresh, unconventional, youthful, motivational perspective may be exactly what you need.

Tags: Goals, Motivational, Business Leadership