Michelle Micalizzi, Artist
(All Rights Reserved)
ORIGINAL WORK – NOT AVAILABLE | RETAIL Available Soon!
My muse this week is Tyler Butler. Tyler owns 11Eleven Consulting. 11Eleven inspires companies to operate with a conscience by incorporating visionary principles, diverse perspectives and sustainable practices to create programs that benefit society and build positive sentiment for brands.
WHY TYLER QUALIFIES TO BE ONE OF THE 2017 FEARLESS THIRTEEN.
Tyler reached out to me. I love it when that happens. This is the power of social media combined with networking and not knowing what amazing person your message is potentially reaching. It’s actually a wonder that Tyler and I had not met sooner since we have an abundance of good people and organizations in common, not least of whom is fellow 2017 Fearless 13 leader Deborah Batman. I never did ask Tyler exactly how she learned of me but when she did, she was remarkably tenacious about reaching out to me.
If you have electric energy like Tyler has, I pay attention. She sent me a few inboxes and an email introducing herself that included links to the projects she was working on, as well as sending me a Facebook friend request. When I encounter someone who uses a technique I often use, which is the “1-2-3 punch” in any form, I make time for you. Communicating with a person in three ways in a short time frame is powerful. An email can be ignored, a friend request can be deleted, and an inbox can be missed, but all three within moments of one another often reaches the mark. If one of those three communications happens to be in person it is even better. I took a look at Tyler’s website, her social media presence, and some of the links that she sent. By the time we had our first conversation, I had already decided to invite Tyler to be one of this year’s Fearless 13 leaders.
When I looked at Tyler’s personal and business brand, I chuckled because my plan for June was to look for someone like her to partner on the series I am doing in December called the Art of Fearlessly Giving Back (AoFGB). I could see from her branding that she and I were on a similar mission. I knew that she would be a fantastic partner to work with me on the first Art of Fearlessly Giving Back Project and that she would agree to collaborate even before I presented the project to her. Tyler already has worked on some very impressive projects in regard to the arts with the Phoenix Center for the Arts, GoDaddy, and the Boys & Girls Club of America.
During our first conversation, I found myself pacing around the backyard getting excited about the synergy we shared in how we approach cause marketing and corporate social responsibility. More importantly, it was immediately evident that Tyler and I move at the same speed and with the same energy. I love it when I meet a young woman like Tyler because she gives me hope for the future. In turn, I become more energetic about my own mission when I meet a kindred spirit like Tyler who is on fire for hers.
Tyler and I know something very important about collaboration. There is power in numbers and there is magic in cultivating meaningful relationships. We are both big dreamers and heavy lifters with huge hearts. Intrinsically, we know that work is not just something you do for a paycheck: work is something you do to leave a legacy and make a difference.
Art, stories, and dreams are not meant to be hidden in journals for three decades and the desire to give back does not sit on the couch addictively watching Netflix. Art for me is an action and it gives back in so many meaningful ways: Art is Business and Business is Art. Tyler values that belief and understands what my mission is for the Art of Fearlessly Giving Back project. We will decide together on our business and charity partners very carefully. I am pinching myself that we get to work on this innovative project together.
The three biggest things that impress me the most about Tyler are:
- Her sincere desire to be meaningful in her service through thoughtful collaboration.
- Her willingness at such a young age to “Take a Deep Dive!”
- Her self-starting energy and dedication as learned from her entrepreneurial parents that is backed up by an excellent education.
FEARLESS INTERVIEW
Tyler took a few minutes out to answer the five Art of Fearlessly Doing Business Questions at the Arizona Science Center, an organization of which she serves on the board.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM TYLER ABOUT BEING FEARLESS?
1. Dive Deep
I take a peak at everyone’s education and LinkedIn profile for this series but could not resist looking a little closer at Tyler’s because she and I were both raised by entrepreneurs, and we have a similar focus-driven heart when it comes to community service.
