“The improbable we do immediately, the impossible takes a few hours.”
It's a line from the book Pandora's Clock. It's also a variation of an old military motto. It's funny. But there's something more to it.
When I worked in Penn State's Development and Alumni Relations group, one of the projects our team supported was THON. THON is Penn State's student-run dance marathon, a weekend-long event benefiting Four Diamonds and the fight against childhood cancer. Thousands of students spend months fundraising and supporting children and families affected by childhood cancer, with their efforts culminating in a 46-hour dance marathon.
Our job was to support those students. Technology was certainly part of that. Things had to work, and they had to work reliably. But supporting the students meant much more than just keeping technology running. The students relied on us to help them get what they needed... immediately.
They weren't being unreasonable. They were running an enormous event, and circumstances changed quickly. The problem was that they were operating within a very large university, one that often had red tape surrounding even the simplest request. Something that sounded easy could take days or weeks to get approved.
THON didn't have days or weeks. They had NOW.
We rarely said no. Instead we asked ourselves, "How do we make this happen?"
Sometimes there was a technical problem to solve. Sometimes there was a policy we needed to satisfy. Sometimes there was a different way - that followed the rules - to accomplish the same thing. And sometimes we just needed to find the right person.
At that point in my career, I had worked at Penn State for a little over 15 years and had gotten to know many people throughout the University. And they had gotten to know me.
Colleagues knew that if I called with an unusual request, there was a reason for it. That kind of relationship is built long before you need to ask for a favor. And during THON, we relied on that trust.
That's what I think about when I say: Think like MacGyver.
It's easy to picture MacGyver solving problems with whatever happened to be lying around. And quite honestly, we handled our share of challenges with paper clips, wires, and duct tape. But the real trick is to use what you have instead of concentrating on what you don't.
Look beyond just physical things. Experience is a resource. Understanding how an organization works is a resource. Knowing who to call is a resource. Relationships are resources. And trust is one of the most valuable resources of all.
None of those things gives you permission to ignore the rules. They give you more ways to solve the problem within them.
“The improbable we do immediately, the impossible takes a few hours.”
Author’s note: THON remains the single most rewarding project in my professional career. If you are able and so inclined, I encourage you to visit http://www.THON.org to find out how you can help.