Naive optimism

December 7, 2020

Filed under: Human Resources,Leadership — jonathanpoisner @ 2:22 pm

I recently was speaking with Amanda Caffall, who helped start and currently leads the Commons Law Center, a relatively new nonprofit.  The Center is clearly thriving, even with the challenges posed by 2020, and I asked her to what she attributed their success.

Among the various reasons cited, she used a phrase about herself that struck a chord in me: “naive optimism.”

The optimism part was straightforward.  Basic personality matters when it comes to nonprofit leadership.  People who see the world as “glass half empty” tend not to perform as well in Executive Director roles as those who see it as “glass half full.” 

People whose instinct is to ask: “how do we get this done?” tend to perform better than those who instinctively think of all the reasons a program or project will fail.

Of course, people who are pessimistic and focused on what could go wrong play a really important role within nonprofits in keeping teams grounded, helping avoid problems, etc.  They make awesome chief fiscal officers.  But usually not Executive Director.

But what about the word “naive?”  Why does it matter in this context?

The key insight is that some people have been “educated” by seeing or being told about failure in all its myriad of forms.  And as their naivety is hammered out of them, they become more likely to inappropriately second-guess themself and they can become paralyzed by indecision and excess caution.  

“Naive optimism” is that lucky place some leaders find themselves in where they’re inherently optimistic and they haven’t yet “learned” something can’t be done.  So they go out and do it – often by leading a team.   

As I reflect, I can think of a dozen Executive Directors (mostly younger) who really shined in their roles because they combined strong leadership skills with “naive optimism.”  

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Strategic Planning and the board-ED relationship

November 25, 2020

Filed under: Board Development,Leadership,Strategic Planning — jonathanpoisner @ 10:53 am

I recently wrote an article for Blue Avocado on the board-Executive Director relationship.

When I talk to nonprofit leaders about strategic planning, they often voice some of the obvious benefits of aligning teams around organizational identity (mission, vision) and organizational priorities (goals).  In contrast, they rarely voice a benefit I think is undervalued: the opportunity strategic planning presents for a board and executive director to strengthen their relationship. 

Strategic planning can be a relationship-building tool from the perspective of three A’s: Aspirations, Alignment, and Accountability.

Read the full article on Blue Avocado  

ED & Board Chair
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Holding up the wall

October 1, 2020

Filed under: Human Resources,Leadership — jonathanpoisner @ 1:48 pm

As a nonprofit Executive Director, do you ever feel like if you walk away, things will crumble?

I felt this occasionally as an Executive Director, particularly in my first few years.

Strategies I employed to get beyond this feeling:

  1. Take deep breadths
  2. Look back at my to-do lists and short-term plans, break them down in chunks, and think hard about what else can be either delegated or pushed off/let go.
  3. Map out my major yearly, quarterly, and monthly tasks. Figure out which ones can be delegated. If to nobody right away, figure out how somebody can eventually take over those tasks. (Of course, for some, the answer is nobody because they’re inherent to the E.D. role).
  4. If appropriate after #2 and #3, ask for help. Be candid with your board chair or, if that would be awkward, somebody else who you can confide in who will grasp the picture. Sometimes just talking about it’s enough to recognize you’re probably not actually holding up the wall.

What strategies have you used when you have this feeling? I’m looking for other ideas to share!

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Overcoming fear

September 23, 2020

Filed under: Board Development,Fundraising — jonathanpoisner @ 10:28 am

For many of those responsible for securing major gifts for their organization, it’s one thing to know in theory what should take place when meeting with a donor.  It’s another thing to overcome their “fear” or “discomfort” that gets in the way of asking.  This is true both in-person and virtually.

In my experience there are five primary fears – three that are openly acknowledged and two that are more under the surface.

Commonly stated fears:

1.            Fear of harming relationships

2.            Fear of receiving reciprocal asks

3.            Fear of looking foolish/don’t know what to say.

Common unstated fears:

4.            Fear of rejection

5.            Money as a taboo topic

Each are worthy of discussion.

Fear 1:  Damaging relationships

For some fundraisers, relationships are like a cup of water and asking for a donation is like withdrawing water from the cup.  In reality, meetings done properly should add “water” to the relationship, even if they say no. 

