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It’s Fall, and you’ve got ideas
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Every summer at camp is an event. It's this all-encompassing thing. And then Fall hits, the leaves turn orange, and it's post-event time for everyone in the industry. What happens in post-event time? We all get ideas. That part is a good thing. Camps should explore the ideas that come up and see what you uncover. Camp directors are entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs get excited and creative. You're a group that is starting, for the first time in months, to think in an expansive mindset. So, September, October, and November roll around. You've got time to think, and you want to run with something. Every Fall, the ideas I'm hearing are the big ones. Camps are getting ideas around starting a childcare program. Camps are getting ideas around the structure of the team. Camps are getting ideas about adding to the property in a way that is not just adding a program area. Camps are getting ideas about serving a different population, both overnight and day. None of those ideas are small lifts. All of them take real time and real money to pull off. But here is where it gets tricky. What ends up happening with ideas is confirmation bias. We think that our own ideas are wonderful, and we want to run with them. The truth is, they often need more resources than we are giving them credit for. But again, it's Fall, so we get excited, thinking there is unlimited time in the year. The runway seems long. You don't have that time in December. You don't have it in January. You don't have it the rest of the year. That is why it gets hard for folks to downshift, innovate, and also stay focused. Sometimes they downshift and innovate, and then they lose focus. And that is where the danger of the off-season really happens. Because December shows up, and there is a moment it becomes very apparent, the hours of work this is going to take. By then the sunk cost bias is in. I've spent a month developing this idea. I've talked to so many people. I've really explored it. And because you're feeling the excitement that comes with something new, you might be tempted to go down that route anyway, even when the plan calls for more than you have. Sometimes you just need a third party to be like, whoa, buddy. Pump the brakes. We don't think we know everything. First reaction is, oh, I haven't heard of that one, tell me more. Then it's, okay, if you were going to do that, here are some ways to think about it. That is why having a thought partner in the room this Fall matters. Because this October, you still he time to explore. December is the month where, if you weren't careful about which ideas to run with, you realize you've bit off more than you can chew. Sincerely, Senior Consultant at Immersive1st Learn more about Immersive1st's Approach |
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