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February 24, 2009
Andy Bechtolsheim—co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Google’s first investor, and founder of several other successful companies—was once asked, “Is the rise of Google the end of the game for everyone else?”
His answer: “Only if no one changes the game.”
On February 24, 2009 Crecer Strategies and Milo Public Affairs convened experts in leadership, management, Web strategies, fundraising and entrepreneurship, to explore creative ways to respond to and take advantage of the current economic crisis.
In the interactive exchange, attended by national and local nonprofit leaders, panelists identified several ideas for moving forward.
Reinvent the Way You Work—Use Free Tools to Foster Connected Action
The Web and other interactive communication tools are no longer the province of techies and communication professionals. Adam Conner, Facebook’s Washington DC Associate for Privacy and Global Public Policy, recommends that nonprofit leaders use this crisis as an opportunity to rethink how they work.
Hiring an Internet expert—or simply designating one or two of your team members as “the Web team”—won’t do the job in today’s world of rapid information exchange and mobilization. Instead, Conner suggests that leaders build interconnected action teams. Look for ways to get your entire organization to think about how to move the mission forward by creatively employing “free” Internet strategies such as crowdsourcing and setting up Facebook Causes and Groups to mobilize supporters.
Case Study—How the “Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom” Harnessed the Free Power of the Internet
The Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom Facebook group is “dedicated to all those with purple, blue, and silver tickets to the inauguration [of President Obama] who braved the early morning cold (and the crowds) only to end up in the proverbial or literal Purple Tunnel of Doom.”
Founded by a group of individuals who were trapped in a tunnel that runs under the National Mall usually reserved for cars headed for Interstate 395, and prevented from witnessing the Presidential Inaugural Ceremony, despite having tickets—this Facebook group galvanized more than 7,000 members, and was able to elicit a formal public apology from the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, without spending a dime.
Use the Crisis as an “All Cards are in the Air” Opportunity—One Company’s Story
When Daniel Neal’s company kajeet faced its own fiscal crisis over a year ago (the company’s funds were temporarily unavailable), Neal and his leadership team had no choice but to act quickly.
Instead of “hunkering down, and riding out the crisis,” Neal and his team made some radical changes. Their goal—to connect tweens and their parents through parent-and-kid friendly wireless phones—guided their decision-making.
Prior to the crisis, kajeet sold phones through large retail outlets such as Target, which required them to play by the rules of the retailers. Instead, they made the decision to move to an online direct sales model. This decision not only saved a great deal of money, but it also enabled the company market much more creatively.
At the same time, contrary to the advice they were getting from some of the top marketing firms in the country to target kids who would talk their parents into purchasing phones, the kajeet team realized that they would be much more successful in this environment by targeting moms, who make over 70% of the purchases in the average American family home.
kajeet not only survived the crisis, it emerged fiscally stronger and creatively freer. When their funds became available again, as they did, kajeet was better positioned to use them than before the crisis.
Act Experimentally, And Decisively—Advice from an Executive Transition Leader
In the midst of crisis, whether it’s declining revenue, pullout of a major funder, or departure of a long-time organizational leader, it’s often very difficult to act creatively, or even to engender the trust and comfort needed for creativity to flourish. Pat Nichols, who heads Transition Leadership International, LLC, has lead several national and international nonprofit groups through periods of major transition, either as an interim CEO, or as a consultant to the leadership team.
Nichols’ advice to nonprofit leaders?
First, start the process of stopping the bleeding, then make space for creativity. Begin even before you know that you’ve stopped the bleeding. This is much easier said than done when resources are short or appear to be dwindling. Staff members are concerned about their jobs, and executives are nervous about opening things up for fear of where conversations may lead. The key, Nichols explains, is to remain focused on the mission, to remind everyone of why the organization exists, and as a leader, to make space for creative “all cards are in the air” kinds of conversations to flourish. Take time in meetings; build creativity into daily work. Then, act!
Second, act forcefully and experimentally. Despite uncertainty, organizations must act. If leaders make space for creative conversation, then follow conversation with action—knowing and letting others know that some actions will fail—organizations can change for the better. As a transitional leader, it’s also important to take the blame when things go wrong. If you accept responsibility for failed experiments, pursue what’s working and continue on, you can accomplish a great deal.
Be Willing to Stare Death in the Face—Lessons Learned from one Nonprofit’s Turnaround
Vince Meldrum, founding partner of Crecer Strategies and former President of Earth Force, a national organization that works with schools and communities to empower young people as environmental citizens, advises leaders to take bold action. “The biggest risk many nonprofits face right now,” Meldrum noted, “is dying a death of a thousand cuts.”
When Earth Force encountered its own financial crisis in January 2007, leaders faced a very difficult decision: cut costs as much as possible and continue to limp along, or restructure and refocus. Ultimately, leadership decided that the organization’s best way forward was to fundamentally change the way it operated. Rather than continuing to pour resources into supporting individual educators and maintaining a national office in the DC area, Earth Force made three major changes:
- First, leaders decided to adopt a deeper systems approach to change, engaging entire cities in the process of educating young people to be citizens.
- Second, they made the decision to give away Earth Force’s award winning curriculum and generate income by training others to use the curriculum.
- Third, they closed the national office space in the DC area, and moved to a virtual leadership model, with a CEO in Denver and a DC liaison.
At the time, the organization faced a very tough situation in terms of cash and potential income. The change in approach required a retooling of Earth Force’s structure and investment in a new way of doing business. Some were afraid that Earth Force would not survive the transition.
The short-term effects of this bold move have been dramatic and challenging. The restructure has led to an increase in income for the organization and some challenges in terms of finding ways to adapt on the fly. But, all parties believe that the organization is now much better positioned for the challenges that lay ahead, especially in today’s economic climate where everyone is concerned about the future.
The Bottom Line Has to Be the Mission
As session moderator, Peter Loge, Principal at Milo Public Affairs noted, the bottom line has to be the mission: “Once organizations are up and running, with staff members, brick and mortar spaces, etc., they can end up maintaining structure for structure’s sake.” While it is sometimes very painful to restructure or reorganize, it’s much worse to fail the original mission. Organizations exist to promote change; that needs to be only measure of success. If you believe your mission and work are vital, then act boldly in pursuit of those objectives.
Transitioning from Survival Mode to Decisive Action
- How can you foster creativity in your organization, if it’s highly dysfunctional?
- What do you do if you feel like your “back is up against the wall?” How do you (personally) get past that? How can you help staff members get past it?
- How can you create “all cards are in the air” opportunities in your organization?
- How do you handle board resistance to change?
- What if you have to restructure or lay off staff? How can you do that while “making a bold move?”
Moving Boldly Forward
Over the next several weeks, we’ll explore some of these questions, many of which were raised at the session, in more detail.
In the meantime, if you are facing your own crisis and want to talk through any of these issues, please contact us. At Crecer, we help organizations grow and change strategically and Milo Public Affairs helps organizations define and achieve policy success. We have deep experience helping organizations initiate and navigate change successfully.
Panelists
Wag Dodge and Other Inspirations
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