This is because:

  • They will learn your story and you will learn theirs.
  • You will have shared with them something you care about, making the relationship more authentic.
  • They will most likely respect you for having the courage to make the “ask” (since most people who haven’t done it much fear fundraising).
  • They will often feel flattered that you felt they were the type of person who’d make a major gift.

Of course, if meetings are mishandled – heavy handed, language around guilt used, no effort made to listen to them, etc. – these benefits might not accrue.   If the only time you ever speak to someone is when you ask, relationships could fray.

The good news: avoiding those downsides is entirely in the control of a well-trained major donor fundraiser.

Fear 2:  Reciprocal Asks

Some of those I train, particularly board members, worry that if they ask friends for a donation, the friends will turn around and make a reciprocal request.

This is a relatively small risk.  The universe of those who fundraise is vastly smaller than the universe who give, so the odds start out low that those you’re asking have some other organization for which they will be raising funds.

Beyond this small risk, two other factors mitigate against it.  First, you’re not obligated to say yes if the cause they pitch to you isn’t a priority for you.  You do have an obligation to be authentic – to say no to a request that doesn’t match your values or priorities.  I’ve had to do this a few times over the years and I’ve never felt damage to a relationship because I was able to frame my “no” in a respectful manner.  

Indeed, in a few instances I very much appreciated the reciprocal ask as they introduced me to organizations doing great work.  To that extent, one could just as easily see reciprocal asks as an opportunity rather than something to fear.

Fear 3:  Looking Foolish

Nobody likes to do something where they feel inadequate and may appear foolish or incompetent.  Having talked with many board members, I’m convinced this fear is both overblown and straightforward to address when it comes to donor meetings.

For starters, there are many resources available to boards (and staff) to develop basic skills for fundraising.  When you combine training with some degree of ongoing support/coaching, pretty much everybody who would otherwise be an appropriate board member should be able to avoid looking foolish while fundraising.

Board members should also understand that those asked do not hold board members to the same standards they would staff.  The value of board members as fundraisers is from sharing passion, not expertise.  And for both board and staff, it’s always acceptable to tell a donor “I’ll get back to you” if they ask a question you’re not equipped to immediately answer.

In the end, adequate training and support should be able to get all board members (and staff) to the point they should be able to make an effective ask while coming across positively.

Fear 4:  Rejection

Major donor fundraisers will feel rejection.  Prospects will say “no.”  As much as half of the time.  Indeed, a useful maxim is that if nobody is saying “no” to you it means you’re not asking enough people for money.

Some techniques that have helped other fundraisers get past this fear:

  • Recalibrate in your mind what is meant by success.  Don’t judge yourself by school standards (90% = an A, 80% = a B, etc.).  Judge yourself by major donor fundraiser standards (anything better than 50% yes is pretty darn good).
  • Recognize that most “no’s” are really “yes” to something else.  You may be “selling” “racial justice,” while they’re prioritizing “climate change.”  Or they may be prioritizing personal/family needs at this point in their lives.  It will be an exceptionally rare circumstance where someone will say “no” to you while saying they’re going to invest in something you actively oppose.
  • Recognize that many of those who say “no” are really saying “not now.”  They may have already given away all they can during the period in time, but perhaps you’ve set them up for a big gift next year.
  • Recognize that other positive outcomes can come from meetings where those solicited say no, such as volunteering, new ideas, more knowledge of other things in your community, and/or leads/referrals to other prospects.    

Fear 5:  Social taboos around money

Lastly, some fear of fundraising actually stems from a more generalized social taboo around money that exists in American society.  It’s generally considered rude to ask people how much they make for a living.  Or to talk too much about money.  So asking for a donation is bringing money into the conversation in a way that makes us uneasy.

There is no magic formula for overcoming this taboo other than practice.  From talking to a lot of fundraisers over the years, those who make a series of asks almost always get past this taboo rather quickly if the asks are done properly.

Getting above the passion versus fear line

I’ve separately blogged about the passion versus fear line.

Imagine two intersecting lines.  One horizontal line is “fear of fundraising.”  Another line running from the lower left to upper right is “passion for the mission.”  When fear of fundraising exceeds passion for the mission, fundraising doesn’t take place.  When passion for the mission exceeds fear of fundraising, it does. 

