Apr 18th, 2012 | Decision Making, Leadership, NonProfits, Public Relations | 1 Comment
When are we going to sell right?
by Joe John
Since September of 2011, I have enjoyed writing about topics that impact the nonprofit sector. Hopefully you have found them both interesting and helpful. Writing about the nonprofit sector was a challenge by my BCG associates — the challenge being to wed both my for-profit years of experience with my involvement with nonprofits for many years as well.
It has been fun. I was preparing another article this week focusing on communications among board members and the communities they serve. But then IT hit me. The “IT” was yet ANOTHER wave of newspaper and TV news that just took me over the edge.
The edge: The lack of public confidence; compliance departments growing; market conduct issues; the disappearance of Business Ethics. Serious issues in doing business that won’t go away. I got irate, again, and so I decided to dust off a speech I made a number of years ago to a professional group.
Our editors have helped me condense it into a white paper. I am using it simply as a forum to voice my unease about a problem that hasn’t gone away, and I’m getting very annoyed that ethical selling and business ethics is a topic we need to address. WHY is that!? Oh, well. Perhaps you’ll share my sentiments when you read the presentation.
I wish I could say “enjoy” — at least I’m hoping you will share my sentiments about ethical issues in the business world that just won’t go away.
To read this white paper, go to the upper right-side of this Website’s home page to “document links.”
Jan 27th, 2012 | Decision Making, Leadership, Management, NonProfits | Comments Off
Was Sir Isaac Newton on a Non Profit Board?
OK. So was Sir Isaac Newton on a non profit board of directors? Possibly.
No, this isn’t a physics lesson. But it is time for you and your board to analyze the inertia of your group to see if it is content to be “at rest,” or if it needs a good “push” (or nudge). Newton’s first law states that every object will remain at rest unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. So who on your non profit board (or outside the board) will be that “external force” to move your board from inactivity to inertia?
This is what Newton is saying about boards in his first law: “…there is a natural tendency of objects to keep on doing what they’re doing. All objects resist changes in their state of motion…” unless acted upon.
Oh, sure, every board has some members who are doers — always moving and never at rest. They want to get things moving. They are self-starters and don’t need a “push”. But how many other board members sit around and wait for that external force (whatever or whomever it may be) to move them into action to accomplish the goals and objectives of organization?
In simple terms, Newton’s law says that if your board member has a velocity of “zero,” then in reality, your board member is “at rest.” Gee, go figure. Only when an external force is applied, perhaps a “call-to-action,” will the velocity of your board member move from zero. I’m not saying how fast that person will be going, but at least he/she would then be moving past zero. On the plus side, some motion is better than none — that’s one of my laws of non-profit boards.
Step back and reflect on all the high energy level activities that are typically required of board members: friend raising, fund raising, grant writing, speech writing, volunteering for special events and the list goes on. Despite the numerous responsibilities that need to be carried out, how many non profit board members are operating at “zero” velocity?
Well, there are “pushes” and then there are “pushes” or “nudges.” And that’s where Newton’s second law of non profit boards comes into focus.
“Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass.” Well, here’s a very easy formula: substitute “doer” for “force” and “non-doer” for “mass”. Thus, the greater the mass (of non-doing) the greater the amount of force needed to accelerate the object. Wow! Just how much energy do people have to expend to move non-doers to some form of activity? Is that why board activities are typically carried out by so few people because they much rather expend their own energy POSITIVELY rather than expending all their energy to move a non-doer into activity?
Do you have people who currently exhibit the leadership skills to move your non profit organization in a forward direction — the ones who will be that “external force”? Keep in mind that it’s not fair that they have to expend enormous amounts of energy to move the masses.
In the ideal world, these leaders should only be asked to exert a friendly nudge to move the entire organization from that zero velocity to a speed that is in sync with the goals and objectives of the group. And maybe, just maybe, that’s why all boards should have board member assessments and accountability measures. After all, if the velocity of a board member is always going to be zero, why keep that person?
Yes, Newton really did understand non profit boards. And “No,” I don’t think I’ll discuss his third law: To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. Now that would be an interesting discussion, wouldn’t it?
By Joseph John
Sep 20th, 2011 | Decision Making, Leadership | Comments Off
Each of us tends to have a favorite decision making style.
After all, we have been making decisions our entire lives! Yes, most of them have been personal decisions about our own lives, but they are decisions and we are comfortable making them.
