I don’t know about you but when I read a leadership book, my expectation is not to experience some major life-changing shift in my thinking.  I am just hoping for a few good seeds of wisdom that I can sow into my every day work and life.  I find that some of the best stuff I get from these books is so darn simple and logical that I am a bit embarrassed that I didn’t come up with it myself.

I have just finished (almost) a wonderful book by Andy Stanley entitled “The Principle of the Path.”  I heard Andy speak recently and was struck by his ability to connect common sense insights into the big picture of life.

So, what was the great nugget of wisdom and truth I got from Andy’s writing?

Direction… not intention… determines destination.

As many of us in the world of fundraising begin the process of planning for our 2011 campaigns, I think this simple message is our wake-up call… our call to action… and for some, a much-needed slap of reality!

As you think about your campaign for 2011, ask yourself:  What is my intention for next year?  I would imagine that for most, your intentions for 2011 include meeting or exceeding your dollar goals, recruitment, education and motivation of an army of dedicated volunteers and developing a clear, concise and compelling case of support.  All good intentions!

So, back to Andy’s premise.  All of your good and noble intentions mean little if you are not pointed in the right direction.  After all, “Direction, not intention, determines destination.”

I am convinced that the best way to assure that your direction is leading you to your intended destination is through the development of a well-conceived, measurable and clearly communicated PLAN.

Confession 1:  I hate to plan.

Confession 2:  The thing I hate more than planning is getting lost.

Confession 3:  After much kicking, screaming and whining, I have learned to plan.

Confession 4:  I still hate to plan.

So, before you jump headlong into your next campaign, honestly answer the following questions:

How have you defined success for your 2011 campaign (destination)?

How will you measure progress along the way (direction)?

How will you assure everyone is moving in the intended direction (communication)?

If you left, could others pick up and keep moving in the right direction (plan)?

If any of the above questions gave you pause, I encourage you to check out a great resource tool by Donor by Design called CAMPAIGN MANAGER.  This tutorial campaign planning tool can help to assure that your direction for 2011 points clearly and squarely toward your intended destination.

Of the many lessons learned on the bumpy and twisting road of fundraising, I think that this is one of the toughest to grasp:  When you are courting a potential donor to inspire generous giving to your cause, it’s not about you, your case or your organization.  Specifically, the conversation needs to focus on the donor.  What are their interests?  What moves their heart?  Where do their passions lie?

Too often I hear well-intentioned leaders dominating conversations with donor prospects as they share well-rehearsed facts, figures and stories.  In their effort not to miss an opportunity to “sell” their case and position their charity as worthy of support, I believe that they are missing the greatest opportunity of all… the opportunity to connect their cause with the personal passions and interests of the potential donor.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe strongly that leaders must remain tireless advocates for their charities and must be able to present a clear, concise and compelling case for support at the drop of a hat.  I am however suggesting that the strongest leaders (the best fundraisers) have learned to listen well before they talk!  There is both an art and a science to engaging a potential donor in a meaningful dialogue and that begins with good open-ended questions.  Ask questions that will help you find meaningful connections between their passions and your cause.

Examples for a youth serving organization (YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, JCC, etc.):

Outside of your family, who were your role models as a child?

Looking to the future, what are your dreams for your own children?

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing kids and families today?

So, the next time you are preparing a prospect visit, what if you leave the data, brochures and pledge cards behind.  All you really need is a few good questions, open ears and your genuine passion for your cause.

I have truly tried to be a good member of society throughout my adult life.  I raised two sons who have turned out pretty good.  My work life has been within the education and not-for-profit fields with a simple goal of service to others.  I certainly don’t expect to be anointed as a saint in my passing, but I do hope I leave a small piece of good in the world.  I think most people I have met or worked with in the past 35 years would say, “he was a pretty good guy.”

So I guess I wasn’t prepared to meet “the babysitters.”

I recently visited my parents at the retirement community where they, and many of their peers from our hometown, now reside.  As I came down the elevator one evening there was Mrs. Smith, a long-time family friend, with a couple of women too young to be residents.  The first words from Mrs. Smith were, “Thom, do you remember my daughters?  They used to babysit for you.”  Those friendly words were followed by 6 more not-so-friendly words from one of her daughters that in a moment destroyed my self-image:  “And you were such a brat.”

While I take exception to being thought of as a brat – I blame any and all bratty actions on my big brother – the point seemed clear:  Whoever we are as individuals or as an organization, we may well be remembered for one moment in time. While we may be having just an “off-day” or an “off-childhood,” those we touch during these off-times remember us for not the total of our good, but rather for that moment.

This is why customer service trainers stress the importance of making every interaction the best it can be.  Your “off-day” could change the future of your organization forever.

What do people think of you?

Since 1998, Beloit College in Beloit, WI, has published an annual “Mindset List” of the incoming freshmen. It’s alternately amusing and appalling to think about the world as it once was, how it will never be again, and what effect that has on a person’s psyche.