The techniques discussed above are all aimed at lowering the “fear of fundraising” line.  A separate way of overcoming fear is to raise the “passion for the mission” line.  The more excited board members and staff are about what the organization can and needs to accomplish, the more likely they are to push through their fear and fundraise.  After all, people do things they’re afraid of all the time – if they want the outcome badly enough.

So take time with your boards in particular to keep them jazzed about the mission.  If your board meetings are dry affairs focused just on finances, that can be deadly to fundraising because a board member who’s bored with your organization is unlikely to step out of their comfort zone. 

Feedback for me

Have you encountered fundraising fears I didn’t mention. If so, I’d love to hear from you.

Or if you have additional techniques you’ve used to address fear, please do share them with everyone.

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The board and nonprofit branding

September 18, 2020

Filed under: Board Development,Communications,Volunteers — jonathanpoisner @ 10:49 am

A friend serving on the board of a local nonprofit recently asked me:

” I have a question about the process of rebranding for a nonprofit. Is it your experience that the board is involved in the design committee? And/or how about needing to vote on and approve the new brand before it’s rolled out?  Our board board is having a discussion about this so I want some expert insights.”

I think this will vary wildly based on the size of the organization and expertise of the board and staff.

It also depends on what is meant by the umbrella term “branding.”

Some think of it very narrowly (e.g. logo and organizational name).

Others think of it more broadly (e.g. logo/name/color pallette/fonts/style sheets).

I tend to think of it still more broadly as encompassing your desired identity (e.g. what you want your constituents and the public to think of when they hear your organizational name and see your materials). For example, a nonprofit I’ve advised recently did a branding exercise that concluded they wanted people to think of “science”, “legacy”, and “thriving” as the three words they most associate with the nonprofit.

In terms of board approval, I’d expect a board vote on a name change.

But everything else it really depends on the size of the organization’s staff and board, and the relative expertise of board and staff. More times than not, I think this probably means the board doesn’t vote — with some exceptions — in part because the board has so many other clear responsibilities that they struggle to find time to meet and vote on.

In terms of board involvement for developing a proposed new branding, I think it again depends on the circumstances.

If the branding is a broader question about organizational identity (e.g. what the brand is trying to convey and not just questions of how to convey it), then I’d certainly expect the board to be consulted for their input.  Whether that’s via a committee or interviews or online survey or focus group or some other method doesn’t really matter. 

If it’s more about how to convey the brand identity (e.g. what color scheme to use), I would not expect board involvement in that. The exception: really small organizations where (a) the board is in part playing a management role because staff doesn’t have the bandwidth to do all desired staff functions, and (b) one or more board members has relevant expertise.

But this is the important thing: if one or more board members are brought into the process because of their expertise on branding, I’d view them as participating as an expert volunteer, not in their board capacity.  When board members volunteer for something other than a board governance responsibility, they’re just another volunteer for that activity.

Has your organization been through branding? What role did your board play in these decisions? Please let me know in the comments!

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Tips for Virtual Donor Meetings

August 11, 2020

Filed under: Fundraising — jonathanpoisner @ 4:33 pm

Donor Meetings in a Pandemic

Previously, I’ve blogged about Donor Stewardship Amidst a Pandemic.

Of course, stewardship of donors only matters if you eventually solicit them.  And the gold standard for solicitation of major donors has historically been the one-on-one in-person meeting.

Given the pandemic is continuing – and in all likelihood will remain uncontrolled until we have new leadership in DC that takes science seriously and is willing to make tough decisions – nonprofits who wish to solicit their major donors must move on from the gold standard and continue to solicit major gifts.

So let’s talk about “virtual” donor visits as something more than a phone call and less than in-person.

How do you get them?  And how are they different from in-person?

How do you get them?

You get them the same way you would an in-person meeting.  By picking up the phone and calling to request it.  Sure, you can email/text an attempt first.  But in my experience, it’s easy for them to give a quick “no” to an email/text, while a phone call is more likely to yield a “yes” in response to a meeting request.

It may seem weird doing a short phone call to schedule a video meeting, but I’ve done it. 

