If you are asking others to change, consider when was the last time you changed? What influenced your decision? How big of a change was it?
Sometimes we forget how big the leap we are asking others to make until we are put in the same position.
I had the pleasure of facilitating an advisory session for a growing company that provides essential back office services for social sector organizations. One of the session attendees asked a compelling question of the leadership team, ‘if you could work for another company, who would it be and why?’ His query sent me on a mental job hunt. Who would I want to work for? What do I perceive to be valuable in another enterprise? Is what that organization posses tangible or intangible? If it is concrete then it is probably easy to import to my company. Better base salary, more generous vacation package, dynamic social media presence, more donors. Where it gets tricky is when the thing you value is abstract. Another cause’s sense of purpose, organizational culture, collegiality of the team, sense of significance, identity. It is often these intangible pieces that serves as the gatekeeper between good and remarkable.
Which organization/cause would you want to work for and why?
I caught a segment of yesterday’s WHYY Radio Times interview with Parag Khanna. He is a Senior Research Fellow in the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation and just published a book titled, How to Run the World. The concept that he discussed and impressed me most was the influence of the citizen’s of the United States when it comes to financially supporting Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) across the globe. According to Parag Khanna’s research, the contributed income from American citizens vastly exceeds the aid offered by the government of the United States and overshadows all other countries. America remains the sole super power when you measure the generosity and giving patterns of its citizens in their capacity to support international causes and relief efforts. The philanthropy of the people shapes our country’s policies in ways I had never fathomed. 
Have you noticed the numerous contests offered by social sector causes? Many are being generated from social media platforms or via organizational websites.
A very quick web search delivered the following contests:
The field of education is receiving a lot of attention right now. Education budgets are being cut as states try to balance their fiscal houses, assessment scores of US students are being compared to those of the rest of the world, and the President spoke about education reform in the State of the Union. Online course options are ever expanding, charter schools are competing for students and sustainability, and movements such as StudentsFirst are launching to significant media coverage. Wendy Kopp recently authored, A Chance to Make History an interesting book from her perspective as a leader with Teach for America. The Lottery and Waiting for Superman are now mainstream films that are part of our daily discussions.
Many great ideas are being surfaced in this period of high anxiety and a collective consciousness towards education. Other brilliant causes within the education sector are being left in the shadows. A specific reason for success and failure may not exist but there are certainly clues. I was struck by the comments of Nicholas Kristof in his interview with Randi Zuckerberg at the the World Economic Forum in Davos. When asked how groups should distinguish themselves from other similar movements, he suggested that humanitarian groups needed to do great work on the ground but also practice the art of storytelling.
What is your story?
I was playing Air Hockey on an iPad with my son this morning. Everytime I scored, my son pushed a button to skip the slow motion replay of my goal. When he put the puck in the net, he watched the highlight with much interest and enthusasim.
I made me wonder how often the organizations I support push out their highlights and ignore those of their partners and other members of the sector.
One of my favorite models for promoting other organizations’ great works came from Scenic Hudson. They designed a gala fundraisier that was entirely focused on presenting the accomplishments of their strategic partners. Using a larger platform, Scenic Hudson helped build awareness and visibility for smaller but equally important enterprises.
Robert Egger in Begging for Change, makes a compelling case for not seeking all the attention and money from your community. Rather establish a balanced approach that occasionally brightens the house lights so everyone knows who else is seated in the audience.
I have heard lots of invitations from speakers at the World Economic Forum to ‘join their cause.’ This feels remote and challenging. I am not all that motivated to join based on just the facts they are reciting. If I understood what these causes believe and I shared their belief then the causes and I are joining efforts. It is now a shared experience. The relationship is established on a totally different paradigm. I do not have to do all the work. It is a joint responsibility to engage our respective talents to benefit those who share our belief.
Are you just handing out lots of invitations to people to join your cause or are you encourage those that share your beliefs to partner?
Does your cause spend a significant amount of time thinking about how it is perceived by the community? Are there decisions that you need to make that have no data or commentary to provide guidance?
Consider running a focus group. Invite in one or a series of small groups that are representative of a key constituency you want to hear from. Hire a facilitator or find a person of neutral standing to run a couple 60 minute session. Send an invitation, provide the respondents with a brief synopsis of the intended outcome. In advance, select the key questions or areas of concentration, most likely no more than three. Provide the attendees with a space that feels conducive to a conversation and allow the facilitator to engage the participants in a conversation about the selected topics. Provide an additional feedback mechanism (electronic or hard copy) for anyone who may have additional observations to share once the group’s session concludes. Of course, thank the attendees and keep them in the loop. How did their input help the organization advance its purpose and mission? Anyone who is willing to participate has a motivation that needs to be reasonably honored.
I predict that you will gain tremendous insight and it will fill-in some of the uncharted gaps that exist on your strategic map.
Have you played a round of my favorite social sector games? “Let’s collect a representative from every major corporation in town to sit on our board!” The game can be played yearly, quarterly, or monthly and you cause wins once you require a team of governance consultants to work for a year sorting out the mess that has been created. Once the experts wrap-up their engagement they have enough material to write a book just about your enterprise.
I am not a fan of filling the board with individuals who primary attribute is their link to a major corporation. Harvard professor and governance expert Richard Chait suggests that you should love your board members for something other than their money first, otherwise you may as well call them an ATM. If your Nomination Committee leads with the question, “who do we know at the Nameless Corporation,” alarm bells should sound. You may as well start advertising for a new school bus driver by suggesting anyone who owns a green safety vest is qualified.
Here is the flaw in the formula. Corporations are geared towards granting funds to organizations that provide a social benefit and whose message can be directly incorporated into the company’s marketing strategy. The company’s communication experts have a significant say in how most corporate foundations award their grants. These organizations create philanthropic budgets to distribute their funds. The practice of awarding a board seat to the ‘Namless Corporation’ in return for an annual contribution is purely transactional. You train a business to act based on their needs and not take into consideration the cause’s needs. The corporation rarely asks your enterprise which attributes and talents are most needed on the board, they select an individual from their ranks that will serve as their proxy and oversee the impact of their contribution. That said, the financial commitment from the company is usually capped and there is little chance of developing a relationship with an individual where your cause can understand the motivations and emotional drivers that lead to philanthropic investment.
People give to other people. Individuals develop emotional connections. They can take a journey with a cause that allows them to form their own experiences and points of confluence. Corporations may represent a critical source of funding but they cannot replace the human dynamic. There are many amazing individuals with highly desired talents that serve the socials sector extremely effectively and some happen to work for prominent corporations. If you love your board members for their individual purpose and talents first and foremost, you may just find they have many hidden treasures to offer.
Good luck on your search.
“We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled. That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation.
Now, by itself, this simple recognition won’t usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow. I believe we can. I believe we must. That’s what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they’ve determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all — for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.”