It is clear that Tyler is educated and continues to educate herself, which is evident in how she speaks in her interview. Both her undergraduate and graduate experience were at Arizona State University where she received a Bachelors in Interdisciplinary Studies – Communications and English, and a Masters in Social Entrepreneurship and Community. She has completed a wide variety of meaningful leadership experiences, certifications and service positions. Don’t let her youth fool you: she has both the education and the experience to found her company and take it to any level she chooses.
Everything that Tyler does is a “Deep Dive.” She simply does not approach anything in a shallow manner, instead she dives into the deep end in every area of her life. She demonstrates this in how she walks with her head held high, her attention to details, and how she loves to help others do the same by making a deep and thoughtful impact on the organizations and community around her. There is definitely something bigger than a paycheck driving her.
It is refreshing that Tyler can say the following about herself and be 100% percent accurate because the words are validated by her actions:
“I bring electric energy to everything I am committed to. I thrive when rallying people together to make a positive difference. I am driven by my passion to impact change and to make the world around me a better place through altruistic actions. I believe magic is something we make and that leadership is not a position or a title, it is an action and example.”
I feel blessed that I get to work with this young woman. She is refreshing and she does light up everything around her with the energy she puts forth. AMEN to meeting fellow strong women, with hearts who have not forgotten how to be girls!
2. Details… Details… Details…
When you are sitting in your office working for others, it is easy to dream that one day you will start your own company. You acknowledge things that you excel at, as do those around you. So you find a few clients or are ejected into the entrepreneurial world for one reason or another. Once in that world, the details that are about to present themselves to you are unknown to most even if you grew up with parents who ran their own company. Not until you have to file the paperwork to start an LLC; register a trade name; set up the books; find out what taxes you do or do not have to pay; create a logo; and figure out what your professional and personal brands are do you start to comprehend the complexity of your dream. These are the moments when you realize that all the education in the world could not prepare you for “THIS.” Somehow, you get over the shock and just do what has to be done. When all the brain numbing startup details are almost behind you, you realize there is a trickle effect with this phase that never ends because the world is always changing and so are you.
Then you get the first new big client. This is the first client who did not know you when you had a paycheck or how fantastic you are or told you that you should have your own company. This is the first client to whom you sold yourself without a net. This next phase is where you learn real time lessons, which is new and exciting while being scary and exasperating. You get to feel all the emotions at once. It is at this time that the proverbial, “The devil is in the details,” is now part your everyday world.
As I listened to Tyler describe her experience getting started and the lessons she learned in her first year, I nodded my head and said,“Yup that sounds an awful lot like the beginning.” Tyler is right on time!
3. Create Your Big Picture Story
So after months of navigating details, you now have to explain to your client what it is that you are about to do for them and their employees. The client may have never been exposed to this level of complexity so you are responsible for translating the business lingo so that they have confidence in how it will positively impact the charitable organization that is close to their heart and the company that has been their baby.
The business language barrier is an unexpected curve ball. You are shocked that the ball you just tossed your client hit them in the head as they sit there blinking and wondering what the hell you just said. How exactly do you explain the intricacy of what you do in a way that makes sense to Earthlings who are focused on their daily operations and have not yet learned this language?
Well, you step back from the details and find a way to show them the big picture of your purpose. You take a deep breath and you tell stories. Stories are the great equalizer. Tyler found a partner to help her animate the story of what she does, how her team does it, and what the impact would be on “John’s ABS Store”. She took the vernacular that got her to this place and made it commonplace so she could make a difference out here with the rest of us.
Take a look at the smart, impactful animated story that Aidan Taylor Marketing created for 11Eleven Consulting:
4. Set Reasonable Expectations
Now that Tyler has been in business for over a year, she realizes that she has learned some lessons from those out here in the everyday worker bee world. When working with companies that have a meaningful mission, realistic expectations have to be set so that the organization’s “small and mighty team” you are serving does not experience increased stress, more work to do, or less revenue to work with.
