Category Archives: BRANDING

Are You A Transformative Nonprofit Leader?

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Are you a transformative nonprofit leader? You need to be.

We are in a transformative period of not just how fundraising is accomplished but also how nonprofit services and programs are developed, managed and provided to the public served.

We have been in the midst of this transformation for years – but like the proverbial frog being brought to a boil from room temperature we don’t really feel it happening and thus we continue to feel just fine with the status quo – that is until it’s too late. As this scenario proves problematic to the lonely frog it proves even more problematic for nonprofit executives. The idea of being boiled from room temperature isn’t exactly appealing is it? – But you get the idea.

We have got to come to our senses before it’s too late or we will be left in the dust – or worse at the bottom of the boiling kettle!

Companies and nonprofits, big and small, are learning that they must adapt, transform their products and services and, in short, learn to present themselves differently than they have in the past.

Quite frankly it’s a simple formula – the organizations that take transformation seriously are growing and excelling and charting a successful course for the future – those that aren’t are declining and living through the frustration of a deteriorating organization that is fraught with low morale, declining donor support and unfortunately, declining support from advocates, members, and others supporters that typically would help build relevancy, vibrancy, enthusiasm, and growth.

The reality is that if we don’t learn to transform ourselves and our organizations to “Think Different” like Apple we are setting a path towards obscurity and irrelevancy that will leave many of us in the dust and an inability to recover – ever.

In my work I often see organizations that are dying a slow and painful death. They are desperately attempting to hold onto the past – a past that might have been very effective, popular and relevant at one time – perhaps for many, many years. But times have changed and they aren’t as popular, as effective or even as relevant as they used to be.

It’s the relevancy part, in particular, that many declining organizations can’t get their arms around because they just don’t want to believe their cheese has been moved – they believe they are still relevant and that their demise is caused by poor branding, poor leadership, or failed marketing execution, or they are even weighed down by the thought of “what’s wrong with everyone – don’t THEY know THEY need US?”

I remember back in the 80’s when I was a commercial photographer in NYC and did some work for the company that produced the “Laser Disc” – (my apologies to the younger readers that are saying – huh!) – but it was a very short lived product which was replaced by other products even before they had a fighting chance – but what was odd was the fact the company continued to market and try to build a demand for their product. Problem was – it lost its relevancy even before it caught any traction. They were surprised – but the market didn’t want it no matter how much marketing was thrown out there. Period.

This type of scenario is not an option unless you enjoy going down in flames.

People are amazingly change-adverse. Most of us get frozen and can’t even imagine the possibilities and potential positive consequences of certain decisions. Our human nature makes us assume that decisions will only have negative consequences. The more a decision goes against the status quo the more likely the failure – at least that is what our brain tells us. It may be the ultimate reality but for the transformational leader it’s about managing risk against upside opportunity. And this day and age we need to learn to take calculated risks that can potentially improve nonprofit services and fundraising effectiveness. After all isn’t that what our job really is about?

At the end of the day we need to be the iron that sharpens the iron – the tip of the spear.

We need to challenge ourselves everyday to excel, to be passionate about what we do and to have the hustle it takes to not just lead but to be a transformational leader!

Ouch… this is over 700 words and I have been told to keep blog posts to 450 words or less – oh, well… I will try to do better next time.

Five factors that will shape your business in the future

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GLOBALIZATION: The world has shrunk. It is truly a small world after all. The barriers of time, geography, language and culture are breaking down at a break-neck pace. The new European Union and the fall of Communism are only two examples. But the Internet and other electronic and digital technologies will continue to break the barriers down even further. Corporations from all nations are looking for ways to reach other countries. Many companies that just a short time ago was very parochial are now considered multi-national in nature. The westernization of many cultures, especially parts of Europe, South America and the Far East are additional signs of the homogenizing of the global society. Travel is cheap, phones are cheap, and it is rare to meet someone that has not traveled to far away places and/or knows someone from a foreign country or was in fact born in a foreign country. The reason this globalization trend is so important to all companies is that what worked on a local level in the past will no longer work on a global level or across cultural barriers. The playing field has changed and broadened.

TECHNOLOGY: Technology is the driving force behind the homogenizing of society. The advent of the Internet and its subsequent proliferation has broken down barriers, including language, that a mere ten years ago were unheard of. Written word translation is already a reality and instant voice translation over phone lines is only a few years away, if not sooner. What does this rapid pace mean? People’s expectations have been raised; instant gratification is the norm. Technology will only continue to drive this fast pace of communication. Technology is also driving the marketing communication process to new heights. For instance, printed newspaper sales are down 25% globally since the advent of the Internet; a trend that no one in the media industry wanted to admit until it became too hard to ignore over the last six months.

ECONOMY: Although the global economy is still not putting a living wage in everyone’s pocket it certainly has brought a significant part of the world out of a poor mans status. Discretionary income has exploded, particularly among the under twenty crowd. Countries that were subjected to third and second world status a few years ago are viable and lucrative markets. One only needs to consider the Czech Republic and other eastern block countries that are now producing wealth and influence. The United States is in danger of becoming a country dependent on others rather then the relationship we have been accustomed to.

