Perhaps one of the greatest lessons leaders of today can learn is that sometimes it's best to leverage the power and wisdom of the crowd to help lead.  For many leaders, the thought of doing this can be daunting.  It means relinquishing control, trusting others, and taking a risk. 

That said, more and more leaders of today are starting to take that risk - myself included.  As a result, we are experiencing tremendous benefits that help us become more successful as leaders, and more importantly, help our companies grow and prosper. 

Inspired by the book The Back of the Napkin, by Dan Roam, I recently ran a company-wide contest where employees were asked to draw Mzinga's strategy and customer value proposition on the back of a napkin.  The concept behind the book is that any problem or plan can be communicated with a picture – one that is simple and easy to understand.

Before the contest started, I communicated to employees at our Town Hall meeting that I wanted to simplify our corporate messaging.  Very simply, I wanted to be able to put it on the back of a napkin.  I wanted customers and prospects to be able to be able to look at a picture and understand the benefits of deploying social media solutions and what differentiates Mzinga from our competitors.

Everyone was excited and eager to participate.  It was only a matter of time before our hallways were covered in napkin submissions. We received a napkin from nearly every employee. 

Why did I do it?

Over the course of the past year, Mzinga has merged three businesses together.  It’s been my job to unify everyone under one company mission and strategy.  I faced two challenges.  First, I wanted to make sure we had a compelling and differentiated message in the marketplace.  Second, it was important to me that every employee really understood and internalized our strategy.

Like most company leaders, I had a choice to make.  I could either take this challenge on alone … or I could get everyone involved.  The former would require more time and effort whereas the second option gave “the collective WE” the responsibility. 

Banking on the fact that “WE are smarter than ME”, I was convinced that my employees would have a more creative approach to best communicate Mzinga’s strategy and customer value proposition. 

I was beyond impressed a few weeks later when more than 200 napkins were submitted. 

The Process & the Results

Our CEO Staff has narrowed the 200 submissions down to the top 10. Here’s a sample of a few of the finalists:

The top 10 entries are going to be narrowed down to three finalists.  The three finalists will then film short video commercials endorsing their napkins.  I will be posting the video commercials on our web site where the crowd will help me select the winning napkin!

The winning napkin will be used in our marketing materials and website. Custom napkins with the winning strategy will be printed and used for customer visits.

What did I Learn?

Once again, it proves that “WE” really are smarter than me.  The work submitted by our employees was incredibly creative and compelling in terms of messaging.  It was much better than I could have created on my own.

In short, this Back of a Napkin Challenge demonstrates that company leaders really have a lot to gain by rethinking their approach to leadership.  By giving customers and employees a voice, you can tap into the best and brightest ideas, and save yourself valuable time and resources in the process. 

Do You Have an Idea?

In the true spirit if “we are smarter than me,” we are still looking for THE best napkin drawing. If you have a drawing you would like to submit before we go to the final voting, please email it to me at rick@mzinga.com. 

The reward for the winner is very cool … bragging rights forever!!