Start the call by thanking them.  For past donations.  For past volunteering.  For something else they’ve done in the community.

Be passionate/upbeat, but not scarily so in light of the pandemic.  You want them to want to spend time with you and people, in general, want to bask in the passion of those who’ve excited about something. 

Make clear you’re looking for their input and to see how they can help. 

Some potential language to use: “I’m trying to stay connected with our donors and it really helps me to have face to face communications.  Would you be open to doing a zoom or google hangout with me next Thursday to learn about what we’re up to, give us feedback, and figure out if now’s a good time for you to support the work?”

Based on what you know about the donor, you could pitch this as a virtual coffee or a virtual happy hour (if aimed at the late afternoon and you think that would appeal to the prospect).

Notice the suggested language is to ask for a specific date.  Use the “assumption of yes” to focus their attention on when to meet, not whether to meet.  Sure, they may still decline, but they’re less likely to do so.

The good news: in general, the pandemic has allowed for most people to have more time available and more flexibility than prior to the pandemic – with the exception of parents with school aged kids, who’re often busier.    

Be prepared to re-ask if they initially decline to schedule a meeting.  If they ask you to mail them something, you can say: “I’d be happy to mail you something.  But I’d really appreciate the chance to talk in more depth.  It’s really important for me to speak with potential supporters to get feedback on what we’re doing.  Can you make a little time on [DATE]?”

If they say they’re already planning on giving and it would be a waste of your time, say: “Thanks, but in no way would it be a waste of my time.  Meeting our supporters is one of the things that keeps me excited about being involved with ORGANIZATION.  We’re at a critical juncture and we think it’s important to talk with our supporters as we enlist your renewed support.  Can you make a little time on [DATE]?”

Assuming you get to yes, ask: “While we can do this as a phone meeting, I much prefer to do a zoom or google video call.  Does one of those options work for you?” (The percentage of people who’re familiar with at least one of those services is now very high).

Then send them a follow-up email or text confirming the appointment and including the link for the meeting.  Or just with a time/date for a phone call if that’s all they commit to doing.

What about the meeting itself?

A virtual donor meeting should generally follow the same outline I recommend for in-person. 

  • Chit chat; relationship-building. 
  • Tell your story
  • Get their story/get to know them.
  • Three stories:
    • Why the organization exists
    • Why the organization is successful
    • What’s urgent now
  • The ask
  • Re-solicitation/follow-up as necessary
  • Thanks and referral requests

So what’s different about doing it virtually during the pandemic?  Not a lot; but a few things come to mind:

1. The chit chat should start with some expression of care/concern given the pandemic and a check-in regarding whether they and their family have been able to stay safe.  This could very well lead to a side conversation that lasts a few minutes, but it’s important to treat your prospects as human beings and not checkbooks.

2. It’s always important to keep these meetings interactive and not monologues, but this is particularly important in a zoom meeting.  You need to keep this a conversation, bearing in mind that the virtual context may mean slight pauses since not everyone’s internet is equally speedy. 

3. Consider turning either the Why we Exist or Why we’re Successful stories into a 2-3 minute slide show where you screen share.  This is something you can’t easily do in an in-person meeting, but online you have an opportunity to do so if you have some great visuals.  But 2-3 minutes is tops.  Just 2-5 slides to help illustrate your story. 

4. The urgency story needs to take COVID into account, either in addressing what you’re most focused on your specific funding needs for the next 6 months.  It would be weird not to acknowledge the impact the pandemic has had on your finances.  Or if it hasn’t, to acknowledge tat it could. 

If that’s the meeting substance, what about everything else that surrounds the substance.  Here’s some basic tips:

