Getting It Right the First Time

When making an organizational shift, we almost always want to start with a process, a thing that is easy to see and, hopefully, immediate in its impact. The place to begin, however, is with understanding the principles that are involved and operating in the situation.

In every fundraising situation, there are certain immutable strategic principles that are always operating — whether or not you're even aware of them. I've even written a book about them.

Once you're aware of the principles that are governing your particular situation, then proceed to create a paradigm — a mental construct — of the change that fits both within the principles, which never change, and your particular organization, which can change.

Once you've developed your paradigm and gotten buy-in from leadership, applying the right process — getting the right new name in her case — is a snap. Literally.

My response to the young executive was to start in the right place, mentally and organizationally. We're all aware of organizations in which a name change may have indeed been called for. Unfortunately, that was the first change made, not the last. In such a situation, hitting the mark with supporters becomes all but impossible but the blowback from them very predictable.

The organization in question has a strong track record and a strong following. Successfully refocusing the organization's mission will only strengthen the health and impact of this worthy nonprofit.

I want to thank the forward-looking and strategic-thinking executive director for reaching out to me.

Please let me hear from you concerning your particular situation and the difficulties you face in developing sustainable revenue streams. Email me (info@TheEightPrinciples.com), and I'll give you a quick response. I'll choose some of these thorny obstacles to share, along with my insights, in upcoming columns.