With a pure heart and an impassioned soul you've committed time, energy and emotion to the mission of your organization. Your hard work and long hours have paid off in pristine financial records, well oiled donor reporting mechanisms, and trained, professionally developed and reviewed-to-perfection employees. But, are your interventions working?
Be willing to ask this bold question. But beware,
A. It is uncomfortable. There is no comfort in entertaining the possibility that, "I did my best, but I guess my best wasn't good enough." And the discomfort only grows as we visualize having that discussion with employees, donors and stakeholders. So, instead of relying solely on your innate ability to push past the discomfort, embed asking the question into organizational routine. Make it a practice that you do at predetermined, regular intervals. And solicit additional perspective. From time to time bring in someone external to the organization to assist in the assessment.
B. The answer is difficult to sort out. Businesses use profitability as the core measure of success. This measure requires consideration of context and it is best used alongside other measures, but still, it is pointed and clear. Mission driven organizations do not have that luxury. Measuring mission impact (versus activity or organizational efficiency and capacity) is not necessarily linear, is often fuzzy, and is generally frustrating. But there are some models that serve as a place to start.
C. Chances are better than average that the answer is no. Mission driven work is hard. In Warren Buffett's words "[p]hilanthropy is harder than business. You are tackling important problems that people with intellect and money have tackled in the past and had tough times solving."
Ask the question any way. It is in that asking and in the examination that we take steps forward.
Be willing to ask this bold question. But beware,
A. It is uncomfortable. There is no comfort in entertaining the possibility that, "I did my best, but I guess my best wasn't good enough." And the discomfort only grows as we visualize having that discussion with employees, donors and stakeholders. So, instead of relying solely on your innate ability to push past the discomfort, embed asking the question into organizational routine. Make it a practice that you do at predetermined, regular intervals. And solicit additional perspective. From time to time bring in someone external to the organization to assist in the assessment.
B. The answer is difficult to sort out. Businesses use profitability as the core measure of success. This measure requires consideration of context and it is best used alongside other measures, but still, it is pointed and clear. Mission driven organizations do not have that luxury. Measuring mission impact (versus activity or organizational efficiency and capacity) is not necessarily linear, is often fuzzy, and is generally frustrating. But there are some models that serve as a place to start.
C. Chances are better than average that the answer is no. Mission driven work is hard. In Warren Buffett's words "[p]hilanthropy is harder than business. You are tackling important problems that people with intellect and money have tackled in the past and had tough times solving."
Ask the question any way. It is in that asking and in the examination that we take steps forward.
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