Value Open-Handedness : Part 1

We are again continuing our journey through Imagine Thailand’s seven OUTWARD FACING VALUES.  Last time we reflected on the value of presence, and how much of the success in life is just showing up.  This time we’re looking at the value of open-handedness.

So what does being open-handed even mean?  Well, let’s start with a quick story.

I used to be one of two Directors of Audit and Consulting for a federal government agency.  Our audit group was located on one side of the country while the other group was on the completely opposite side.  We were independent of each other and could run our sections autonomously.  I chose to rotate the composition of my teams so everyone in the section eventually worked with every other person in the section.  As a result, we learned to work with a variety of personalities, shared information freely and took enormous pride in being a group that was known for delivering a top-notch product, at all times, and for every project.

On the other hand, my colleague on the other side of the country chose to establish two teams, with zero personnel movement between them.  It wasn’t good.  Instead of collaboration there was competition.  Wanting to prove that “my team is better than your team” they started to withhold information from each other, undermined the other’s efforts to excel, and ceased any meaningful communications.  Animosity and mistrust festered and their effectiveness withered.

The final outcome?  My group was given unprecedented latitude to conduct our work and were sought out by management as a strategic means of pursuing excellence.  The group on the other coast were stripped of their autonomy, absorbed by another organization, and eventually disappeared altogether.  Ouch!

So how does this relate to Imagine Thailand? 

We have a two-fold definition of open-handedness, the first being that, just like the successful audit group, “we freely share what we have: time, resources, ideas, and people”.  And we put our money where our mouth is.

Consider:

Entrance Coffeehouse and Studio on the grounds (no pun intended) of Chula University in Bangkok has space and a business, but no direct community engagement.  Enter Imagine.  We are leaders in community development. We have servant-hearted people. We are passionate about education.  So, in a beautiful and highly effective relationship, Entrance provides the space, Imagine provides the heart.  Perfect!

Chula’s students gather for English Corner and develop relationships through Games Night and other initiatives, all while sipping great coffee!  At the same time, our Sam Yan New Gen Education project provides mentoring and educational opportunities for neighbourhood kids who would otherwise have little opportunity to advance and flourish.

Our second definition of open-handedness states, “we embrace partnerships because we believe we are better together”.  We’ll be looking at that next month, so stay tuned.

In the meantime:  Add value.  Act with valour.