10 Ways To Move Your Organization Into The Future
Think Stewardship and Sustainability
I am always thinking about how we spend our money and how we can insure that we are here years from now. Every member on the team needs to think this way. Are you training them to do so?
2. Empower Your Team Members to Lead
The true sign of a leader is if he/she is replicating him/her self. That’s our job as leaders. Who will take your place?
3. Run Your Non-Profit Like a Business
A non-profit is a tax status, it doesn’t mean you are not a business. You may be a ministry, but for sure, you are a business, so you need to operate like one.
4. Develop Your Organization’s Brand
Have you thought through what you want your client and your partner to think about your organization? If not, you need to. This is what branding is all about.
5. Be “Open For Business”
Have you ever walked into a restaurant that seemed unprepared to wait on you?
Often times, we do that in our own organizations. Are you “open for business?”
For example, is your last blog post from 2017? If so, take it down or update it, because you look like you are closed.
6. Make Sure Your Partners Know That You Care
Relationships are key. Spend some time thinking about how you will let your partners know that you care. From email, to hard mail, texting, phone calls, etc….include every way possible.
7. Learn to Communicate
How you communicate and the frequency with which you communicate to your partners will determine how you are funded. Communication is very important. You need to communicate in a clear, concise and creative way.
8. Honor the Past, but Move Forward
“We haven’t done it that way before.” You have heard that, I’m sure? Think about how you can honor the past, what others have done, give thanks to those who have gotten you to where you are, but push forward into the future. You can use those who might be stuck in the past to move toward the future if you honor them in the right way.
9. Educate Your Team on Your Story
Spend some time with your team talking about “your story.” Do you all know it? Can you talk about it? Does it intrigue or interest people? Spend time with your team practicing how to tell your story to one another and those outside your organization. Your story is what people care about.
10. Invest In the Organization
For your organization to grow, you have to invest in it. That means you have to invest in your people, your systems, your software. You may have to spend money to help your organization grow. Those people that don’t want to spend money investing in their organization will find their organization will, at some point, become stagnant. You have to take time to invest in your organization.