Putting us in the Story

I am preparing a short workshop for a segment of the Spring Conference of the Connecticut Town Clerks. They asked me to help them notice and manage the generational differences of townspeople, so that changes they make in policies and practices in these bedrock offices accommodate the values and preferred ways of being of voting adults born from 1920 to 1990.

I could give them a PowerPoint lecture summarizing what research tells us about the Silent Gernation or Gen X. That would be a short prep. It is not what a chronically entrepreneurial teacher would do. So, I put many more hours into designing this experience (for them and me) than my honorarium covers.

Why? I want to make a difference in their practice that lasts. I want them to be more entrepreneurial in their practice.

One might ask, how could a Town Clerk who issues dog licenses and let's people into the vault to search property titles possibly care to be an innovator? Well, the Gen Y-Millennial citizen is miffed, because she cannot simply fill out an online form to license Bowser and charge the fee to his debit card. A drive down to Town Hall and back costs her time, gas money (she is saving up for a Prius) and she has to leave the puppy Bowser back at the condo, because he cannot be brought into the building and tends to defecate on the car upholstery when left alone.

Well, then, what is my design and how does this have anything to do with "putting us in the Story"? I'll have the Clerks work in teams to invent the World's first "Generational Positioning System" - a Clerking GPS. This takes off on the analogy to a driver's GPS (global positioning system) and casts the session inside the title "Navigating the differences generational differences make".

I have large rolls of paper, crayons, and other material for each table team to use to create their own GPS prototype. Then, we'll go to role play, whereby half the 150 of them will take on assigned generation aspects and rotate through some of the teams of clerks who will present them with a pre-selected change they are considering such as the e-forms for purchasing licenses.

Will it work? I hope so.

Have I ever done this before? Nope.

What it is bombs? We can talk about why and they can take me off the list of conference speakers.

I believe that putting myself and them inside the story of Connecticut Town Clerks inventing the World's First Clerking GPS will lead to entrepreneurial learning which will infuse entrepreneurial practice. Those back seat covers may one day be spared Bowser's wrath.