An Organization of Note...and HBD to Me

From time to time in my blog I like to highlight organizations that are worthy of a bit of attention.  These will be organizations that help to embody some of the marketing and communications concepts I often write about.  They are organizations that, whether by design or happy accident, are sharing their short, simple message in a clear and effective way.  Put another way, they are organizations that are working.

One group that seems to do a good job of that is the International Crane Foundation.  The International Crane Foundation (ICF) works worldwide to conserve cranes and their wetland habitats.  One of the things that makes ICF unique is the depth of completeness of their particular focus.  The mission statement is: "The International Crane Foundation (ICF) works worldwide to conserve cranes and the ecosystems, watersheds and flyways on which they depend.  ICF is dedicated to providing experience, knowledge, and inspiration to involve people in resolving threats to these ecosystems."

Simply put, ICF does anything and everything it can to preserve the 15 species of cranes worldwide.  This means working to save and protect their habitat.  Developing and supporting breeding programs.  Educating students and adults about the beauty of cranes and threats to their survival.

One of the ways ICF's unique focus manifests itself is through their 225-acre Baraboo, Wisconsin main campus.   At Baraboo, among other things, they maintain a captive flock of approximately 100 cranes on   This flock includes the only complete collection of all 15 crane species anywhere in the world.  I took the photos in this blog at ICF's headquarters.

When ICF sends out emails, they are full of news and links to things like the Crane Cam where you can watch nesting pairs when they have eggs in their nest.

The International Crane Foundation has a simple focus which leads to a lot of not so simple work.  If you are interested in finding out more about cranes and ICF's work to save and preserve them, you can find them at www.savingcranes.org.  

I hope you find the organization as impressive as I do!

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Birthday Cake
(Photo credit: Will Clayton)

Today, July 24th, I celebrate the successful completion of another trip around the sun.  I would love to share a slice of cake with all of you, but am afraid you'll have to settle for a byte...(sorry...I couldn't help myself!)

Also, in lieu of the presents and cards I know you were in the process of sending, I would like to ask a small favor.  If you enjoy reading this blog, please consider subscribing by email.  The link to do so is at the top of the column on the right.  If you do, I will try to return the favor by occasionally writing something interesting, informative or mildly humorous.  I won't send you money Thank you!

Specialization

This weekend, my family took a day trip up to the International Crane Foundation outside of Baraboo, WI.  The International Crane Foundation is a conservation organization that focuses on the preservation of the world’s cranes and their habitats around the world.  Just cranes.  That is all they do.

There is something special about a place that has such a specific mission and manages to stick so closely to that mission.  In Search of Excellence was a management book popular in the 80’s that called that “sticking to the knitting.” 

I find myself similarly intrigued by retail and service businesses that do only one thing, but work hard to make themselves the best they can be at that one thing. Common sense would indicate that these companies would need to be better than their more diversified competitors in order to survive.

It seems that these companies and organizations are staking a claim on being the best at their particular focus and are certain enough of their superiority that they operate without the safety net of diversification.