X-rays. Chocolate chip cookies. Post-It notes. What do all three of these have in common? They were all created by mistakes. Or rather, the inspiration for these ideas came from unexpected sources. And yet, most people don’t realize these ideas came about by mistake — we only know they were good ideas. A good idea is a good idea, no matter where it came from.
When I first learned about Invisible Children’s defection flier program, I thought, “How could throwing thousands of fliers out of a plane really make a difference?” Can you imagine being that person that first said, “Hey, why don’t we just drop a bunch of fliers into the bush and see what happens?”
In action: Defection fliers dropping over Congo and Central African Republic.
The idea came about because the United Nations expressed the need to connect with LRA fighters in order to communicate and encourage defection. Invisible Children created the defection flier program in response. The creative strategy has led to hundreds of soldiers leaving the LRA and rejoining society. In fact, 89% of escaped LRA fighters cite our “come home” messages, including the fliers, as their primary motivation for defection. In such a simple program, Invisible Children changed the game and helped give LRA fighters a way out.
On my first day in the office, I had at least five different staff members encourage me to speak out and share my ideas. My opinion matters here. Everyone from my supervisors to one of the founders of Invisible Children cares about what I have to say. Me– a brand new intern from 3,000 miles away.
Why? Because Invisible Children believes in the power of a good idea. As training has taught me, “a good idea is a good idea, regardless of the source.”
This is an easy statement to make, but a hard one to keep. And yet, Invisible Children stands by this ideal. On my second day in the office, Jason Russell asked me what I thought about the future of the organization. How cool is that?
All to say that here at Invisible Children, we believe in the power of ideas – no matter who brings them to the table. Who knows, maybe your idea will be the next flier defection program.
Think people should hear about this?