Complexity does not equal sophistication.

We live in an era that encourages complexity. Are your “channels integrated”? Are your “constituents networked”? Did you make sure that you’ve “leveraged multi-leveled communications”? Is your staff “incentivized for program output”? Is your mission “oriented towards impact”?

In the modern world there are an abundance of ways to add complexity to your organization. It is increasingly easy to append layers and layers to your technique, communications, program, and mission. But complexity does not equal sophistication. Unless you have a rare clarity of vision and dogged focus, you will find that too many layers create a great, big, giant, muddled mess…[CONTINUED]

Click to read more ...

Your vision: A considered purchase.

What are you trying to do at your social impact organization? You’re trying to change the world, right? Good!

So what are you asking your donors to do? Are you asking them to change the world — or give you $10? Are you asking your event participants to change the world, or to show up somewhere?

I’m working on a few different datasets right now and one thing I’ve seen in all of them is a disconnect between the expectations we have of our work and the expectations we have of our constituents. More specifically, we have much lower expectations of our constituents than what we have written in our vision statements.

Here’s an example…[CONTINUED]

Click to read more ...

Me + Bright Pink = :-)

I’m immensely proud to share that I’ve been asked to join the board of Bright Pink, a fantastic nonprofit focused on educating young women about cancer detection and prevention. I’m thrilled to work with my great friend Lindsay Avner, who is a tireless cancer fighter and a true force of nature.

Eliminating cancer from the planet is one of the prime imperatives that motivates me both professionally and personally, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Hi, I'd like to have a really boring meeting with you today.

Can you imagine seeing this invitation in your inbox? 

Subject: Hi, I’d like to have a really boring meeting with you today.

When: First thing in the morning (before you have a chance to think).

Duration: 10 minutes longer than I say it will last.

Notes: I’d like to get everyone together because I think I should. Or do you think I should? I can’t remember. In any case, we’ll half-heartedly shift through a variety of topics and try to make progress on passing the time, which is the only item we’ll actually be able to measure. Towards the end someone may bring up something vaguely controversial but we’ll all feel awkward and so it won’t get discussed. The great news is that the content will be so boring that even banal humor will sound hilarious, so bring a feeble joke and you’ll feel like you’re moderately interesting. Wish I wouldn’t be meeting you but I’ll see you there regardless.

If you got this invitation it would take you all of two seconds to press DELETE and move on. But the reality is that every day, most of us sit in meetings basically identical to this. And the harsher reality for me is that I actually run some of them! Ack…[CONTINUES]

Click to read more ...

Why I'm Optimistic About Blackbaud's Acquisition of Convio

This morning’s announcement that Blackbaud has agreed to acquire Convio has certainly made the day more interesting. A surprise to me and most of my colleagues, clients, and partners, the press release has inspired more Twitter, email, and phone activity than I can remember in quite a while. Nearly everyone has asked the same questions: What will it mean? Is it a good thing, or a bad thing?

Clearly it will take a while to understand the implications of the announcement, and much longer to observe how the acquisition and subsequent integration — strategic, operational, and technological — unfolds. But I’ll risk it and offer two initial thoughts: …[CONTINUES]

Click to read more ...