Competing with the For-profits

By Steven Worth

These days, there is hardly a sector where for-profit organizations have not made in-roads into areas that were once the exclusive domain of nonprofit organizations. Whether it is in supplying blood to US hospitals or offering the public for-profit alternatives to nonprofit and government sponsored schools, for-profit organizations are often beating nonprofits at their own game by providing more creative, effective and efficient alternatives. If you don't see this happening then you should look again; it is not a pretty sight.

So what is a nonprofit organization to do?

As management consultants dedicated to helping nonprofit and public service organizations become more efficient and effective, it is bracing and encouraging to see increasing numbers of well-trained, dynamic managers of associations, professional societies and philanthropic organizations employing technology and management techniques that used to be the exclusive domain of for-profit companies. As a result, their organizations are becoming every bit as efficient and effective as the best practices in their respective sectors-even while they remain faithful to their mission-driven purposes upon which their nonprofit organizations were founded.

In this race to be competitive it seems to me that it is critical nonprofits not lose sight of their innate competitive advantages over for-profit corporations:

* Energized members and customers: Mission-driven nonprofit organizations are successful in attracting armies of dedicated volunteer talent from recent graduates to recent retirees (and everyone in between) precisely because they do appeal to the human need to serve a purpose greater than ourselves.

* Doing Good: Corporations too are buying into the idea that it is good business to do good. While advertising and sponsorships have been in decline since the beginning of the Great Recession, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has taken off. Many times these CSR projects are in partnership with nonprofit organizations whose missions and visions (not to mention their credibility and credentials) dovetail with what these corporations want to do.

* Sense of Community: Communities of people sharing common interest--for-profit companies don't provide this; nonprofits do. We are social animals and like to share our time and talents and thoughts with people who share our interests and concerns on-line or in-person. This is the trait or characteristic that always finishes at the top of the list when membership organizations poll their members about what they value most. This is the sticky soft power of nonprofit organizations that no for profit can match.

We love seeing nonprofits producing fact-based business plans that provide measurable performance indexes and bottom line impact analyses.... But don't forget your heart, your energized members and customers, your goal for doing good and your important sense of community.

The four strategic uses of research

By Steve Worth

On more than one occasion I have heard association executives say that they saw no need to do market research because their membership included the who’s who of their sector. 

It seems to me this is a dangerously myopic mindset; but at the very least it misses four key uses for market research:

1.      Achieving consensus—Any association executive will tell you that one of the hardest aspects of their job is to harness the many strong personalities represented on their board of directors and various leadership bodies.  It can be as hard as herding cats; but facts have a way of focusing attention on what is important while minimizing personality differences and/or the differences among membership factions.

2.      Bringing stakeholders’ voices to the table—Every organization has important stakeholders who cannot always be present when and where decisions are being made.  Stakeholder research can help compensate for that and make for a more inclusive and transparent decision making process.

3.      Benchmarking progress against goals—It is a truism that people and organizations achieve what they measure.  Start tracking your progress on key goals and see for yourself how obstacles magically melt away.

4.      Trend analysis—One of the key legal advantages nonprofit organizations have over for-profit companies lies in their ability to collect and analyze competitive data.  It is also one of the most valued benefits as measured by surveys in virtually every membership organization.

There is nothing to compare with the strategic value of good market research—no matter who the members of your association might be!

BRICS, MINT--or what do you feel is the most promising place to invest?

By Steven Worth

What is your acronym of choice—BRICS (Brazil, Russia (well, let’s keep the “R” just as a place holder for now because the acronym sounds better with it), India, China, and South Africa); or MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey)?  While these are neat acronyms and many of these countries do seem to be hot markets for international investors, there is growing evidence global businesses and investors in all sectors are looking at another acronym of a market that may not be ready to fade into the past just yet—USA.

I know, I know this sounds jingoistic but let’s look at the facts.

·         US demographics are sound when compared to the aging demographics of every other developed economy.  There will be no implosion of an overly burdened workforce trying to care for a much larger aging and retired population.

·         The comparative cost of labor along with productivity levels is so favorable now that manufacturers are bringing jobs back to the US after decades of offshoring.

