Technology has changed everything – including the purpose and format of meetings!

No one has to travel to get information anymore, all the information we need is at our finger tips at our desks or laptops.   The real value in coming together is sharing in the collective wisdom and creativity of fellow attendees. 

Rethinking conferences also means rethinking the roles of presenters and moderators.  Abdale Consulting utilizes several new formats including:

Talk Show

Presenters are guests and the moderator is an interviewer.  Questions are distributed in advance so guests don’t feel blind-sided, unprepared or ambushed.  However the interviewer/moderator uses their skill to probe deeper on issues once the initial questions have been asked.

World Café

A series of rapid fire small group discussions that yield more perspectives on issues and ideas that the usual small group breakout-session

Pundits Commentary

Similar to a post-State-of-the-Union address where a group of experts respond to information just presented (in-person or by video feed) and the moderator guides the discussion ala Bil Maher.
 

There are also many informal ways to maximize participation and interaction among attendees – ice breakers, segmented and facilitated lunch groups, group exercises, etc.  Not all of these formats work for every group, but to keep meetings vital and people attending we have to keep looking for new ways to maximize our time together.

Another goal of meeting in person is make the conference a starting point for new initiatives and the place where people report on work begun since the last gathering.  This removes conferences from their previous “Brigadoon”-type existence and makes them part of a vital continuum of work and productivity.

Lots of people talk about term limits for board members, and even the President of the United States is limited to eight years of service, but no one seems to consider term limits for Executive Directors of nonprofit organizations.

Let’s face it - once you have decided that this is the job from which you will retire, there is a natural tendency to make sure that the boat never rocks.  Consciously or unconsciously, one tends to play it safe in order to survive.  Entrenched EDs are less likely to initiate change, more likely to build a board that is also averse to change and, ultimately, keep an organization from meeting the evolving needs of it constituents.

This is an issue fraught with many exceptions and many examples of decades-long exemplary leadership.  However, there are also many examples of entrenched E.D.s who keep an organization in a holding pattern, are averse to risk and confuse organizational stability with safety and self-interest.  Founder’s Syndrome does not just apply to founders.

I’m not suggesting that EDs, particularly good ones, get shoved out the door every seven years or so without a safety net.  (I think seven to ten years is a good length of time to do anything!)  There are many options for honoring an ED’s contribution and helping her/him on to what’s next. 

The board can pay his/her salary for a year at another institution or for-profit firm where they can acquire additional experience and skill sets, pay for a year of advanced education, or simply fund a year of recuperative leave.  A funder, or group of funders, can contribute to the separation package, hire the E.D. for a year as a consultant, or help the E.D. to find a position with another grantee. 

The money for the exit strategy could be amortized over the length of the ED’s term, placed in the annual budget and set aside to be used only if the E.D. serves out her/his term and meets other criteria established by the board and agreed to by the Executive Director.  Worst case scenario if the E.D. doesn’t work out, is a reserve of cash that can be used for a job search for the next E.D. or other purposes.

This can also help with succession planning.  Knowing that an ED’s time is limited can help an organization prepare well in advance for a transition that is traditionally rocky and a search that can be disastrously expensive.

Another benefit is in the kind of candidate that an organization attracts when job seekers understand the policy.  It can weed out those looking for a safe, life-long berth and may be more likely to engage leaders who understand that strategic change and adaptability to an ever-changing environment is necessary for an organization’s health and long-term sustainability. 

I'd love to know what others think about this - expecially E.D.s - so please feel free to let me know! 

I just finished the Interim Executive Leadership training at New York’s Support Center for Nonprofit Management.  It was a great experience.  There’s nothing like a new tool in the toolbox to reinvigorate your marketing efforts, stimulate your creativity and expand your horizons.

The session was incredibly informative, well run and reflective of the general level of excellence that defines all the Support Center’s work.  The other trainees were a great group of people – all from disparate but nonetheless impressive backgrounds.

It was great to learn the difference between being and ED and an Interim.  The ED requires vision and leadership while the Interim requires the ability to stabilize an organization in transition while assessing it to help the Board fully understand what they really need in their next CEO.  Both require significant financial acuity.  The assessment proecss is similar to what Abdale Consulting offers in our organizational scan.   

