The Power Of “What Can I Do?” and Puppies Behind Bars

“Puppies Behind Bars started dog tags when I, just as a private citizen, would read the paper every day and just hear about the number of our men and women who were getting wounded. And I said, what can I do? I’m sitting here in my comfort of New York and they’re in Iraq and Afghanistan, what can I do?” -Gloria Gilbert Stoga on Fresh Air August 12, 2009

Innovation starts and stops on the personal level. There are many things society, organizations, friends, strangers, business, and random acts of kindness can do to encourage innovation. But in the end it takes individuals who want to make a difference.

What Can I Do? Is such a powerful statement. It has to rival the power of Why? In the lexicon of innovation that happens.

Puppies Behind Bars has been in the news a lot lately, and it’s been a growing organization for well over a decade. Dog Tags: Service Dogs For Those Who’ve Served Us is a program that trains companion dogs for returning veterans who have suffered a physical injury, traumatic brain injury (TBI) or exhibit Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It was started with Gloria Gilbert Stoga’s question, “What Can I Do?” and was followed by the little big idea that marks so many great innovations:

“And the answer was, I can do dogs. And that was the genesis of dog tags…”

Her thought ties together the efforts of inmate volunteers who train the dogs (benefiting from the attachment and job with high purpose), volunteers in the community who help acclimate the dogs to busy streets and outside life and veterans who receive 24/7 attention and assistance from these amazing animals.

This spark has led to other innovations in training which occur only when an organization and individuals are watching for “What can I do?” moments and believe that their ideas make a difference.

Such as hearing how a soldier who was alone collapsed and his companion dog could only wait at the door for help.

“When we heard that, we said we’ve got to do something if the dog and the soldier are alone and there’s no human there. So since then we’ve taught all of our dogs to literally dial 9-1-1 on a phone. Not only on the command help, but if all of a sudden I were to stop talking or if I were to fall out of my chair, the dog would be cued to dial 9-1-1. So that’s another example of a real life situation: Veteran gets home with one of our dogs and says, hey, I could use this in my real life because it happens to me.” -Gloria Gilbert Stoga on Fresh Air August 12, 2009

Healthy innovation comes from the loop between user and innovator. Stoga mentions several commands in addition to this idea that were initiated because they were paying attention to the soldiers who are using their dogs. The 9-1-1 idea still had to be implemented which took several other innovative steps.

Trainers had to figure out how to teach a dog to dial 911. The solution included repurposing a phone with very large buttons. Each button was reprogramed to dial 911 when the dog lifts the receiver and pushes. An inmate also rewired the phone so that a light comes on when a connection is made, so the dog knows the call is successful. Stoga is getting people engaged in surprising ways.

Knowing that your ideas matter is a key part to being innovative. Wally Bock recently wrote that Toyota receives almost nine times more suggestions from their employees than GM. While the next statistic is a correlation, I have a feeling it is also a pretty strong reason. Toyota implements 80% of the suggestions and GM only 25%. (There are also stories that GM’s approval process is antagonistic and unfair which only increases the demoralizing effect of having ideas continually rejected. Why bother?)

Neat ideas come from simple questions.

Why?

What Can I Do?

Believing you can make a difference allows you to see connections between what you are doing, what you can do, and what you want to do.

Innovators who work outside of the corporate environment actually have the benefit of avoiding corporate politics, but they run into other versions of it. Friends who wonder why bother, for instance. The need for cardboard creativity because resources are tight. And of course established stake holders who can be just as difficult as the upper management of any moribund multi-national or government. But powerful ideas with dedicated individuals can gain traction, such as the texting initiative to improve rural medicine by Frontline SMS which slowly continues to pick up steam.

So while much of my time is spent working with managers trying to figure out how to not quash innovation, I am continually brought back to the key point that innovation is the work of motivated individuals.

Are you still a motivated individual?

Have you ever answered the question, “What Can I Do?” with the thought “Who would care?”

• Bill Gates answered the question in a way that has him leveraging unimaginable resources in surprising ways.
• Warren Buffet answered the question most visibly by giving his money to Bill Gates.
• Gloria Gilbert Stoga answered the question by finding ways to help multiple populations with the same solution.
• The college students at Frontline:SMS answered the question by developing a solution that costs practically nothing to implement in regions that have practically nothing to spend.

We all start with different platforms to leap from. Whether your idea is to improve a widget or change the world, whether your platform is built from cardboard or platinum, whether you are motivated by money or glory, the question “What Can I Do?” is a starting point to marshaling whatever your resources are to innovate, create and change the world.

Again a quote that didn’t quite fit, but wanted to close with. Nora Moran, a former inmate who trained dogs in prison and now works for Puppies Behind Bars, said:

“I was a really angry, lost, confused, young adolescent girl [....] So when I became incarcerated, I needed to understand that I didn’t want to be a person who created damage in the world. I wanted to be a person who was a vehicle for healing and growth.” -Nora Moran (Staff Member, Puppies Behind Bars) on Fresh Air August 12, 2009

When it comes to inventing the new, we all face our own form of prison whether the bars are mental or physical. Decisions must be made.

Understand yourself, understand your talents.

Ask “Why?”

Ask “What Can I Do?”

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