September 2008

September 2008: od180 eNews #29

Gratitude, part 1 of 5

Dear Friends:

I hope that you all had a very good summer and are now ready to embrace the challenges of the fall. This month I launch a series of several articles on values. We hear much about the subject currently, due to the media coverage of the presidential election. Yet, they are important not only in the political or personal or family realms, of course. When operating at their best, our organizations also are guided by a set of values - deliberately chosen, articulated, and practiced.

Remember: Your comments and questions are always appreciated. Contact me anytime at davidnorgard@od180.com.

Peace,
David

Gratitude

The First in a Series of Five Articles on Organizational Values

On the new website for od180 (coming soon to a laptop near you!), there is a section dedicated to values. It begins with my own core philosophical principles and then moves on to name five values which form what I call the "Foundation-Stones of Organization-Building." The five are:

1. courage of commitment,
2. creativity in method,
3. generosity of spirit,
4. honesty in communication, and
5. steadfastness of purpose.

In this first article of the series, I focus on generosity of spirit, and more specifically, gratitude.

Of the many quotes, ancient and contemporary, which float in the recesses of my memory, perhaps the one I have recalled most often is from Dag Hammarskjold, a past Secretary-General of the United Nations and author of Markings (1964). He once wrote: "For everything that has been, thanks; for everything that will be, yes."

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) rely on generosity of spirit, of course, for their very existence. From donors and volunteers they receive time and talent and treasure in order to effect some common good. Yet all too often, NPOs are themselves stingy when it comes to showing appreciation. Every development director I know has a story about the donor who stopped giving for lack of a thank you note or the volunteer who faded away because of being too long ignored.

The well-managed NPO makes a habit of expressing gratitude. Partly, the leaders of such an NPO know in their hearts that it is the right thing to do. And frankly, they also know that graciously acknowledging past generosity in a timely way is the single, surest way to cultivating new gestures of generosity in the future. To inspire your own thinking about the people to whom your organization owes a debt of gratitude, I offer the following:

A Half-Dozen People to Thank Routinely...From the Obvious to What Should Be

• Donors: This seems obvious. Still, too many NPOs work hard to get the first donation only to alienate the new donor by not responding respectfully to a first gift. Establish the lowest possible threshold for acknowledging single or special contributions and send a letter quarterly (along with a statement of contributions) to those who give regularly (perhaps in fulfillment of a pledge).

• Volunteers: Volunteer appreciation is a topic unto itself. At minimum, it is important to recognize all volunteers formally at least annually and those who have reached some major milestone as the occasion arises (1,000 hours of service, for example).

• Visitors: Do people visit your facility? Send them a note thanking them for their interest and invite their further participation.

• Staff: By highlighting all the staff of each department in rotation on the website or in a newsletter, the Executive Director cultivates loyalty. By sending a special commendation to those who have provided some extraordinary service, the Board of Directors increases the morale of the entire agency.

• Past Board Members: These good folk are often the forgotten heroes of an agency. As a group, invite them all to an annual luncheon and briefing. By doing so, you maintain relationships that can be deep and abiding.

• Board Members: Their names may be on the letterhead and the best of them seem to be always at hand or on call. Nevertheless, ironically, the service of board members is sometimes taken for granted. Whether leaving a first term early or retiring after the maximum number of years allowed by the by-laws, it is critically important to acknowledge the leadership of every board member, at least upon conclusion of service. One of the more pleasant ways to do so is through an annual function around the changing of the guard that serves to welcome new board members and honor those whose are departing.

Expressing gratitude accounts for half of what it means to have generosity of spirit in building an organization. The other half involves acting graciously - always. I will come to that topic in a future Management Letter.

Q&A

This month's question is courtesy of Rob Ham, Youth Minister at All Saints' Church in Pasadena, CA.

Q: How do you say "no" to something really good to make room for what matters most?

A: Every new initiative ought to be considered by comparison to five criteria and the senior management in an organization will serve its program directors well to help them deliberate along these lines:

• First, is the suggested new program one that fits with the overall mission of the organization? If not, you needn't deliberate further.
• Secondly, does it fit with the organization's vision, both internal and external? Again, if the fit is not fairly self-evident, this may be a notion that has merit on its own but needs a different organizational context.
• Thirdly, can the new idea be implemented in such a manner as to be consistent with the organization's core values? Yet again, no fit means "no go."
• Fourthly, does the suggestion coincide with the organization's strategic priorities? If not, perhaps it is an idea whose time has just not yet come.

Finally, if you can say "yes" to the prior four questions, then ask: Can we realistically divert enough resources, tangible and intangible, to develop this new concept? If so, then I would say "it's a go." (Rob, is that enough reasons to say "no"?)