It was also great to learn that I have the characteristics necessary to help an organization through such a trying time including; Optimism, Flexibility, Generosity, Humor, Intuition, and the ability to quickly establish relationships and trust.  If anyone knows of an organization that needs an interim ED, please let me know and, if you are in the New York area, check out the many training and consulting opportunities at the Support Center www.supportcenteronline.org.

There is so much talk about the economic recovery package that it can be hard to decipher exactly where the opportunities lie.  Check out

http://www.fieldstonealliance.org/ for a concise overview and http://www.recovery.gov/ for more detailed information.  Also check out http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/economy.

Leadership in this economy poses more emotional challenges than at any other time in my experience.  Executive Directors have to reduce or cut services to clients in desperate need, let good people go despite years of faithful service, conduct difficult conversations with donors who may be embarrassed or ashamed that they can no longer contribute, and be the emotional rock that everyone looks to for support and a positive attitude.

On top of this, they have to manage the fear and frustration of the staff who remain, the plight of the clients, the angst of the board and the general paralysis of donors.  All the while they have the same personal issues as everyone else as they watch their own savings shrink, worry about job security and witness their family and friends lose jobs or face diminished expectations.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

This is always good advice but never more so.  Exercise, sleep, be moderate in eating and drinking, and spend time with the persons, places and things that feed your soul.  When was the last time you took a few hours, just for you, and went to the park, visited a museum, took a walk, stared at an open field, listened to the ocean, talked to a friend or watched a favorite movie?  Unless it was yesterday, it has been far too long. 

Below is an interesting article about the many challenges in leadership today.  It was forwarded by some colleagues at New York Technical Assistance Providers Network (NYTAP) Carolyn Curran (NYTAP Chair) and Lewis Brindle (Director, George H. Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising School of Continuing and Professional Studies New York University

The Executive's Power and Responsibility: A Plan to Lead Your Organization Forward

by David E. Edell President, DRG Executive Search for the Nonprofit Sector

How leaders behave has a significant impact upon the emotional tone of an organization's volunteers and staff. That has been a significant burden for nonprofit executives during these months of constant reports about the dramatic effects of the failing economy. Executives have had to respond to daily doses of news about the economy's impact upon their donors, corporate funders, foundation supporters and government contractor s. They are making difficult decisions, with their volunteer and professional leadership, about how to help their organizations weather today's crisis. They know their decisions will impact colleagues that they have worked with for years. They are responsible for nurturing all of these constituents through this economic free fall while privately dealing with its impact on their own family's savings, retirement and investments. The overwhelming barrage of bad news and constant change causes many executives to lose sight of the forest for the trees. Spring 2009 is a moment when executives can help themselves and their organizations to change all of that and move ahead.

To break the oppressive, reactive environment that has enveloped us, organizations need to present a serious forward thinking plan for the coming year (s). For some leaders, managing monthly adjustments, "until we see what happens," is a strategy that might work. I suggest that the budgeting season, usually the Spring for organizations with July 1 fiscal years, is a unique opportunity for bolder leadership. In that process, leaders can in effect, declare an end to continuous adjustments, create a new reality for their organizations, and set a foot hold for the organization to move forward proactively, not reactively.

Step One: Project Income

The steps are obvious, but not easy. The first step is to project income. Some of the indicators will be end of year giving in 2008, the pace of giving in early 2009 and any mid-year changes in 2009 giving and collections. Candid personal conversations with your organization's top 25-50 donors about how they feel about their capacity for giving and paying commitments next year will be critical to the projection. Then, do the math and set a realistic number for projected income for 2009-2010. This review is not about setting fundraising goals. Rather it is about establishing reasonable and attainable expectations. You may have been a $20 million organization but this process may cause you to declare yourself a $15 million organization next year. Realistic and achievable will be helpful measures.