  1. Send a reminder email/text with the log-on info the day before. 
  2. Log on 5 minutes early to make sure everything’s working.
  3. Make sure you have adequate light for the time of day. 
  4. Have the background be professional, but it’s okay if there’s a personal touch.   I’m not a fan of the zoom backgrounds that make you look like you’re somewhere you’re not. 
  5. Dress professionally or semi-professionally, appropriate for the donor in question based on what you know about them. 
  6. Before doing any of these, test out your sound ahead of time with a friend.  If the sound is good without a headset, don’t use one.  But if the sound is appreciably better with one, then do use one.  This will vary based on the quality of your laptop’s built in microphone.
  7. Have water handy in case you get dry mouth and need to drink something.  Or, as noted above, you could make coffee or some other libation a theme of the meeting that comes up in the chit chat. 
  8. Try to talk looking at the camera and not your own face on your screen.  This means knowing where the camera is on your computer/tablet. 
  9. Don’t freak out if you have kids or a spouse or a pet that interrupts the call.  It will just make you seem more human.
  10. Be prepared with a plan B should the technology fail – e.g. if one of you can’t connect online, plan on giving them a phone call during the same time.

Have you done any online donor meetings?  If so, what’s worked well and not well.  I’d love examples and feedback on my advice.

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The passion versus fear equation

July 16, 2020

Filed under: Board Development,Fundraising — jonathanpoisner @ 3:54 pm

When training boards (and sometimes staff) on fundraising, I often refer to the passion versus fear equation or line.

Often, I’m asked to help a board get past their fear of fundraising. There are tools to address their fear.

But there’s another side to the equation: passion.

Imagine two intersecting lines. One is fear of fundraising. The other running from the lower left to upper right is passion for the mission.

My maxim: when a board member’s passion for the mission exceeds their discomfort/fear about fundraising, they will raise money.

Lowering the blue line (e.g. their level of fear) is one way to make that happen.

But the other is to increase their passion so they’re further to the right on the orange line and thus more likely to have their passion exceed their fear.

After all, people do things they’re scared of all the time if their desire is strong enough. How many of us remember how fearful they were the first time they asked someone out on a date!

So how do you increase a board’s level of passion for the mission:

  • Make sure board meetings aren’t entirely dry affairs focused on finances.
  • Find opportunities to have the board members experience the positive benefits the organization is generating. That could be meeting people who’ve been served, experiencing a location saved, etc.
  • Make this collective: do an exercise where board members share their “personal story” of why they’re involved. They will feed on each other’s passion — not just their own.
  • Create a sense of teamwork and camaraderie: to the extent they are passionate for their fellow board members, that will also count.

None of this discounts the importance of training as a tool to help board members past their fear. But don’t forget the passion side of the equation.

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Pick up the frickin’ phone

June 8, 2020

Filed under: Board Development,Leadership — jonathanpoisner @ 11:41 am

I was recently talking with a fellow consultant about disengaged boards and, in particular, Executive Directors complaining about disengaged boards.

We quickly agreed on one point in particular: many Executive Directors share some of the blame for their disengaged boards because they don’t pick up the frickin’ phone.

They rely upon board meetings and/or emails to communicate with their board. In their over-reliance on board meetings and email, they never engage in meaningful one-on-one conversations with the board to get to know them, to share personal stories, and to make specific requests when appropriate.

So if you’re an Executive Director facing a disengaged board, your first task is simple: schedule a half hour phone call with every board member. You don’t need an excuse for this. Just do it. And if they don’t respond to an email requesting a phone call, just call!

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Donor stewardship amidst a pandemic

June 4, 2020

Filed under: Fundraising,Volunteers — jonathanpoisner @ 4:17 pm

I’ve been thinking a lot about effective donor stewardship in the midst of a pandemic.

Some strategies that traditionally are used for donor stewardship aren’t feasible during social distancing.

For starters, you’re probably not taking out donors to coffee or lunch to brief them on your work.

And you’re not hosting big gatherings where you can mix & mingle with your donors.

But while the tactics might change, the fundamentals of donor stewardship don’t.  So it’s worthwhile to start with some basic principles and then flesh out a pandemic donor stewardship plan accordingly.

In my mind, effective donor stewardship is a three-legged stool.

Leg 1: Helping donors better understand the work you do and its importance/impact.

Leg 2: Making donors feel appreciated by the organization as an individual, not a checkbook.

Leg 3: Strengthening personal relationships between the donor and organizational leaders.

When thinking about potential stewardship tactics, you should only use tactics that accomplish at least one of these outcomes, and preferably at least two.

So what potential cultivation tools can you use with the limits of social distancing?

