Today, I revisit some larger questions about nonprofit organizations inspired by reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s latest book The Thank You Economy.

I first became aware of Gary a few years ago when I read Crush It, his first book and NY Times Best Seller, that explored how he built his own personal brand and local businesses using social media. The Thank You Economy serves somewhat as a sequel and formalizes what he and many other successful companies have been doing since 2004.

photo credit: Briles Takes Pictures…

In the preface, Gary explains that Social Media has become the great equalizer – it’s given the power back to main street – and the companies who care the most about their customers are the ones who will win now and in the future. I want to emphasize that last sentence again: companies who care the most will win now and the future.

Sounds nice, right?

He points out that its not all that different from how business worked during the 1920-30s when my grandparents were growing up. When all there was local business. Everyone knew each other and the success of your businesses rested in the strength of your relationships. Word of mouth was king. Taking the long-term view and creating a legacy was core to the game.

Times changed after WWII, the long-term view was replaced by the pressures of short-term gains, quarterly profits…

You know the story. You’ve lived the story.

So what does this mean for nonprofits?

I think part of the problem for nonprofits is that social media has become the shiny object, a distraction. And a distraction where people and organizations get stuck in the how (short-term tactics) instead of the why (long-term strategies). Again, clarity of purpose is key to any tactic, no matter how shiny!
So let’s remove the distraction – social media – from the rest of this conversation and focus on the larger point Gary introduces in his book.

What does it mean for you or your nonprofit if caring is the name of the game for success moving forward?

For me, this all starts with your organization’s core values. For example, in The Canoe Group our core values define how we go about our work, the practices we use, even the customers we seek.

Does your organization have formally expressed core values? If so, do you know them? How are your actions in your work informed by your organization’s core values?
Is this the first time someone has asked this question? My experience tells me that most people would reluctantly answer yes to this question.

You must strike a balance between what you do (head) and how you go about it (heart). And striking a balance for many nonprofits means dedicating time to renewing (or simply placing greater emphasis on) their core values.

Let me know what you think.

Where do you fall in this whole conversation? What questions do you have? Concerns? Experiences you’d like to share? Drop a comment below and I’ll be happy to extend the conversation.

Next up, I’ll be writing about passion and its connection in the whole conversation. Hint: I don’t think we’re making enough of the collective passion that exists within each nonprofit. And I may even relate it to some Social Media tactics…

What does a hand-me-down computer, anime, and a 10 year-old have to do with innovation in non-profit organizations? It’s a simple lesson and reminder for times where you’ve hit the wall on a particular problem or issue. Find out more by viewing my short two-minute video below. Enjoy!

The following is excerpted from the real, true and notarized diary of an anonymous and insightful non-profit manager from a fictional mid-sized organization.

photo credit: peteoshea

Dearest diary:

As I sit here, I’m still trying to figure out what happened at our management team meeting this afternoon. Next year’s anticipated budget shortfall was well known by many of us but this was the first time it made the agenda for management team. I don’t know what I expected when we received the agenda and it simply said 2012 Budget, but I certainly didn’t expect the meeting to be such a train wreck.

As Jim [Executive Director] started to talk, the vibe in the room changed dramatically. Anxiety levels were high and it was unusually quiet. How did he think we’d respond to hearing an unexpected proposal that would significantly impact all of our work?

It’s clear from the handout we received today that Jim has been working on this idea for some time. It was well laid out and started with a few paragraphs stating his analysis of the current state of the organization. From there, he presented a series of changes that would solve key problems in the organization moving forward.

An awkward pause filled the room as Jim requested feedback from all of us. Ultimately, Jim called on me to get the discussion started. I was still trying to digest what had just happened and kept my comments relatively safe. The same pattern continued around the room until it was Mary’s turn.

She started by questioning the very beginning of his handout – his assessment of the current state of the organization. As Finance Director, she didn’t think his interpretation of financial trends was accurate and it was pretty clear that Jim didn’t expect or maybe want to hear these comments from her. Their conversation lasted for another 15 minutes before it was brought to an abrupt end because we ran out of time.

Jim closed the meeting by thanking all of us for our time and said that he’d get back to us on next steps regarding his proposal. I’m not sure what Jim thought would happen today, but I suspect the result wasn’t what he had in mind.

Even though Jim gave a polished presentation, I keep thinking back to Mary’s point. What concerns me now isn’t so much the solutions he proposed, it’s that the information he used as his rationale for change appears to be faulty. To his credit maybe it’s not, but his reaction to Mary’s questions do raise concerns.

Dearest diary…I respect Jim in many ways but I don’t think today was his finest moment. There are so many lessons to be learned from this story, but I think I know what is the key point that inspired me to write.

Get clear on the problem before you jump to solutions. Collect facts, test assumptions and create alignment with your team. You’ll always need to enlist others to make any change a success. And take the time to prioritize – what problems, if tackled, will have the greatest impact on our organization?

Who knows, Jim may ultimately find out that he invested a lot of time and damaged relationships with his team creating a solution for a problem that didn’t exist OR in the end wasn’t a high priority.

Oh Diary… what do you think? What lessons can I learn from my experiences managing groups of people through change?