When You Are Needed?
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Tina Fey from NBC’s 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live television shows has a great line about how comedy improv works.  She suggested that one does not join an ongoing skit because one has something to say but rather one joins the scene when they are needed.  This intrigues me because I see many people join a cause with something to say but they do not always understand where they are needed.  Or a movement needs a specific attribute but cannot get a person with those talents to step forward.


When and how do you join the scene?

Benefit
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To every company who talks about “providing value for our customers,” the easiest way to do that is to put their interest before yours”

~Simon Sinek

When an enterprise makes a decision, to whose benefit does the cause consider a priority?  One of the great distinctions of the social sector is that it serves for the public’s benefit.  All too often, this basic philosophical tenant is lost or forgotten as we rush to adopt the latest practices and structures of the business world.  Who the organization serves should never be forgotten or taken for granted.  

Impact of Disney

If Walt Disney had earned billions of dollars but closed his company upon his death what would have been the legacy and the impact?  What if he had died broke but with amusement parks in place and a company ready to expand and become the center of entertainment for generations to come?  Is the goal of your cause to reach a number or to leave a belief in place that continues to serve beyond our lifetime?

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Surge
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Anyone who competes as an athlete or a participates as a fan knows the power of a surge.  An individual or team increases the pace sufficiently enough to put competitors under pressure or create space.  What is remarkable is watching those who are able to contain the surge and match it with their own.  These athletes and teams have clarity about their abilities and remain within themselves.  Those who reach their limit may begin to imitate the form of the leader in a desperate attempt to stay in contact.  Often they abandon the technique that they have mastered and lean on that which is being modeled in real-time.


Does your enterprise practice changing its pace?  Do you consider trial efforts on the side where you can practice moving faster or slower?  How do you intend to react if the social sector in your community suddenly increases its pace?  What if a similar cause doubles its program, triples the individuals served, or runs a wildly successful capital campaign securing funds far beyond conventional wisdom?  Will you imitate what has worked for the leading enterprise or do you have confidence in the team you have in place to surge?



You

Are you the same person if you get a heart transplant?  What if you were to receive a belief transplant?  Would you be the same person?  A nonprofit organization can change the individuals who work for it and members who serve on its board and remain the same, correct?  How about if the purpose of the enterprise changes?

We May Ask You for Your Account Number Again
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Do your patrons rave about the service they receive when they contact your cause?  Do they talk about how easy it is to get the information they are seeking?  Or are they asked to key in their membership account and then asked for it repeatedly throughout the process?


Are you a call center or a cause?  Do you share a belief with your members or only a desire to be bigger, faster, and more powerful?

Good Luck

If you want to reward your most loyal fans, make it simple.  The equation should be transparent.  If you do X then you get Y.  Personally, I am not a big fan of transactional reward programs but I understand they can generate a form of loyalty that is marginal.  However, this tenious bond is easily broken when getting Y is next to impossible.  I provide the following airline frequent flyer award chart from United Airlines (most other airlines do the same).  It may take an iPhone application just to decipher to the information or at least magnify the text.  I did X many times but using Y may take more effort.


How easy is it for your fans to access their rewards?