The book “One Thing” by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan asks this question: “What is the one thing I can do that by doing it everything will be easier or unnecessary?”
Let’s explore this in relation to our non-profits. Is that “One Thing” serving more people, being more passionate, hiring more staff, making more money or…? That question is an interesting one to ask our boards, our staff and ourselves as we lead our organization. As you do, stay curious and open to what they answer-it might surprise you and it could be very enlightening. Take a minute now to reflect on what your answer would be and write it down.
As I reflect back, I would have answered this question very differently in the past. My one thing would have been the mission. Yet as I study that question and really reflect on the last part of the sentence, I come to a very different answer. Go back and read the question again, or better yet, read the book.
Garnering more resources would be my answer. Imagine what your organization would look like if you didn’t worry have to worry about funding and you could accomplish your mission through a steady flow of cash! What would it be like if decisions were made without having to keep one eye on how you would fund worthy programs?
If financial resources via fundraising or grant writing is our “One Thing” in non-profits, why is it that our boards, our staff and sometimes even us, as executive directors, don’t focus more on it? How can we change that?
As a full time development officer, I was very strict with my time. Each day in a week was crafted for follow ups, visits, solicitations, reports and marketing activities that all had fundraising as the measurable outcome. Then I moved to the executive director role. If I had truly thought about boards, staff, financials, IT, volunteers and outreach (to just name a few of my daily pulls) I would have run! Yet it was an exciting challenge to me and I learned that the habits I had built around fundraising were key. This was not always a simple task as the myriad of demands often side tracked me. However, wanting to get paid can be a real motivation! I learned that I simply had to set one day a week aside-and devote at least one hour of the other days-for fundraising. That could mean supporting staff efforts, getting outreach or internal accountability ready etc. Whatever it was, the measurable outcome had to be moving the organization toward financial stability. Yes, sometimes that has meant stopping the downhill trend of a board reaching for the stars when the base camp is crumbling, revamping and then aiming upward. My “One Thing” has always been focused on garnering finances and it is what has helped me be a change agent for organizations.
Crafting u-turns takes a steady focus on the “One Thing” and that sometimes takes an outside perspective. When we understand that the “one thing I can do we can do such that by doing it everything will be easier or unnecessary” is garnering more funding for our organizations, it can help us lead staff better, do our annual plans with more focus and give our daily routines more vision.
I would suggest the following ideas to help you focus.
- Track your time for a month
- See how your time spent is related to fundraising
- Schedule the next month with time blocks for focusing on fundraising
- Let staff and others know how important these blocks are.
- Track how many times the blocks are derailed.
- Join me (Ratzlaff Consulting) on Facebook and tell me how it goes!
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