Leave a Trace…Coach a Kid. Have you ever wondered how powerful a simple conversation with a kid could be? What if you could share a simple idea about how to be a good leader with a kid? Would it really change anything? As a matter of fact, it can change everything.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lorenz, is derived from the theoretical example of a hurricane’s formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings several weeks before. In 1961, Lorenz was using a numerical computer model to rerun a weather prediction, when, as a shortcut on a number in the sequence, he entered the decimal 0.506 instead of entering the full 0.506127 (a difference of 0.000127!). The result was a completely different weather scenario. In 1963 Lorenz published a theoretical study of this effect in a well-known paper called Deterministic Non-periodic Flow. One meteorologist remarked that if the theory were correct, one flap of a seagull’s wings would be enough to alter the course of the weather forever. Following suggestions from colleagues, Lorenz used the more poetic butterfly. (Excerpt adapted from Wikipedia)

APIVEO offers volunteer youth coaches a specific way to teach kids about leadership. Edward Lorenz proved that the smallest nudge or tweak can change the world. In America there are as many as 4 million volunteers coaching as many as 40 million kids each year. That’s a lot of butterfly wings. Are you 0.000127? I am! Leave a Trace…Coach a Kid.