Rescue Mission Blog

The proper care and feeding of donors

  

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Imagine for a moment that your charity, non-profit, church or business was not going to acquire any new donors for two years.  In my imaginary world, there is a national moritorium on donor acquistion. In this scenario, all you know that all you have to work with is the current supporters you have.  

How would your approach to your current volunteers and donors change if you knew that you were not able to expand?  Would you take better care of them? Get to know them? Would you make sure you had their contact information? Would you try hard to get them plugged into meaningful roles in your organizations, and listen to their concerns? Would you take the time to greet them, to spend time with them, and know them on a personal level?

Whatever those things might be, those actions you might take to ensure that the current supporters were well cared for, because you're not going to get any more: do those things.

David Curry

The land of forward motion

  

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A few months back I had the opportunity to hear Seth Godin talk on the subject of adaptation in business.  His book Linchpin is must reading for anyone trying to make themselves invaluable in this new era of work, industry, technology, and art.  One thing in particular, seemingly unrelated to the other subjects, stuck out to me and I've never been able to forget it.

While speaking on Silicon Valley, the tech epicenter of the world, and how that unique environment creates so many adaptable, cutting edge companies, he made this statement, "Silicon Valley is the land where forward motion is expected." 

Think for a moment on a statement like that, "the land where forward motion is expected." 

If we had to describe the work environment that you have created, how would we honestly describe that? Based on some of businesses and non-profit's I've seen over the years, here area few silly, but valid suggestions:

The land where...

1. ...People wait to be told what to do.

2. ...people tend not to notice.

3. ...people do as little as is necessary.

4. ...we set expectations low.

5. ...people don't notice clutter and dirt.

6. ...innovation goes to die.

7. ...nothing much happens.

8. ...grumpy people go to meet.

The reality is that people often have unstated evaluations of our "land", of the places and environments we work in.  These evaluations are judgments on the world that we have created by our habits, patterns, biases and attitudes.  If we don't like the land we have created, we can reshape it with those same tools.  The most engaged people are creating dynamic, positive, loving, encouraging workplaces by bringing a sense of mission and energy to all that they do. 

These kind of environments deal with problems when they arise, they don't ignore them.  They affirm the positive and address the negative, building a sense of momentum in getting problems and challenges resolved.  

What could be the description of your work environment? Of your life? What would you like it to be?  Once we determine where we are, and where we would like to go, we can set a course to get there.

This is the land of.....

David Curry

Who do you work for?

  

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It matters who you think your boss is.  Most people think that is a clear cut question, it's the person who is in authority over you. Just look at the org chart and you'll see who that is, right?  But who you work for isn't always, and shouldn't be, determined by org charts. Instead, it's important to separate who is in authority over you, from who it is you are trying to please.

Why is this important? Because if you are working just to please the person in authority over you then you'll be negatively affected by these factors:

1. Bad Boss. If you are trying to please the authority over, but that person is a knucklehead, then you'll always feel like you've been given a bum deal.  

2. Changing Bosses. In some companies, bosses change regularly. Trying to please one boss will get you in trouble with the next boss, who is brought in to fix what the previous boss screwed up.  Worse still, you'll be yo-yo'd up and down by whomever happens to supervise you this week.

3. Ethical fluctuations. Trying to please immoral bosses will get you tied in knots inside.  Since you are working for them, in your mind, you must do what they say.  You'll end up going backwards on your values and feeling horrible about yourself.

A better way would be to always work for yourself in the most basic sense, and for God in a greater, more spiritual perspective. Working for yourself doesn't mean you pursue selfish ends, or that you are the end all of authority, it means that you take responsibility for your work, your values, and your career path.  Working for God doesn't mean that you're in the ministry, it means that you are working to make a difference in a greater arena than commerce, or the practical aspects of your job.  

You will always have people in authority over you, in fact the higher you go the more people you will have to answer to for your performance, but you must never get caught up in working for someone else.  Do your best work, regardless of who your supervisor is. Make a difference regardless of who is watching, or if no one is watching at all.

David Curry

Non-Profit Leadership: Fads vs. Trends

  

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There is a big difference between a fad and a trend. Knowing that difference can be a key to whether you succeed or fail in your goal to serve others in the non-profit world.  

A fad is a something very temporary, and a trend is a general direction, or prevailing tendency.

The problem is so few non-profit leaders are asked to separate the two, so they wildly follow fads, and often miss the greater trends.  This is especially true in these times of increasing speed of change.  Fearful that we'll be left behind, we grab onto fads, hoping they'll be trends.  

Here's a few tips on trends:

Social media: Trend

Facebook/Twitter/etc: likely fads

Iphones/ipads/kindles: potential fads

Increasing need to use all available technology to spread the word: TREND

See how that works? Some things are temporary, even if they're great (iphones) but they are markers for a larger, more important trend. 

The key to future success is getting acclimated to the trends, but avoiding wasting important resources and time on fads.

David Curry

Fads, bandwagons and distractions

  

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Let me admit that I've never read a Harry Potter book, or seen a Harry Potter movie. Neither did I watch a minute of the USA Women's World Cup run. Nascar, foodie events, Jersey Shore: I don't participate. 

There are a lot of fads and bandwagons - all of which could be fun and great- which I don't participate in.  Why not? Because you can't do everything; you've got to choose.  

Many leaders and  their organizations find themselves pulled a thousand different ways in order to appeal to every person, every need. They find themselves quickly disapated, or at least highly distracted.

Instead, stay focused on who you are, what you are called to do, and enjoy yourself.

You'll find yourself with more energy, more time and greater ability to add value to the things you really love.

David Curry

Leadership is Ownership

  

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Why are movie theatres, park restrooms and other public spaces often dirty and disgusting?

It's an ownership issue. Because we all own it, no one feels a personal responsibility, sometimes not even the poor soul who has been given a wage to clean it.

Most shelters and non-profits have the same feeling. No one owns it, or rather- we all own it, so no one takes responsibility to keep it beautiful, clean, and inspiring.

Here's where leadership becomes important, because leadership is ownership. A leader takes responsibility and initiative. To be a leader you've got to imagine that you own this part of the operation, that your name is on it, and that it matters.

Leadership is ownership.

David Curry