You have not because you ask not.

[MysterE]

Hello FIRSTers,

I wanted to write a quick email about the benefit of asking. Over the last two years we have had need for different resources than would be the norm. I am of a belief that you should find the best way to do something and then find the company who does it the best - or at least does it very well.

Case Study #1: With the Red Stick Rumble coming in August, I wanted to make sure that we had a flexible yet easy solution for team registration. I quickly found the WordPress Plugin called Event Espresso. The cost, unfortunately, was $85.00. I couldn't see purchasing the software for that amount. To be quite honest, I only had $55.00 well in hand. So, I found the contact information for the creator and asked if they had a non-profit discount. They said yes and quoted me a price of $65.00. I responded and told them who we were and what we did and asked if they could lower the price to $55.00. They agreed because they thought it would be extra cool to see their logo on a t-shirt for a robotics competition. Lesson Learned: Even if something is not free - a bit of conversation and asking can lower the price. We got a very robust solution that allows for many types of payments and easy databases for storage. It even has automatic emails, coupon codes. . . you name it, Event Espresso has it.

Case Study #2: I have been searching recently for a robust project management software that was open ended enough not to be complicated but robust enough that we could access it from all platforms simultaneously. I am also a fan of task management software and mind-mapping. After some reviews, I found MindJet. The problem is that the cost of one license is $15.00. I wanted to be able to work with multiple individuals. I contacted them and after talking to their marketing director agreed to work on a Case Study for them discussing how their software worked in improving our team structure and culture. The price? Free.

I could list the free checking software that we got last year, the 4 purple Italian suits we got for $100.00 total cost, our free phone consultation and resources that we got with CultureSync (The consulting firm of David Logan, author of Tribal Leadership). . .

Why did we get any of this? Because we asked. So in short - be willing to ask for things that no one else does. Get a leadership consultant for your team. Find software that is expensive for corporations but for you is free because - heck - you're a robotics team and that's just cool. You have not because you ask not.

When have you gotten something cool for your team? I'd love to hear your stories.