Step Two: Ensure Excellence in Your Core Business

The second step is to establish a fast paced process to consider what your organization will be able to accomplish at that new level of funding. For those who think that things will be better in 2010, the plans can focus on adjustments in staff and operations to balance a budget geared to getting through 2009. For those who think 2010 will be another year of uncertainty and we may not get back to business as usual soon, if ever, a more intensive review will be required. In these discussions, professional and lay leadership will have to reaffirm the mission and core business of the organization and ensure a level of excellence in delivering those core services or programs. Without clarity about mission, focus and excellence in program, it will be difficult to successfully compete for leadership, funds or clients.

The result of a renewed focus on core business may be the need to close departments and/or programs as well as cuts in staff. Those cuts may be especially controversial if the programs identified as peripheral are supported by key staff or influential leaders or donors. In addition, organizations will have to think about how they can operate differently and consider the use of technology, outsourcing and consultants as options.

Finally, fragile organizations are worried not only about their organization's survival but about how they can sustain their important and unique services and programs. This is the time that they may have to consider the sale of assets, partnerships with other organizations and/or mergers, if those models provide for the long term survival of their core programs.

Step Three: An Open and Transparent Process

Step three is to make this process as open and transparent as possible. That means gaining input from a broad spectrum of stakeholders and staff. It may be an excellent time to invite "influentials" who have remained on the periphery of involvement with your work to lend their expertise to the discussions. This process requires regular communication. Let constituents know you are leading a planning process, that there is a timetable for its completion. By communicating a context for this review and decision making, you will help some to begin to look forward with confidence.

Step Four: A Budget that Reflects Decisions, Priorities and Values

Step four, is to prepare a budget for next year that reflects your values, decisions and priorities. The numbers will clarify and concretize the organization's new direction and vision.

Step Five: Communicate Carefully with All Constituents

Step five is about effective "roll out" of the decisions and budget. It is important to take time to craft a message that conveys the values, reasoning and decisions in a way that reflects your awareness about the impact these decisions will have on staff, clients and constituents. Decisions must be communicated in a timely fashion and implemented in a planful and compassionate manner. The communications plan must consider how you will deliver a clear message to every constituency from the in- house rumor mill to blogs and the media. It is important that Board, funders and volunteers hear early in the process, and directly from the CEO and Board leaders, about issues and challenges that will be addressed. It is equally important that they hear about the results before they are reported to the public. There will be a great deal of formal and informal reporting about how your organization communicates with staff about cuts, the resources being offered to those affected and the sensitivity conveyed in the process.

How staff are notified of layoff s and the kind of resources that are being offered to support their transition, matter. Finally a plan must consider how the general community hears about changes at your organization and the message about the decisions.

Conclusion

Moving ahead with this process is a leadership challenge in an extraordinary leadership moment. Colleagues who have already begun the process will tell you that it challenges every part of an executive's professional and personal creativity, sensitivity and energy. At the end of this fast paced process, you will be declaring a vision for the next year where your organization will have a focus, a direction, a plan and resources to accomplish its revised objectives. You will be saying that your organization will continue to focus on being great at providing its core services and programs and your clients and constituents can continue depend upon the organization in the future. That message will be very reassuring to all of your constituents who care deeply about your work.

Executives have the power and responsibility to change their organization's direction and emotions. They can lead constituents from feeling like reactive victims of the economic crisis to being part of a proactive, mission driven organization that strives to control its destiny and organizes to sustain a level of excellence in its core business. In the process, executives can lead their volunteers and staff to look ahead toward new challenges with the confidence that comes from thoughtful planning and preparation. Equally important is that through this process, executives will reinforce their own energy and be able to convey a renewed level of enthusiasm that can lift the emotional tone of all of the organization's constituents

 Check out www.drgnyc.com/ for more great information aboout nonprofit leadership.

"I've made many sacrifices, but I have never compromised." - Karl Lagerfeld

Budget cuts are everywhere and no matter how one approaches the process, it is a painful and challenging operation. A big temptation is to institute across-the-board cuts that require every department to cut the same percentage. This can be the easiest approach and appear to be the most democratic but it can also lead to decisions that are ultimately not in the organization's best interests. For example, cutting development staff just when raising money is harder than ever, or cutting programs at the core of your long-term volunteers’ and donors’ commitment. More challenging, but sometimes more strategic, is to look at cuts on a line by line basis and to consider the long-term and ripple ramifications of each cut. At Abdale Consulting, we call this part of “Strategic Realignment” and we bring a fresh eye and a strategic perspective that can help an organization get lean yet remain viable.