However, our personal decision making styles may well work fine for us, but may not work effectively for making organizational decisions.
Beware of applying your personal style to your organization. It may not work very well.
For example, some of us are “thinkers.” We want to think through a problem or challenge are arrive at a decision based on evidence, facts, etc. Others of us are “feelers.” We make decisions emotionally based on how we feel about a situation, problem or challenge.
Quite frankly, neither of these styles, alone, are appropriate for an organizational decision. Certainly thinking and analyzing are fine techniques, but just thinking may not get you where you need to go. And we all have emotions that are applicable to most situations.
But using these alone are inappropriate. Just thinking about a problem does not get you input from others. And emotions should not play a role in organizational decisions. Emotion will almost always lead you astray!
What You Can Do: Evaluate your personal decision making style. How do you make personal decisions? Is this style appropriate for your organizational decisions as a manager?Just thinking and feeling are too simple and not inclusive enough for quality organizational decision making.
By Stephanie McFarland, APR, mcfarlandpr@gmail.com and Robert Dittmer, APR, bdittmer@bc-group.net
151 Quick Ideas for Delegating and Decision Making
Sep 13th, 2011 | Decision Making, Management | Comments Off
Effective decision making requires you to think about solutions, not just react to situations and problems.
As you develop an appropriate decision, remember that there is always more than one way to accomplish something. So, think about options. Different ways of achieving an outcome. Options both from the perspective of what outcome you would like to get as well as options on how to actually achieve each outcome.
As you examine your data, think about the likely potential outcomes you want from your decision. List those outcomes. There may well me more than one acceptable and possible outcome, so list each.
Then, examine each outcome and list the potential ways to achieve that outcome. Again, there’s always more than one way to get to a final destination, so think creatively using your gathered information and identify all the different ways to there to each outcome.
Then, of course, you have to choose – or, if you are using a consensus process – the group needs to choose. But they do so having all the information organized in logical ways.
What You Can Do: Think back on all the techniques you were taught in deciding what to do personally with decisions in your life. Many require you to list pros and cons. This is a similar technique.
Armed with information and options, you, or your group, are ready to examine solutions – to make effective decisions.
By Stephanie McFarland, APR, mcfarlandpr@gmail.com and Robert Dittmer, APR, bdittmer@bc-group.net
151 Quick Ideas for Delegating and Decision Making
Sep 7th, 2011 | Decision Making, Leadership, Management | Comments Off
Robert Frost once said: “The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.”
Too often this can be true among some managers. You’ve probably run across at least one of them. Almost like a natural reflex, the brain shuts down and they just react – knee jerking all over the place. Ironically many of these “knee jerks” are probably sharp, intelligent and well-intentioned people. But reacting one time too many and they begin to lose credibility and influence. It’s bad decision making.
Sadly, their reactions are often the result of fear.
Explosive conflicts in decision making can be the result of fear. So can avoidance in making a decision all together. Fear can lead to poor decisions made without having all the necessary facts. Unchecked, fear can quickly carry you away from your vision.
So what drives fear in decision making? Sometimes it’s personal insecurity or pressure from the boss. Or maybe it’s just burn out.
But there is a cure for this management disorder. It’s called “thinking.”
Reacting is merely action driven by emotions, rather than rationale. Thinking, on the other hand, is the antidote because it’s decision-making based on analysis — analysis of facts, theories and input from others who may have “been there, done that.” This collection of information is known as a base of knowledge, and all good decisions are made from this base.
Cool rationale, however, can only come by way of an open mind that is ready to ask questions, listen and truly understand. It puts action to the side, while the brain goes gets busy considering all information available. That’s why the Research step of decision-making is so crucial. Though you can never have all the “data,” this should not preclude you from having as much as you can gather in a given situation.
What You Can Do: Over time, thinking will set you up to succeed and be effective in your decision making. Reaction, however, will set you up to fail. Choose to think, and you will choose to succeed time and again. Good decisions are built on a solid foundation of knowledge, not the shifting sand of reaction.
By Stephanie McFarland, APR, mcfarlandpr@gmail.com and Robert Dittmer, APR, bdittmer@bc-group.net
151 Quick Ideas for Delegating and Decision Making
Aug 30th, 2011 | Decision Making, Leadership, Management | Comments Off
A key element of good decision making is the research phase. And key to research is asking good questions.
