Parallel to the improvisation you do yourself as a grant writer, it is also important to know tools for helping your grant writing team improvise as well. Too often a lack of creative energy can be traced to the fact that various team members may be afraid of failing. With this motivation, they may be more creative in inventing reasons for giving up than coming up with solutions that will make it happen. Below, I will share with you the five most important techniques I have used to help my teams improvise like jazz musicians.
1. Do the Right Thing
I picked up this idea from George H.W. Bush. As a vice president and former director of the CIA, the elder Bush had a lot of experience in working with appointed and career government staff. One of his techniques was to simply ask his team: “What would we do if we wanted to do the right thing?” Of course, this seems a little funny because we assume that everyone would naturally want to do the right thing. Bush’s question was an acknowledgment that international relations is an opaque business and that often it is not possible to do the right thing if it creates other disadvantages and risks. Nevertheless, I am fond of asking this question because it challenges staff to check their agendas and respond with high-quality solutions that represent an ideal answer to a question. Once you have their innovative answers on the table, you can always scale them back and do what is most practical at the moment.
2. Time and Plan Your Improvisation Challenges
Typically, any grant writing team has enthusiasts and doubters. Both have a role in the grant writing process. In my experience it is best to start with the enthusiasts, they are the ones who will be most energetic and committed to making the grant happen. With them, I encourage their spontaneous comments and ask them to elaborate on their enthusiasm. It is only late in the process – after a draft or two – that I invite the doubters to take a shot at the proposal. At this stage, their negativity will point out holes in the document. Based on their comments, I will get a solid list of issues that need to be sorted out and fixed as the grant moves forward. One question I ask the doubters is “What can we do to make the grant work to your satisfaction?”
3. Out Crazy the Crazies
One of my favorite techniques of improvisation is to run with a crazy idea and, in a sense, out-crazy the craziest person in the room. For example, someone may say that we should provide free equipment to students. (Clearly impractical.) My response is to suggest that we give them free clothes, movie tickets, and automobiles. The impact of this approach is that I have loosened up the thinking of the group, helped them think outside the box, and made them more comfortable with speaking their minds. This technique is most helpful when the crazy comment is delivered by a crazy person. You might also try the reverse crazy technique which is to suggest to the group that they do the exact opposite of what they expect. This approach helps them zero in on the merits of the project simply because extinguishing it has been placed on the table.
4. Take Money Off the Table
Another way to open up your group to innovation is to ask “What would we do if money was no object and we were certain to succeed?” This question gives your team the freedom to dream the best possible solution. They get to shoot for the stars. This approach yields surprising results since some ideas of the staff and administrators may not be so expensive or risky after all. There might be ways to approximate the things they want to do by using new technology, borrowed resources, or key donations. No matter what, you will get fresh ideas and the motivation to proceed.
5. Make it Personal
Finally, it sometimes helps to touch the heart and highest aspirations of your team by asking “What would you do if it was your mother or daughter in this program?” The responses to this question often elicit surprisingly sensitive, thoughtful, and decisive answers. It works, in part, because it gives the team members a simpler problem to solve. They are solving the problem of their own, for their own family, without regard to the objections and concerns of non-family members. Even though their ideas might highlight their values, the ideas themselves will probably be at least 80% of the way to the correct solution.
If you remember to apply these techniques when you and your team are threatened by writer’s block, then you will quickly find new avenues that restore your freshness, confidence, and energy. As long as what you write works for you, you should be in good shape. This is true even if you are entirely unfamiliar with the topic of your grant application.
