We all know it. We all hear it. Leadership loves to talk about change. Employees love to ignore it. Talk is very cheap. If we are honest however, we all know it is true. Change is inevitable. The real question is what we will do about it. Will we lead it or will we be a victim?
The biggest challenge is knowing the right time to change. Often, by the time we realize we need to change, the moment has passed us by. The worst possible scenario is that others' realize it before us and beat us to the punch. Rather than being strategic, we are impulsive and reactionary. Our perceived nonprofit competitor builds a website that does X and we have to do it to. Why? Maybe they have just wasted a ton of money. Mimicking others is not a strategy.
Are you inspired by technology or overwhelmed? Are you keeping up with technology or are you getting left behind? Have you see what a three-year-old can do with an iPhone? Does that intimidate you? This is all very disruptive. You know it and your constituents know it. The difference is that our constituents are embracing it.
As a nonprofit, is someone else about to displace you in the marketplace? Are you staying up with the pace of change with technology or are you about to get left behind? Do you have strategies, systems, processes, and protocols in place that will recognize that this is disruption? We need to assess opportunity, and we will need to facilitate the testing of Ideas? Is this your job? How much time and resources that you control are you devoting to it quarterly?
These are very serious questions. They need to be answered now. From the point of view of your mission, is this a case of only the strongest surviving? What will happen if the pace of change is so fast that your constituents adapt and change before you can? This is the reality we all need to face. We all know the role that technology plays in our personal lives. Do our digital properties at work match up to our personal experiences?
This might be a time for humility. Is the economy really our problem? If your nonprofit did well before the downturn of 2009 during bad economic times, why didn't they do well during the downturn turn of 2009?
All nonprofits are facing disruption. Have you been displaced in the marketplace and simply don't know it yet? There are nonprofits who are thriving and growing.
In the for-profit world, this is clear. Over 40% of the companies that were at the top of the Fortune 500, in 2000 were no longer there in 2010. Who are some of the top nonprofits today that weren’t on the list 10 or 20 years ago? I talked with a nonprofit leader recently that illustrates this perfectly I think. They probably aren’t on anybody’s list of top nonprofits. They are a $5 billion dollar international nonprofit. They are a single corporation with no separately incorporate chapters. They have a laser focus on the digital world. Their marketing is absolutely unified. Why doesn’t anyone know about them as a leader in the nonprofit space?
So as a nonprofit, you have established a presence on Facebook and Twitter. And so? Is the constituent experience and relationship any better than it was before? Perhaps so or perhaps not. Do you know?
This may be about survival. It could take more than a presence in new channels to improve the overall experience and relationship with those who can support us the best. It may take more courage than you think. It will certainly take more persistence to break through the resistance. In the end, it could be about how you work with your leaders and we're back to you about how you personally lead.
Are you leading a movement towards empowered and constituent – centric culture? Are you setting in motion real business transformation?
You have a special path you can follow. You can set in motion the change that opens the door to an improved experience both inside and outside your nonprofit. You can lead the change you need your nonprofit to experience!
[…] Is the reason for change about technology or more engagement for your mission? […]
ReplyDeleteWow...by the 4th paragraph on this one i had to physically sit back in my chair...think and then start reading again. I read the 4th paragraph over and over again about 4 times. Then i had to stop dead in my tracks and think.
ReplyDeleteThis is something i have a great deal to say about. So i will stop and make some notes so i can try and not ramble on and on about it when i return :-))!
I will return with comments......;-))!
Great questions Michael, great article. I have too much to say on this and it is pretty much a soft spot for me so please bear with me :-))!
ReplyDeleteWhew, ok let me start please with this comment which may stir the pot a tad.
Speaking of technology, the way we handle it, deal with it, use it for business in both the "for profit" and "not-for-profit sectors", use it to communicate amongst each other and use it to build a constituent base.......i believe it has empowered people towards knowing they can make a difference on their own. That is a massively powerful thing.....however, i also believe it may very well bring about the demise of Nonprofits. We see it happening almost every week when a nonprofit closes its doors due to a lack of participation by empowered constituents who feel they can, will and do it on their own. Again, that is a really good thing for people to be empowered to help others. However it is not a good thing for the nonprofit who is in the industry because it is their true calling or because they truly care.
Again i must stipulate here that i am speaking in regards to nonprofits who are helping the underprivileged and poverty stricken. I am not speaking about causes that seek to cure cancer or re-build the heart so to speak. I believe medical/science etc are a different story and technology and the use of it and control of it is a good thing and would help to strengthen it.
When it comes to humanitarian causes, i believe we have tried and are trying too hard to make it like one of those other causes i just mentioned. Too much like a hard core business where the focus is only on the bottomline, the growth of funds and the growth of people "following" them in order to bring in more.
At some point i believe we in the humanitarian sector simply need to go back to focusing on helping people.
It may be the case of the strongest surviving, but what are they strong at? Raising funds? Or helping people?
In the case of our small nonprofit homeless outreach for example, we have had to place all our services on hold due to lack of funds, so yes, we most likely have been left behind because i do not participate in endless social media and do not possess the funds to purchase technology based equipment. Kind of a catch 22 there. However, i have been trying to participate more on Facebook and Crowdfunding sources. We already participate on Twitter since 2009, LinkedIn, Wordpress, and have recently re-activated our Facebook account.
Twitter i have found has been the best solution for our organization. However, in the last couple of years my participation has dwindled considerably.....
Any of the readers want to know why? I will tell you.......
Because i turned my attention back to the people we were formed & incorporated as a 501c3 to help.
In summary:
- Technology is great for a number of things. As long as it is handled properly.
- Technology is great for building metrics, measuring and tracking numbers - People are not products or numbers.
- Technology has empowered people to help others on their own. Thats a great thing. However, generally people get bored and will move on to something else. Humanitarian Nonprofits are in it for a reason typically. Because they care or it is a calling.
- Medical and Science i believe can benefit from technology greatly if used properly and not allowed to distract the focus of the mission.
- Simply, technology, my personal belief only that is, can and does turn the organizations group focus away from its core, its very mission in fact, as i have seen it many times.
In fact, it is much like texting and driving. The distraction... It can kill, and it does.
Solutions? - Get back to your organizations core beliefs. Put those beliefs into action, and use technology wisely. Do not let it distract or run your "Mission."
Again, all my comments are pointed towards a humanitarian type organization helping those in extreme poverty.
Thank you for the article Michael!