Watching the Discovery Channel’s nature series, I’m struck by the adaptive strategies all around us.  In every aspect of the natural world we inhabit, plants and animals adapt – or die.  It’s not the strong that survive (think Tyrranosaurus Rex);  it’s those that adapt as the environment changes. Don’t get me wrong, strong can be good.  But flexible is better.

So I went web-surfing, looking for a company whose history demonstrates the interdependence between sustainability and adaptation.  Few are better known than the Singer sewing machine company.

Here’s what I learned…

Singer began in America in 1851, less than one year after Isaac M Singer spent 11 days and $40 to develop the world’s first practical sewing machine. Two years later, Singer was the leading manufacturer and marketer of sewing machines in the United States.  By 1855, Singer was the world’s largest sewing company and beings overseas expansion, starting in Paris, France.

But the endurance of this company is not simply about the creation of an innovative product. Singer pioneered mass marketing and advertising, necessary to address the prejudice of the times that women were incapable of working machinery (or that it was improper and unwomanly for them to do so).

Sales and marketing strategies were key to Singer’s adaptation and success.  In 1856, with sewing machines prices over $100, Edward Clark of Singer created the first “rent-to-own” offer, initiating the first installment selling/time payment plan so women with even meager income could own a Singer.

The same year, Clark (Singer’s business innovator/partner) developed and offered a trade-in plan:  any customer could bring in an older Singer – or any competitor’s sewing machine – in exchange for a $50 credit towards a new Singer.  A side benefit of this new business strategy is that it prevented the rise of a second-hand market for used sewing machines.

During this first decade, Singer also developed “franchising” to increase distribution of his sewing machines.

By 1863, Singer held 22 patents.

In 1870, Singer’s Red “S girl” trademark debuted, destined to become one of first and best known logos in the world.

By 1991, Singer celebrated 140 years of innovation and went public with an initial public offering of 16,239,300 shares.

In the past month, we’ve all had the chance to remember things we already know.

Like, for example, money doesn’t grow on trees. And the power of fear. And the power of hope. And the enormous power of engaging a broad grassroots community of shared values behind a mission and a goal.

Yesterday, candidates won and others lost. In the Presidential election, we signaled to the rest of the world what we, as Americans, believe is the right course for our country and for our future.

This morning, we are imagining the discussions that could (and should) happen in non-profit Board meetings over the coming months.

The discussions should be provocative, meaningful and very difficult. We all have to address where the economy is going, how our budgets look within that reality, and how to sustain and strengthen our companies in this time of turmoil. Most of us have Board members with very different opinions about where things will go under our new President.

The stock market will be interesting to watch for the next week. For the first time in a while, more interesting than terrifying.

In the coming months, we should plan for and encourage the debate with our staffs, our Boards and with our major supporters. Critical decisions must be made.

For the organizations and companies we’ve built and loved – money won’t grow on the same trees in the same way. The campaigns scooped up quite a bit, didn’t they? The major question facing most non-profits is pretty simple: Is the budget we planned at the beginning of this fiscal year still viable in the new, unstable economy?

And the answer relates directly to what we assume about the future.

• Have you revisited this fiscal year’s budget assumptions yet?
• Have you surveyed your top donors?
• Have you talked with your staff about the impact on their retirement funds?
• Are ticket sales down or up?
• Has it been easier – or more difficult – to hold frank discussions with your Board?
• Supposing you do know which are Ds or Rs, do you know how the stock market has affected their companies, their family fortunes and what they believe about the coming year or two? Are any of them at risk to lose their jobs?
• Have you – and they – revisited your fundraising goals and set new fundraising strategy?

Stop.  In unpredictability, there is always opportunity. Today there is renewed hope for the majority of Americans. The negative campaigning is gone. A new cabinet will be appointed. A new Congress will go to work. Remember, no matter who was elected, change can renew hope.

Look. While we can’t know the future, look at your organization in the uncompromising light of day. With your whole Board. With your whole staff. Conduct a rigorous and honest assessment of your current state.

• Examine the facts… without fear.
• Face the demons. (You have them.) Name them.
• Then bring together the group that is most diligently committed to your company: your past and present Board, your staff, key volunteers, and dedicated, long-time supporters.
• Shine a full-beam light on the facts (not the fears) of your organization’s current situation.

Then… listen to everyone that will be part of the team that stands with you, shoulder-to-shoulder, through the great transition America is facing. Listen to the fears of those whose candidates lost. Listen to the hopes of those whose candidates or party “won.” Paint scenarios together for many contingencies. Don’t be tempted to discount anyone’s “reality.” Hear them all. Then agree on your shared, new assumptions that will be at the core of future decisions.

• In a time of threat, it is the community that sustains you.
• This is a time to strengthen your leadership team with a sharpened understanding of reality.
• This is a time to deepen the dialogue with your community.
• This is a time to recommit to serving the community’s needs.
• What sustains us is honesty. What strengthens us is rigor. What lightens the load is having others at our side.

Let us know what YOU think?

A young fencer from Beaverton, who won the U.S. saber championship in April 29, 2008, said, “…you take a breath, think about what you need to do, think about what your opponent is doing, and what’s changed.”

• How many emails do you process each day?
• How do you decide what counts?
• How many websites do you visit each week?
• How do you choose which to trust?
• How many people do you talk with per month?
• Who do you go to for advice when you need it?
• How many different organizations does your company partner or contract with?
• Which do you count on when the chips are down?
• How many employees do you supervise?
• Who tells you the absolute truth, even when that’s difficult?
• How many facts do you have to trust on a routine basis?

We heard a story about a decade ago that told of a wise and well-known leader that read the same three newspapers every day in his limousine on the way to work. He knew the difference between the editorial stance of the three papers, liked one business section better and trusted the op-ed page from another.

Today, focused information is a luxury we have to create for ourselves. While the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Washington Post are all still in business, many managers are overwhelmed by the world now available at our fingertips. Our computers have given us capacities to access details and information of almost any specificity.

Facts are the cauldron in which perceptions flourish, assumptions grow and diversity of opinion and perspectives can be nurtured or ignored. Our hypothesis is fairly simple: unless your organization knows which facts form the cauldron of who you are and what intentions you share, then – in this information-rich age – it becomes nearly impossible to determine which facts to pay attention to.

Facts give us the opportunity of complete honesty. But only – critical to the fast-moving organization – if we start by agreeing which facts we need to pay attention to.

• How often have you wasted time in a Board meeting because Trustees did not have the same facts as staff?
• How often have you struggled to dissect fact from assumption?
• How many times has someone said, “we should research that first” and the overwhelm of the world wide web stopped an idea cold in its tracks?
• How long has a critical need been back-burnered by a seeming infinity of supplier or service provider or product options?

So – in any situation – how do you decide what facts matter? The facts that matter the most relate to these basic questions:

• What’s happening? Remember, fact… not perception.
• What’s changed? Remember, fact… not perception.
• What negative consequences do we want to minimize? Remember, fact… not perception.

The key to understanding what facts matter is don’t guess… know. Decide how you will gather the facts, who will do it, what you need to know. Armed with facts, then you analyze and interpret, bringing to bear diverse perspectives of key leaders and lead implementers.