CULTURE: The society in the United States has shifted very rapidly. The U.S. population will be comprised of almost 50% Hispanic dissent within fifty years or so. Other nationalities such as Asia, Eastern Bloc countries, Africa and others are finding their way here. The make-up of the U.S. will never be the same. The challenge for everyone will be to adopt and evolve with the new demands and needs of these new groups. Many are of different faiths, many are more devotional then Americans, and many are of no faith at all and are here simply to make their dreams and raise a family and/or get away from a dismal further in their homeland. The big difference is that the original immigrants to this country “melted” into the society by adopting American customs, language and work ethics. The new groups are holding onto their heritage, language and customs creating a new marketing challenge to marketers.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: Companies need to adapt to the changing life styles of individuals. There are more two income homes and working mothers than ever before. The work force is highly trained and experienced but with so many domestic and global opportunities for excelling it is going to become harder to attract and retain the employees that have the best skill set and experience for the demands of the future. Companies will need to spend a lot of money to meet this demand. Training, compensation, employee development, and other motivational means will become a driving force in corporate America. Companies will need to adapt their organizational structure around the new set of challenges.

Customer service isn’t brain surgery – but I often wonder if it’s just as tricky…

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I don’t know if you ever had the same poor, shoddy and rude customer experiences as me, but it seems as though I encounter more than my share of bad customer service everyday – or maybe I am simply over sensitive to bad service because I am such a big believer in good service. The funny thing is that I don’t know of one organization, big or small, that believes in poor customer service in spite of it running rampant.

I don’t recall ever seeing a mission statement hanging on a wall or posted on a website that said – “ACME strives to put our customers second by putting the self-serving interests of the company first”, or “ACME’s mission is to provide excellence through lower than average customer service everyday”, or “ACME takes pride in pissing off our customers, while forcing them to look for product or service alternatives elsewhere, and generally aggravating the customers that actually ensure we will a paycheck every two weeks”.

But actions speak louder than words – the vast majority of customer service mission statements or customer service initiatives simply give lip service to the notion of really putting the customer first.

Bottom-line, any written or verbal commitment to excellence in customer service is mostly bogus for all organizations – both nonprofits and for-profits.

In fact, customer service satisfaction is at an all time low – I don’t have a fancy statistic to quote because I don’t need one – just take a look around at your daily experiences. Open up your senses and you will begin to witness the slow degradation of the way society views a spirit of service to others.  The more you peel back the onion the more you realize how numb, and tolerant, you have become to poor customer service.

I am not going to give you examples – I am relatively confident you have your own. What I would like to do is challenge you – wherever you are and regardless of the type of organization you are with – to make a commitment to excellence in customer service. Not by writing a mission statement but by actually making it happen.  Make it a top priority – it will help bring you success.

Perhaps at one point in your life you were told to write a short, hand-written note to someone you interviewed for a job with, or someone that gave you a gift, or for some other occasion.

  • How many of you have heard this before – to always follow up a job interview with a handwritten note?
  • How many of you actually have taken this advice?
  • If you have personally interviewed job applicants with any great frequency, how many hand written notes have you actually received from those candidates?
  • And finally, how many of the people you hired were the ones that sent that note?

The point here is that it’s one of those no-brainers that no one actually does (accept myself and hopefully some of you). Exceptional customer service like Nordstrom dishes out is a no brainer – it makes total sense to put the customer first. But since so few actually get around to doing this you can end-run them and make excellent customer service a defining market position for your nonprofit.

Successful companies have usually nailed this concept. If it is truly a no brainer why do so few accomplish this?

Because actions are always harder that words. Words are cheap. Be different and make your actions speak louder than words.

The Jerry Maguire School of Strategic Planning

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I assume, which is always a dangerous thing, that you watched Tom Cruise play Jerry Maguire in the movie by that name. Jerry becomes enlightened and goes through an epiphany of sorts and pulls an all-nighter writing his 27 page Mission Statement, that for all intents and purposes is a strategic plan (no one writes a 27 page mission statement – much shorter mission statements (like 1/2 page) are always better. If it really takes 27 pages to articulate a mission there are some serious business issues to work out). So, let’s go on the assumption that Jerry’s mission statement is really a strategic plan.

The plan that he wrote not only turned heads, it also got him fired. But he was a successful businessman with nothing to lose. He had a swagger coupled with a sense of right and wrong and ideas that he just had to put down on paper and broadcast to the world. He had the a-ha moment we all are waiting for. The difference is that once he had the eureka moment he didn’t waste any time articulating it and putting his money where his mouth is by printing multiple copies and distributing them.

Although it’s never 100% clear what the thrust of the document is, it is clear though, that he presented a BHAG of some sort. (BHAG = Big Hairy Audacious Goal – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Collins) An idea that rattled the suits in the corner offices to step back and either get scared of Jerry’s change of heart (he was questioning the business model and the ethics of the company presumably) or think he was crazy. Most likely though, the document was simply too forward thinking, too ground-breaking, too paradigm shifting, and too counter to the status quo that he was ostracized and fired for his actions.

For more info on Jim Collins – http://jimcollins.com/bio/index.html

There are two lessons here for me.

1. A strategic plan must to be bold and visionary. It must rock the foundations of the business model and challenge the status quo. No nonprofit can play it safe anymore – these complex times we live in require daring and innovative thinking, intelligent planning and aggressive execution. Plus, the organization must remain flexible and always prepared for plan-B.

2. The people behind the strategic plan must be bold and visionary. Successful nonprofits can’t write, prepare, plan, or execute a bold and visionary strategic plan unless they (the people working and the company and writing the plan) are bold and visionary themselves . Nonprofits cannot succeed if they continue to embrace business cultures that hinder, and even obstruct, ground-breaking and innovative thought. They need people that are strong willed, inquisitive, collaborative, entrepreneurial, intuitive and perhaps a bit like Jerry Maguire. A person that acts like they have nothing to lose!!

So, let’s start a ground-swell movement to create nonprofit organizations that aren’t afraid of the future, but are trying new things, getting rid of the old things that don’t work, embracing transformational change, looking for new ways of doing business and most importantly never, ever giving into the status quo or mediocrity.