If you were notified that your projected lifespan had been reduced by a ratio of seven (a day now equals a week), would you do anything differently? What would if look like if you were informed that you lifespan had been extended seven-fold (each week is now 49 days long)?

Running with our dog during a cold snap yesterday I was amazed by her joy of generating a frosty fur coat. I began to ponder a dogs lifespan. If a year in a dog’s life is equal to roughly seven years in a human, each day is essentially a week for a dog. Scarcity of time makes for some interesting adjustments in priorities. A run for her is a weeks worth of living, no wonder she is excited to get out.

Many nonprofit organizations and foundations have a belief that they will exist in perpetuity. Others believe they will continue until a cure is found or a cause is no longer relevant. This sense of an open-ended engagement is powerful and yet challenging. How do you keep motivation and generate a sense of urgency in front of your board and staff along with your donors and constituents? I see staff members who joined organizations with a passion for solving a problem or meeting an essential need and now find themselves on a pseudo corporate treadmill ticking off the years. Governing documents are designed to extend the life of most nonprofits and foundations unless a sunset clause is embedded. Most strategic planning retreat do not focus on how to put the organization out of business because the need has been met and no longer requires the enterprises programs; rather the planning retreats focus on positioning the organization as being the leader and thriving in the future.

If your organization was informed that it had seven years to tackle the most important issues and then would be disbanded, what actions would you take? Does your enterprise seriously discuss a future without your presence? How do you embed a sense of urgency in the deliberation of your organization’s work? How do you renew the passion of your followers and fans?