·         The basic infrastructure that a national economy relies on are all in abundance: 

o   An educated workforce

o   Communications and transportation infrastructure

o   A culture in which the rule of law has unquestioned dominance and where political institutions despite all their flaws are stable and the envy of most developing economies

o   A sound currency with an ample supply of investment capital

o   Near self-sufficiency in all critical natural resources

o   Cutting edge technology and a market whose thought leaders regularly win the most Nobel Prizes

o   The largest and most sophisticated purchasing power of any market in the world

o   A middle class with enviable social mobility that attracts the best brains and talent from around the world

·         A secure geopolitical position by virtue of being located on a continent and in a hemisphere with friendly neighbors and with soft and hard power second to none

Our country’s weaknesses are perhaps more obvious to us sometimes in an election year than our strengths, but in light of these strengths our weaknesses should rather appear as opportunities.  If our education, healthcare, and transportation systems need to be repaired—those are opportunities that are right here in our own backyard where the grass is pretty darn green.   

Four assumptions—are we on the same page?

Steve Worth, President of Plexus Consulting, LLC

Fast growing associations of all kinds share these four leadership assumptions:

• Growth is good—growth is part of the definition of life.  If you are not growing you are dying.

• All business-related organizations should be market-focused—and markets change, that is what markets do; so strategies and tactics need to be assessed frequently in order to remain relevant.

• Decisions should be based on solidly researched facts—fact-based decision making beats any of the alternatives!

• Form follows function—once you have determined what needs to be done your organization’s operational and governance structures should be adapted to help achieve that end objective.

So simple yet so complicated for so many organizations.

Six Differences Between Customer-Focused Companies and Operations-Focused Companies, Shep Hyken

Six Differences Between Customer-Focused Companies and Operations-Focused Companies

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

By Shep Hyken, Published April 30, 2014

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Better Customer Experience

Some companies really understand customer service. They know how to hire for it, train for it and deliver it. Other companies claim to give customer service, but in reality, they are grounded in an operations mentality with rules and policies that allow for little flexibility, preventing them from being anything more than just average or satisfactory. Here are a few observations of the differences between customer-focused companies versus operations-focused companies:

Empowerment: A customer-focused company empowers employees to make decisions that are for the benefit of the customer. They have guidelines versus rules and take the approach that if it isn’t illegal, immoral, won’t cost the company money (although sometimes that’s still okay), and won’t harm the company’s reputation, then consider doing it to take care of the customer. The operations-focused company requires a manager’s approval for anything that is outside of their policies or typical way of doing business.

Hiring: A customer-focused company hires people who fit the culture, which means they have the personalities and core-values that align with the company’s vision and mission. Certain jobs may require skill, but skill alone won’t get the applicant hired. An operations-focused company will hire for skill, filling a position with technical strengths. The applicant’s personality may or may not fit with the corporate culture.

Training: A customer-focused company spends time and money training for soft skills such as relationship building and customer service. The company recognizes that it takes both, technical and soft skills, to break away from being average. The operations-focused company spends most of their training dollars and time on technical skills and product knowledge.

Leadership: The leaders of a customer-focused company set the vision and mission of the culture, and then they lead by example. The leaders of an operations-focused company sets the vision and mission of the culture, but sometimes will have the “Do as I say, not as I do” approach. Sometimes their behavior is incongruent with what they want to achieve, often leaving the employees confused and less than motivated.

People First: The customer-focused company knows the importance of putting people first – specifically employees. They develop a culture of happy, engaged and fulfilled employees that deliver a better customer experience. Customers like this and continue to come back. An operations-focused company develops a culture focused on systems, procedures and the bottom line. While this is important to any company’s success, they miss the culture part of the equation.

Customer Service: The customer-focused company looks at customer service as a philosophy to be embraced by every employee of the company, recognizing that there are both external and internal customers. The operations-focused company sees customer service as a department.

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/six-differences-customer-focused-companies-operations-focused-companies-0864688#5A7fYOGMvRQU3URQ.99

Listening Is Hard Work

By Steven Worth

President, Plexus Consulting Group

How many of us as children remember our parents pointing out that there was a reason we had two ears and only one mouth — could we please just listen? Apart from our parents wanting peace of mind, there is a lot of wisdom in this advice. But the temptation to follow one’s own ideas at the expense of what someone else may be trying to say does not stop in childhood. Many an association has followed strong leaders with more vision than wisdom down the wrong path, making mistakes that could have been avoided had more importance been placed on listening.

Do any of the following scenarios seem familiar?

• Mindful that his term of office was coming to a close, the chairman of the board of a major professional society pushed for his fellow board members to ignore market research findings which pointed to the need for the association to form strategic alliances with other associations in the industry as they developed and introduced a new professional certification. Such an ally-building process would be too time-consuming and would necessarily compromise his vision of what should be done.
• The board of directors of another association is persuaded that the time had come for the organization to merge with a much larger association. The association simply didn’t have the clout its members needed to have its voice heard in Washington. The association had no desire to survey its membership on this since the need seemed so obvious.
• Concerned about the motives of some of the members of his board of directors, an executive director of a large foundation took great care to select a strategic planning facilitator whom he knew and had confidence in. He wanted to assure that no policy initiatives were going to come out of this strategic planning exercise that he did not want.