After you check out the mindset of the class of 2014, I’d encourage you to think about this thought from the introduction:

“They will now be awash with a computerized technology that will not distinguish information and knowledge. So it will be up to their professors to help them.  A generation accustomed to instant access will need to acquire the patience of scholarship.

Soon enough, these freshmen will be applying for positions in your organization. You can bemoan their differences from you. You can feel threatened by their adeptness with technology and their impatience with “intolerably slow email.”

Or you can recognize that their energy and enthusiasm is an essential ingredient to organizational success. You can acknowledge and accept that you have something to teach them. You can nurture that eagerness and challenge it with meaningful work.

After all, leadership isn’t an app.

One of the more fascinating discussions at the 2010 Global Leadership Summit was with Terri Kelly – CEO of WL Gore and Associates. You may know them as the creators of Gore-tex among other things.

Since its founding, WL Gore and Associates has had a very loose and flexible leadership structure.  Task forces and special teams take priority over departments or divisions.  No one is ever given an assignment, instead they must choose to accept it.  Most interestingly, leadership is defined by followership. The resources asssigned to any one project directly correlate to the ability of the project’s creator to convince others that his or her idea is worthwhile.

Your peers choose you as a leader simply because they choose to work with you and believe that your idea is a good one.  The role of leader is earned each day.  Kelly herself was chosen to be CEO by her fellow employees.

If leadership is measured by followership, how do you rank as a leader?

The Donor By Design team spent a couple of days at a leadership conference last week.  It was a great experience, full of ideas and insights that we’ll be sharing with you here in the blog and – if you’re a client – in our day-to-day work with you.

One of the ideas that made all of us sit up and take notice was the idea that some tensions or problems in organizations are better left unresolved.

Take a moment with that.

Some things are better if you don’t fix them.

The idea, articulated by Andy Stanley, and echoed by other speakers at the conference, is that often healthy conflict can be leveraged to move organizations to higher levels of performance. Stanley encouraged us to consider those issues regarding which you may have said, more than once, “I’m not going to have this conversation again.”  Does it keep coming up again anyway?  Why?

It may be because there truly is no real answer.  It may be a tension inherent to what you’re trying to accomplish: a tension to be managed, not solved.  In these cases, he suggested that a leader must be able to recognize and argue the merits and downsides of each side and more importantly, find the “rhythm” of the tension, recognizing when one side merits priority and then when the other should take focus.

It made me think of a teeter-totter. (remember those?) The point is not to stay balanced in the middle, but to move up and down, back and forth. If one side dominates, the fun is over.

Some conflict is necessary for a healthy organization.  And, indeed, if you play it right, it can be the inspiration for true growth.

So, for example, instead of trying to “solve” the conflict between systems and flexibility, lead through it.  Neither side will “win” if one side “wins.” After all, there is a time and place for both systems and flexibility. 

Challenge each side to see the upside of the other side. Systems-oriented people need to flex a little to accommodate unforeseen circumstances and people who are more oriented to go-with-the-flow need to realize the power of systems and procedures.

You need both.  However, from time to time, they are going to bump up against each other.  Andy’s message to us was “manage it.”  Because in managing the tension (versus ignoring it or forcing the issue one way or the other), your organization will improve.  Systems, where they are needed, will be streamlined and more effective, but your organization will be more nimble to deal with new challenges and opportunities.

This concept doesn’t just apply to businesses or churches.  It also has a deep meaning in a person’s day-to-day life.

Imagine giving up the struggle to find “work-life balance.”  Imagine simply acknowledging that it’s never going to happen perfectly each day, and instead work to find a balanced rhythm between work and home life over time.  Sometimes you’ll need to focus more on your family and sometimes work will be more important.  Can you be OK with that?  And, can you see where allowing yourself to shift back and forth between competing interests allows you to move forward whereas struggling for perfect equality can leave you stymied?

Jim Collins, another speaker at the conference, put it this way:  Great leaders learn to say “and” instead of “or.”  They can balance two competing concepts and make both of them happen.  They know when to make a decision and they know that sometimes those decisions can be “yes” to both sides.

As a group, we spent a lot of time talking about this concept and what it means to us, to our clients and in our own lives.

What do you think?  Is it time to rethink the balancing act?

While attending the Global Leadership Summit recently, I listened to one of the presenters share an interesting perspective on the use of numbers and statistics.  Her premise was that although big numbers (dollars raised, people served, etc.) provide an impressive scope and scale, they tend to dehumanize a cause, charity or mission.  In her words, numbers are numbing.

The speaker challenged all of us to go deeper than the numbers when presenting our case or demonstrating the impacts of our work.  At Donor by Design, we call this “giving a face to the case.”

When I think of what moves me, I realize that I am often impressed by big numbers but am only truly moved by the pictures, stories and testimonials of real people who have been impacted.

My take a way from this speaker is that, while the numbers and statistics are important, we need to lead with the human story.

What do you think?

For more insights from the Global Leadership Summit, watch our short video summary of the event.

