Like some of you I watched President Obama’s address to the nation regarding the future military course of action in Afghanistan. Politics aside, I realized that this was a classic demonstration of our unique and individual perception of people. Each television network televised the same content. The President’s speech was not different from one channel to the next. The networks in turn tried to customize the sameness by adding information to their version of the broadcast. Most notably the ‘crawl’ at the bottom of the screen would emphasize specific points of the speech or the location of the telecast. The greatest divergence between the networks came in the moments prior to and immediately after the President’s remarks. The assembled anchors and commentators then gave their review and perception of the address. One could argue that you might tune into a specific channel because it had the greatest clarity on your television screen but I believe that most viewers select their network based on the commentary that came in reflection of the President’s plan. It is as if you give everyone a pitcher of the same lemonade and ask them to sell as many cups full of lemonade as possible. Each person is going to have a different approach. For most the person-to-person approach is going to be the difference. Can you resonate with your audience? The idea that people matter as much as the content is true in the nonprofit sector when it comes to make-up of the board, fundraising meetings with donors, successful galas, and the partnership of Board Chairs and CEOs.

How do you maximize your organization’s content? Do you have the right people in the room? Who else do you need?