Q6: Can your discuss any execution or agility challenge(s) that are particular to non-profit agencies in the start-up phase?
March 1st, 2009
I have worked with a lot of not-for-profits and my experience is that the generic challenges of organizational agility and execution excellence are the same. Every business, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, has specific issues and that’s part of the process, to judge where the business is at in its specific journey and what the specific priority opportunities for improvement are in the next phase of that journey.
Some of the specific issues I have encountered with not-for-profits are:
- Diversifying and Expanding Fund-Raising Resources
- Innovating Programs to Strengthen the Value-Proposition
- Increasing Brand/Market Awareness & Telling the Story
- Expanding, Engaging and Enrolling the Board in Strategy & Execution
- Inspiring Staff & Volunteers/Evolving a Culture of High Performance Teamwork
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- Capacity Building & Sustainability
This last point deserves more comment. Generally speaking, most of the not-for-profits I have worked with are trying to architect a breakthrough journey around a bottom-line of capacity building and sustainability – expanding their capacity to develop, deliver and fund their value-proposition in a way that is increasingly sustainable. In some ways, not-for-profits have it easier than for-profits – my experience is that there is implicitly more passion and meaning associated with the mission of the business. In some ways they have it harder – my experience is that there are more challenges creating the accountability components of teamwork when built on a foundation of volunteerism.
On balance, and generically, my experience of the challenge for not-for-profits is the same as for for-profits. It’s about all of the moving parts of execution excellence working in unison. When they are we get traction. When they aren’t we get wheel spin.
I once did a lot of work with small nonprofits here in San Diego on behalf of the local chapter of a funder called Social Venture Partners (SVP). When SVP offered a grant to one of these small non-profits for capacity building and sustainability, I would do a strategy/execution process with the staff and board, to help them begin to architect that breakthrough journey. It was always an enlightening experience of acute challenges and breakthroughs required, with limited runway to get the organization on the right kind of flight trajectory. In some ways different to working with for-profits and in many ways not. I did a similar process for a larger, more established non-profit called Junior Achievement-San Diego, wanting to breakthrough to the next level. As a result of using some of the key tools (the Traction Plan in particular) we have opened a new flag-ship facility called BizTown; with a larger, more engaged and enrolled Board than ever before (every Board member is in an action team driving traction on one of our core strategies) and a staff team which is gelling with a culture of high-performance-teamwork like never before.
Execution Excellence: Missing-in-Action
Mike's Own Journey
See Mike giving one of his keynote speeches,