Another temptation is to make a series of small cuts in hopes that the funding environment will change before bigger cuts are necessary. This can demoralize staff and encourage anyone who can to jump ship, and diminish the agency’s credibility with existing and potential donors. Wiser in the long run may be to bite the bullet just once, make bigger and deeper cuts upfront, and reassure the staff that remains that their jobs are secure. 

There is also an opportunity for executives and senior staff to lead by example and defer some compensation or take short-term salary cuts along with cuts to programs. The last thing an organization needs today is to be perceived by its volunteers and donors as the nonprofit equivalent of a bonus-taking Wall Street firm where executives put their own self-interest above the needs of their clients. 

The biggest challenge of all is to not let fear sit in the driver’s seat when making these decisions. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” has never been truer or more applicable. Fear makes us small in our thinking and makes us distrustful of others just when alliances and collaborations are essential strategies for survival. It obliterates our ability to see opportunities and shows us a future filled only with wreckage and ruin.

Courage is what’s needed now – courage, faith and creativity. Faith that the money follow wherever our mission leads, as long as we keep our heads, operate with integrity and maintain the balance between altruism and pragmatism.  Creativity flows much more easily when we trust in our selves and the rightness of our cause.

There was an article in the New York Times on Friday, February 20, 2009 about an upturn in nonprofits using Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy laws.
 
It was interesting and somewhat depressing but my main reaction was “Why isn't this article in the Business Section?” It would be if any other economic sector was being profiled.

Is anyone pushing policy makers and legislators to consider the nonprofit sector as a significant and integral part of the overall economy?  The nonprofit sector should be part of the mainstream discussion of economic stimulus, business development and bail-outs. It could be the "nonprofit" or "charity" nomenclature marginalizes the sector.  Maybe we should think of something else to call it!

Based on a contemporary Buddhist symbol our logo represents the convergence of altruism and pragmatism and the unstoppable wave of positive energy that occurs when both these principles meet in equal measure.

This concept - the equal balance of altruism and pragmatism - is at the core of all our services.  Too much focus on the the altruistic can lead to decisions that ignore financial realities or other necessary components of a healthy organization.  Too much focus on the practical can lead to decisions that diminish the soul of an organization's mission and ultimately alienate donors, volunteers and staff, and institutionalize systems that no longer consider a client's best interests the primary focus of everyone's effort.  Either path can lead to an organization's dysfunction and demise. 

Running a successful organization is a challenge even in the best of economic times, but these days it can be considerably daunting.  However, difficult times can offer tremendous opportunities for leadership, if we can remain forward looking, unafraid and generous despite the fear and paralysis around us.  Difficult times distill us to our essence and test our determination and commitment.  Without money to throw at a problem we are forced to confront challenges with a different perspective and become creative with resource development, new partnerships and the use of existing resources.
 
We can also get practical.  Now is the time for economies of scale, reviewing operation efficiencies, streamlining, cutting back to core-mission programs, communicating a renewed commitment to donors and volunteers, salary cuts or deferred compensation, and outsourcing some operations to part-time staff or consultants.
 
We can also revisit the use of volunteers.  Perhaps offer families “volunteer vacations” with week-long intensive activities that bring together different generations for meaningful interactions and education on important issues.  And, in the process, lay the foundation for future funders and advocates, especially among children and adolescents.
 
Ask foundation, corporate and government funders what strategies they may have for the future and see if you can align your strategies with theirs.  You can convene a meeting of other grantees from a single funder to discuss collaborations.
 
You can also review your facility costs and renegotiate your lease, or, if you are in the midst of a capital campaign, renegotiate the purchase price and construction costs for the new building.
 
More than ever this is a time for faith and time to remember that the economy is cyclical and that boom times will eventually return.  In the meantime, we have lost nothing of true value – love, courage, joy, selflessness and community are always what really count and in difficult truly flourish