Beyond listening, asking good questions that elicit quality answers is also part of the research phase of making a decision. When interviewing key players in your information gathering phase prior to making a decision, think about asking good questions.
Prepare in advance of any discussion by thinking through what information you want to gather and developing potential questions that will elicit that information. Think about questions it two ways:
First, create questions in both a closed ended response (yes/no) followed by questions that are open ended (allow the interviewee to respond with details). Start with the yes/no question. Once you get that response, you can ask the obvious, why or why not? Allow the respondent plenty of time to respond. Often, the longer the answer the more details you’ll get.
Example: Are our customers returning Product X more often that others? Get yes or no. Then…
Why do you think they are doing that? What are they telling you when they do return the product? Then let them talk and listen closely.
Ask questions that follow the tried and true journalist’s key elements of information: who, what, where, when, why and how – known as the five W’s and an H. Who is doing this? What is the reason? Where are then returning them? When do they seem to return them? How are they coming back? Why do they say they are returning them?
Assignment: Set up some scenarios and practice these techniques so you become comfortable with this information gathering tool. Remember, the quality of your decision making is greatly dependent on the information that decision is based upon.
By Stephanie McFarland, APR, mcfarlandpr@gmail.com and Robert Dittmer, APR, bdittmer@bc-group.net
151 Quick Ideas for Delegating and Decision Making
Aug 23rd, 2011 | Decision Making, Leadership, Management | Comments Off
Researching options for a decision is important, and research starts with the ears
Every decision begins with research. What do we know? What do we not know? Let’s find out the answers to these questions. We have access to the information, but more often than not, it with other people. So, our research is often listening to others.
But we are often not good listeners. Listening begins with hearing. We need to do more listening and less talking. On of the greatest problems in customer services is not hearing what the customer is saying. If we do a good job of listening, we learn all kinds of good things. People tell us good, usable information all the time. We just have to listen and pay attention.
All too often, we want to talk, not listen. When we talk, we learn nothing. And the more we talk the less likely others will talk to us. You’ve been there too. You walk into the hardware store and tell the clerk, “I’m working on my deck and…” And he interrupts and starts telling you all about all the deck materials they have, where they are and begins leading you to the right aisles. Of course, he never lets you finish to tell him that you just need a common drill bit, not decking materials! By the time he learns that, you have already wasted 15 minutes in the store.
So, when researching the problem or opportunity, start with listening to what others have to say. Really listen. Ask good questions and then listen. You’ll learn a lot.
How to Listen Effectively
Since listening is so important, how do we do a good job at it?
First, remember that listening is not hearing. Hearing is the active acquisition and translation of sound waves into meaningful concepts. Hearing is in the ears and then the mind.
Listening is the mental activity of attending to someone else’s communication with the goal of gaining understanding.
Here are some simple tips:
- Focus on the speaker alone, turn out others and other stimuli.
- Actively listen. Pay attention to the communication and tune out other thoughts and concerns you are having.
- Remember, if you are talking, you are not listening! Minimize your own speaking.
- Concentrate on learning from what they are saying. The goal is understanding.
- Suspend your pre-conceptions about the person, the subject, the circumstances. Try to focus on the topic and the listening experience objectively.
- Keep emotional reactions under control.
- Use active physical listening techniques like leaning forward during the conversation, maintaining eye contact, and providing positive feedback like nodding of head.
- Minimize interruptions. Be patient and allow the speaker to finish their thoughts.
- Suspend judgment. It’s about listening and learning, not about arguing.
- Ask good, relevant and insightful questions.
What You Can Do: Practice listening. Visit various retail stores and see the difference between good sales clerks and those who don’t listen well.
Then, practice some of these listening skills on a regular basis so you can develop an expertise in good, solid listening skills. Listening is one of the most important tools in your decision making kit. It lets you learn and discover.
By Stephanie McFarland, APR, mcfarlandpr@gmail.com and Robert Dittmer, APR, bdittmer@bc-group.net
151 Quick Ideas for Delegating and Decision Making
Since September of 2011, I have enjoyed writing about topics that impact the nonprofit sector. Hopefully you have found them both interesting and helpful. Writing about the nonprofit sector was a challenge by my BCG associates — the challenge being to wed both my for-profit years of experience with my involvement with nonprofits for many years as well.
