“Gonna use my, my, my imagination” – ‘Brass in Pocket’ lessons

What was the first single you ever bought? I want to tell you about what I learned from mine. It was Brass in Pocket by The Pretenders. The year was 1979. I was nearly eight years old, and I went to Our Price Records with my big brother and bought it with the pocket money I'd saved up. How cool is that? It's still one of my all-time favourite songs several decades later. What excellent taste I had as a small boy! I certainly remember telling university friends about this very mature purchasing decision, to nods of recognition. And if you're unaware how good a song it is, here it is in all its glory.     But, as you'd expect, the reality is a little different. While it was indeed the first record I ever bought, it wasn't actually the record I wanted to buy! As it happened, I Wanna Hold Your Hand by Dollar (distinctly less cool) was sold out, so my brother persuaded me to buy the Pretenders record instead. But why am I telling you this in my charity blog? Well, I think there are a few lessons for charities buried in there somewhere.   The best things often happen by chance I didn't intend to buy Brass in Pocket that day, but I'm glad I did. But my point is this: doesn't this happen all the time to us in our organisations? Was the Ice Bucket Challenge planned? No, it's how we react to happenstance that is cruci