Like most people, the last few years have been a clear and needed reminder for me to manage my money carefully.  I have learned to embrace coupons, “staycations” and leftovers quite well.  I have all but eliminated the word “need” when it comes to material things and have delayed a number of planned purchases indefinitely.

While reveling in my newfound frugality, it occurred to the other day that I pass 2-3 perfectly acceptable supermarkets on my way to Whole Foods for my regular grocery shopping!  Why?  On average, Whole Foods is more expensive than my other local choices and is a few more miles down the road.  Whole Foods does not carry as wide a variety of certain items as the others and I can’t rent DVDs there either.

If you have been to a Whole Foods then you have probably guessed where I am going with this.  Whole Foods is all about customer service, conscious consumption, community building, fresh food and creating a shopping experience. When I ask for an item, I am not met with blank and vacant stares; I am actually escorted to the item by a friendly, knowledgeable and courteous member of the Whole Foods Team.  During our trek through the store, the associate will also make recommendations of other items I may want to try based on my request. (Smart!)

When I go to Whole Foods, I am so jazzed by the experience that I quickly forgive them the higher prices, longer drive and lack of variety. I even give them a pass on the whole DVD thing.  I think this begs the question of price vs. value.

I challenge you to bring your staff team on a field trip to Whole Foods.  Go with intention and with a plan. Take note of the layout, the attention to detail, the service to customers and discuss how you can bring these learnings back to your organization.  And, since you are there, grab a bag of the dried wasabi peas. They rock!

People often look at me skeptically when I talk about building community on the web. I’ll admit that I can be a bit cynical myself some days with all the silly Facebook apps and hoopla about the Old Spice guy on Twitter. But last week, an iPhone and a few social media apps changed how I felt about the city I’ve lived in for 18 years.

***

The rain started around 5 pm and didn’t let up for hours. “Rain” isn’t really an adequate word, though, to describe the sheets of water that fell from the sky. Some parts of the city got 11 inches of rain in just a little over an hour. Streets became rivers and washed away cars. Foundations were washed out from under houses. And basements all over the greater Milwaukee area were flooded with rainwater and backed-up sewage.

Throughout the storm, Twitter was abuzz.  At first the remarks were of the “Gees, should we have built that ark?” variety.  Before long, we had our own hashtag: #brewcityflood. Some of us were blatant gawking at the spectacle of it all. (But how can the picture of a sinkhole that swallowed an Escalade whole and or the water outside AJBombers not make your jaw drop a little?)  By 10 pm, the tweets had taken on the decided tone of gallows humor.

As the evening wore on though, you couldn’t help but notice all the tweets that were, well, neighborly. People were checking in with each other. Even as the power went out, smart phones allowed people to share which roads were open, which were closed. Twitter was even faster than the local news (which was on air all evening) at reporting what was happening around the city.

Most of all, Twitter was a community looking out for each other. Offering moral support, offering information and even offering shelter.

We went from a group of people promoting our businesses, our blogs, our neuroses, to a community.

But the story doesn’t end there.

One of our own experienced terrible damage to their home.  And, in less than a week, people who only know each other through Twitter are now holding a fundraiser to help Tim and Jess and baby Clara.  They’re supporting his small business.  They’re providing support and encouragement and food and expertise.

In the past, I’ve often referred to Twitter as my water cooler. As someone who works at home, I use it for a quick break of humor, gossip or an interesting link. But you know what? Somewhere along the way, Twitter became part of my neighborhood.

There is nothing better than enjoying summer weather at an outdoor concert!  This summer, I got a chance to experience two of my favorite artists in concert – Kenny Loggins and Eric Clapton.

Both were great concerts and both men are accomplished musicians.  As different as these two artists are, however, I noticed something very similar.  Kenny and Eric were both totally immersed in their music.  It was like watching a jam session. Both artists were totally removed from their audiences.

You would think that this would be a real turn-off for the audience, but these men are such great artists that it was still a treat to watch. (OK I can hear some of you questioning this categorization of Kenny, but you’ve got a HUGE Kenny fan here.)  Anyway, it was like being a fly on the wall of their studio…  They were so into their music and so passionate about it.  They were creating art right before our eyes.

Afterward, I thought about why the lack of interaction with the audience did not feel like a turn-off.  I think maybe in these two cases, they had both “earned” the right to perform that way.  However, most artists could not do that and get away without great criticism.

I continue to be nagged with the thought that there is somehow a tie-in to what we may do at times within our own organizations.

Last week, the Y of the USA released the new logo and branding “voice.”  At the Ys we work with, everyone is so energized and renewed by this exciting new approach to the Ys mission.  And then it hit me… What if we are so excited about all of the new ways to talk about the Y, that we celebrate and develop our “voice” and forget to open up the energy to the outside world?  Right now the media has helped the Y by letting the “outsiders” in on what is going on, but they remain on the outside looking in.  What are we doing to turn around and open up our “jam session?”

The outsiders may want to play with us!