In each of these examples either the board of directors or the executive director made a decision to limit outside influence in a predetermined policy direction. This decisiveness guaranteed speedy action — but was it in the right direction?

The association community across the country has never known greater turmoil. The number of associations being formed, merged, or downsized is at record levels. In such a highly charged environment decisive leadership is welcome. But it is also true that what one does not know can often prove fatal.

The distinguished British statesman Benjamin Disraeli once noted, "As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information…." The same is true for associations. But is it possible for an association to act decisively while still allowing for a thorough gathering of information? Some associations do. They do so by:

• Making time and resources available for thorough strategic planning on a regular basis. Market conditions are changing so rapidly that most associations now undertake strategic planning exercises once every two years.
• Starting the process with factual research into your members’ market — chances are you are sitting on the answers to key problems or opportunities. You just need to find them. Such research also lessens the degree of subjectivity that inevitably creeps into policy discussions.
• Limiting the instinct to "control." Use respected outside consultants who have a demonstrated understanding of your association to provide the objectivity that is needed — then let go. Know that you are only doing yourself and your association a disservice if you try to predetermine the results.

Of these three points, the last is without doubt the hardest. We all know associations are great lumbering things that require dynamic and focused individuals to get them to move in any direction. But sometimes these very leadership qualities interfere with the "listening" process that is needed if the right decisions are to be made.

The hardest part of association management is dealing with the many differing points of view, personalities, and interests that are involved in every association. This can be a frustrating experience for those coming from the military-like decision-making structures of most for-profit corporations. But there are two ways of viewing this flat decision-making environment: one is as an obstacle to overcome; the other is as an information-rich environment in which new opportunities and creative solutions to old problems are waiting to be discovered. The key is to foster a culture in which listening is valued.

It’s been said that President John F. Kennedy was such an avid and alert listener that it was exhausting to talk with him. Viewed in this light, listening is far from being a passive state. It is active, exhaustive, and methodical. And it might just be the key to your association’s future.

Leadership

By Ann W. Rosser

There is an over abundance of managers and a huge lack of leaders. This situation clearly has a negative impact on an organization's ability to grow and compete. 

A leader combines the vision and curiosity of a dreamer with the practical engineering of a builder. A leader is goal directed, looking forward with anticipation toward the attainment of measurable outcome goals. A leader is a person who sets goals and achieves results. Goals give an effective leader meaning and purpose and serve as a continuous source of motivation in pursuit of organizational individual success. 

While many books have been written about leadership, it remains for many a misunderstood and elusive quality. The capacity for leadership exists in everyone, but most people never take the time to develop it. Leadership is determination, courage, confidence and the ability to get results!

Positive leadership assumes that goals can be accomplished, the job can be done, the problem can be solved, and the obstacles will be overcome. A leader creates his or her own future and drives the future success of an organization. 

The Process

This leadership development process is a structured, open-ended pragmatic approach to leadership growth. It is a process designed to help individuals develop the attitudes, skills, and qualities necessary for personal and organizational leadership.

Three Essential Elements

Attitude Development:

In order to create an environment of positive attitudes and possibility thinking, it is important for a leader to understand where and how attitudes can be changed.

Interpersonal Skills:

Much of what a leader is involved in, and therefore accomplishes, involves other people. To be effective in this continuous challenge it is important to learn, understand, and use interpersonal skills effectively.

Goal Setting:

Leadership among other things, is the process of providing organizational direction and accomplishing necessary objectives. The goal accomplishment model provides the tools and process necessary to achieve more goals, more often, in order to maximize results and outcomes.

Critical Issues Covered Within this Process:

• Leadership and You
• Tapping You Hidden Potential
• Motivation
• Behavior and Conditioning
• Attitude Development
• Personal and Organizational Goal Setting
• Roadblocks to Success
• Creative Power and Visualization
• Managing Your Time
• Communication
• Delegation
• Decision Making and Problem Solving

The Results are Measurable:

• Being More in Control of Your Future
• Increased Revenue
• Increased Profitability
• More Personal Time and Freedom
• A Clear, Focused Direction
• Enhanced Leadership Ability
• Results-Oriented Attitudes
• Developing Your Team
• Creating a Vision for Personal Direction and Decision Making