Getting the Right People on the Bus

Tiffany's situation calls to mind Jim Collins' dictum of getting the right people on the bus described in his best-selling classic, "Good to Great."

Fortunately for Tiffany, she has a strong board president who is committed both with his time and his resources. He's a local businessman who "gets it" and isn't shy about enlisting the support of those he knows.

Experienced fundraisers know that in most communities, the single most generous group of people is those who own businesses. They feel intensely connected to the community. They want to make it a better place—both because they live there and realize their success is because of that community.

Tiffany's dilemma isn't about heading off Armageddon between the original visionaries and new leadership. It's about providing for a smooth transition in mind-set while retaining as many of the original folks as possible.

As I explained to Tiffany, no one person or small group of individuals "owns" a vision. Good ideas must be shared. They have to grow. Or they die.

Principle 3 of The Eight Principles^TM is Leadership Leads^TM. For your organization to be successful, your leadership must have both the vision and the skills to realize that vision.

Without the skills and resources to execute, the most worthy visions simply become pipe dreams.

My counsel to Tiffany was to work with each of those who are concerned with the movement away from hobby to professional, carefully explaining what's really at stake.

I told her not to expect 100 percent retention of the old guard. I also told her not to worry about it.

People have choices—and it's their choice to stay or leave. Let them make it.

What shouldn't change are the vision and the everyday mission that supports it.