Helping is not as easy as just jumping in and plowing forward. A plan has to take place to bridge the gap between the business world and the non-profits world in a way that does not leave everyone exhausted and frustrated. Planning takes time. All the players involved in the mission to do good work have to be prepared for it to take time. Tyler wisely recognizes that this is a challenge that needs to be addressed and managed right out of the gate.
5. Work in Reverse Then Push Forward
I have heard it said that, “You cannot wait until your ducks are in a row. Those damned ducks are never going to be in a row.” Sometimes you have to work in reverse. There are times when a great opportunity comes your way that forces you to just jump and learn how to fly in the air. For example, Tyler had clients before she had a website. She wasn’t going to delay a client project because her website wasn’t complete; she would swing back around and check it off her list at another time. You take the chance, you deal with the scramble to get the missing parts together, and then you push forward with everything you got.
Tyler is lucky – she had parents who taught her that she could do anything she set her mind to while providing her a model by how they lived. Both she and her brother had jobs in the family from an early age. By example, they were taught to have a strong work ethic and encouraged to roll their sleeves up and get to work at a young age. Those lessons have carried them forward.
Thank you so much Tyler for taking the time out to be one of the Fearless 13!
Note from the Artist
TYLER’S ILLUSTRATION’S STORY:
The irony was not lost on me that one of Tyler’s key phrases at the start of our interview was, “Take a Deep Dive” while my logo is an image of a woman fearlessly doing a swan dive – diving in deep. For this panel, I have combined my fearless brand with Tyler’s. I too am a fan of 11:11. There have been several meaningful events in my life that took place on purpose at 11:11AM. Honesty, Balance, integrity andJuustice | Invention and Vision.
The Elevens are skyscrapers and in between them are “little pink houses” that represent the community. The spaces between the Elevens are the doors to storefronts. The windows stand for that one employee who leads the social mission effort who is working late to make it happen. You will see one silver dot in all the windows and the doors indicating the power of one. The mountains at the top are in many of my panels and they represent the mountains we see in the distance here in the Valley of the Sun. The hands on the bottom are for the people of many cultures, which really is what it is all about helping people.
Work was shown at The Art of Fearlessly Doing Business III opening on Friday, May 5, 2017 at the former Fearless Art Works in Carefree Arizona.
Fearless Art Works is becoming an gallery and is currently under construction with plans to launch in 2019!
Thank you to the 2017 Fearless Partners: Peg Quinn, Editor| Photos by Elena & Jim | Mire Images
THIS WEEKS BOOK RECOMMENDATION
21st Century Corporate Citizenship: A Practical Guide to Delivering Value to Society and Your Business By Dave Stangis, Katherine Valvoda Sm
This work will be shown again at the
OPENING RECEPTION
AoFDB IV – The Gratitude Series
Thursday
November 15, 2018
6-9 PM
7077 Main St., #5
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-946-3217
cyndy@cyndycarstens.com
CHARITY: The Phoenix Art Museum
In this gratitude series, the paintings are gifts to the featured business owners
and the sketches are for sale to the public and online at the Fearless Art Works eGallery.
Both the original work and the sketches will be on view for the opening.
25% of the proceeds from the sketches & 10% of profit
from print, retail & illustrated book sales
will benefit the Phoenix Art Museum.
Entrepreneurs and inspiring stories of all kinds are FEARLESSLY DELIVER’s muse and focus. As an artist, a business woman and a visual journalist Michelle Micalizzi paints with a purpose. The FEARLESS ART PROJECTS are collaborative social practice art engagements that connect art + business + community.
THE ART OF FEARLESSLY DOING BUSINESS (AoFDB) is an unprecedented and unique social practice project that celebrates the fearless entrepreneurial spirit by highlighting the stories of unique and fearless business leaders.Ten percent of all retails sales are donated to an art or business related charity every.
AoFDB IV features seven fearless entrepreneurs that have gone over and beyond their call of duty partnering with me on past four fearless art projects in one form or another.