For months I’ve been contemplating a post on social and relationship capital and how it’s built and then how it’s spent. And after a trip to Memphis earlier this week, to see my mom’s aunt (my great aunt) honored at a ceremony where she donated her honors and awards to the University of Memphis it all became so clear to me.

Elma Neal Roane has dedicated her entire life to education and her students, I’m planning to profile her here soon so I won’t go through all of her accomplishments. She is recognized as a pioneer and leader in physical education and sports in the state of Tennessee.  She was head of the Women’s Division for sports at the University of Memphis from 1946-1976. The fieldhouse at the University known as “the house that she built” is named for her and I’m told it’s the only fieldhouse in the country named for a woman.

On Tuesday, there was a reception at Brister Hall, and it was  the formal unveiling of her awards, honors and papers both academic and athletic. There were over 100 people who came to see my 91 year old aunt, not the honors and awards. Everyone who came had a very personal story of how she had touched their lives.  I was in awe to hear the stories from young and old, all of them spoke of the impact she has made on their life.  A life of building relationships, participating in the community, giving back, not just with her money but her time as well. I have to tell you, in my mind, she is the embodiment of what Chris Brogan calls a Trust Agent, person after person stood up and talked about her integrity, the goodness that she worked so tirelessly bring to all of those who knew her and many who never knew her but experienced the fruits of her labor.  At one point during the day, she turned to me and said “Everyone keeps talking about all I’ve done for women, but I worked for the men and human rights as well. I stood up for anyone who needed to be stood up for as long as I believed it was the right thing to do.”

As things were winding down, I had the privilege of sitting alone with my aunt and just chatting. At 91 years old, she’s still a leader and still wanting to mentor and educate the best she can. And while she was thankful for the honor on Tuesday, I’m confident that what she enjoyed the most was talking to the people. She was genuinely moved that so many people gave up part of their day to come and see her. While we were sitting there I said to her, “I’m in awe of all the goodness you have created how did you do it?”  She responded:

“Everything I did, I did because I had a passion for it, not just the education but the students as well. I’ve dedicated my life to promoting fellowship, honor and integrity, and we need more teachers who are pushing that as well. That’s my passion, keep on keeping on!” (her personal mantra)

What I’ve learned from a lifetime of knowing my aunt, is that social and relationship capital is acquired through service, fellowship, and a deep passion for people. And it’s how we build and spend that capital that defines you, I watched on Tuesday as many accomplished people, some celebrities, got up and thanked my aunt for her service, and more than one said she was their hero. They were powerful moments, but she accomplished all she did because she loved her work and wanted to make the world a better place. She never gave any thought to what was in it for her, she fought hard for what was right in her mind, and with honor and integrity, she made sacrifices, had discouraging times but she always stayed the course. She used her capital to build leaders, pave the way for the future and for improving human rights.

My question to you is: what are you doing with the social and relationship capital you are building? Are you leaving a legacy of goodness? Are you working for what really matters most?

Technorati Tags: Audience, Authentic, Authenticity, Baboon, Brands, China, Chris Brogan, Collaboration, Community, Consistent, Courageous, Customer Experience, Determination, Educate, Elma Neal Roane, Elma Roane, Empower, Engage, Facebook, friend, give back, Goodness, Gratitude, help, Honest, Iran, Julien Smith, Kenya, Listening, Maasai, Marketing, Media, Mobilize, Mukhtar Mai, New Media Atlanta, People Matter, Project Authenticity, Reach, Research, Resonate, Social, Social Media, Social Web, Strategy, Target, Thankful, Transparent, Trust Agent, Trustworthy, Twitter, Whisper

At first glance, Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya is a peaceful beautiful safari park. It’s best known for the thousands and sometimes millions of flamingos that make their home along the shore.  Recently, the park was enlarged so it could provide sanctuary for more than 25 black rhinos. Overlooking Lake Nakuru is a picnic area called Baboon Cliff. Aptly named because of the troops of baboons that live here.

During my visit to Lake Nakuru I had lunch at Baboon Cliff, prior to entering the picnic area my team was briefed to be “on guard” because the baboons could be very bold. (could be is an understatement) However, there was no amount of briefing that could have prepared us for what was about to happen.  It had been quite a morning seeing rhinos, hippos, vultures, lots of zebras and even hyenas up close and sometimes personal.  As we settled into the picnic area, within seconds, we were surrounded by about 25-30 baboons. Our guides had large sticks and were doing all they could to keep the baboons at bay. And that job quickly became increasingly more difficult.

Baboons are really crafty characters and work  together to distract tourists so the larger more aggressive ones can easily take whatever it is that they want. They gather together almost like a huddle, make disturbing sounds, as if they were formulating a plan. Then one or two come in close and do some kind of trick, or something entertaining while the aggressors watch carefully waiting for just the right time to make their move.  And it’s all fun and games until you are face to face with one of these scary characters.

From the minute we arrived the baboons were on their “A” game and some of their attempts to take our lunch were….well entertaining. There was lots of laughter and well admittedly some anxiety. Taking note of my anxiety one of the men on our team invited me to sit on a bench with him, promising to fend off any baboons that got close.  As we opened our box lunch and started to go through it, a huddle of baboons formed just about 25 yards away.  We had our eye on that huddle and then they dispersed. We all breathed a sigh of relief. After a couple of minutes, a baby baboon made its way over and began doing tricks, making sounds and before we knew it all of us were paying close attention to the baby. Then out of nowhere, the biggest baboon I’d ever seen was on top of Mike, wrestling him for his food and mine. In a matter of seconds, Mike was on his back, with the large creature on top of him. Everyone sprung into action even the other baboons. Needless to say, the big baboon got away with our lunch. And as quickly as he was able to spring into action, he was off and running with the bounty of his efforts. He took it over to where he had huddled up earlier and shared the spoils with the rest of his troop.

So what does this have to do with community and marketing? What’s the lesson here? It’s the power of collaboration and working together to accomplish a goal. It’s so amazing that the troop of baboons knew that unless they worked together, there was no way they would have been able to get a single morsel. It’s the same in our communities and organizations. As organizations find themselves running very lean collaboration is critical to overcome the challenges of today’s competitive landscape. The social web has made it easier than ever before to collaborate and overcome any barriers that previously existed. If the baboons can grasp the power of working together to achieve a common goal, how do we often miss that truth?

I think Margaret Mead said it best and interestingly enough after her time in Africa. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does.” While she doesn’t mention it, the collaboration factor is is implied.  Even the animal kingdom recognizes they are more powerful when they work together. Are you harnessing the power of collaboration or do you think you can do it on your own?

Technorati Tags: Authentic, Authenticity, Baboon, Chris Brogan, Collaboration, Courageous, Determination, friend, Honest, Kenya, Project Authenticity, Transparent, Trust Agent, Trustworthy, Whisper