For starters, general communications can continue, whether via email or postal mail, updating donors on the work of the organization.  The annual report, for example.  Or a twice-per year update to organizational insiders, with hand-written notes as appropriate.

In addition, you can still provide opportunities for top supporters to engage in the work.  Some types of volunteer activities are no longer possible. But you can still ask people to take actions online, respond to surveys, or otherwise spread the word about your organization’s work.

And for your top donors, you can still think about more personalized donor stewardship tools that could work with individuals, couples, or small groups.

Creative examples I’ve seen so far from my network:

  • Beyond requests for meetings via zoom (or a similar platform) as a replacement for a coffee/lunch, consider a Zoom “fireside” chat with organizational leaders or experts and a limited attendance – no more than 10 people. (Okay – fireside may not make sense in the summer, but you get the idea).
  • Set google news alerts for your top 30 donors and send emails acknowledging them if and when they are in the news.
  • Try to match a top donor’s expertise with an organizational need and ask them for some very targeted volunteer assistance.  If a top donor is a lawyer, is there a legal issue with which they can be asked to help?  If they are a marketing expert, are you looking for input prior to creating an updated website or refresh of your brand?   Don’t create work that won’t actually help you, but if it will help, asking a top donor to help can both help you advance the ball and build the donor’s commitment to your organization — even if they decline to volunteer!
  • Can’t invite a donor on an in-person tour of your facility (for organizations that have facilities). Consider doing a video tour instead.  Pretty much every phone is capable of playing this role if you practice.  
  • Send extra handwritten thank you notes to your top donors telling them how much you appreciate the support they’ve provided.
  • Invite a donor to go on a socially distant “walk” if you live somewhere this is appropriate.  Just tell the donor that you’re looking to update donors about the challenges and opportunities facing your organization and you’re hoping to combine that with walks in parks or natural areas, so long as you suggest a location where it would be relatively easy to maintain a distance of 6 feet between you.

In the end, I think the pandemic actually creates an opportunity for nimble organizations who’re able to think beyond the box to explore new stewardship tactics that could strike a chord with donors because of the novelty.

If you have other ideas on effective donor stewardship during the pandemic, please share them using the comments below.

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Planning and Management Amidst a Pandemic

April 28, 2020

Filed under: Fundraising,Human Resources,Leadership,Strategic Planning — jonathanpoisner @ 1:42 pm

I’ve worked with quite a few clients over the last few years developing strategic plans.   A few have called me and asked: what now in light of the pandemic?

I always start with the question: has the lay of the land materially changed in a way that renders key strategies unworkable and/or goals unobtainable? 

Every time the answer has been “yes.”  Usually, it’s because they fear (accurately I assume at this point) that their plans hinged on fundraising that will not materialize in light of the pandemic.  Other times, the change to the lay of the land isn’t about money, but rather the fact that their programmatic work depends heavily on in-person forms of outreach or other work that has become impossible.

Here’s four pieces of advice I’ve given Executive Directors and Board Chairs who find themselves in either or both of these predicaments.

1. Hug your donors, just not literally.

Any reasonable fundraising strategy involves a combination of maintaining and upgrading existing donors (both individual and institutional), while also seeking new ones.  During the immediate health crisis and the economic fallout, organizations are going to have more success with their existing donor base as compared to attracting new donors.    

That means using multiple avenues to communicate with them (e.g. email, phone, online briefings, etc.).   And for those donors who love you the most, be really candid with them about where things stand for you.  They are the most likely to dig deeper to help you get through the crisis.

2. Don’t forget to plan

There may be a temptation in a crisis to mistake activity for productivity.   It may feel “good” to get really busy, but it’s critical that you focus on the right things.  That means reevaluating your goals (the ends you’re trying to achieve) and your strategies (the major types of activities you’re undertaking to achieve your goals).  What priorities have shifted?  What strategies are no longer tenable and what can replace them?   

I recently facilitated a team meeting planning for a 2021 grant and we had a robust conversation about the ways in which the world will look different and what that means for their programs.  We touched on everything from changes to volunteerism, to how people engage politically, to whom people are willing to talk.  They may not have accurately predicted all these shifts, but it’s far better to have the conversation than to just plunge forward without thinking.

3. Don’t throw out the whole past plan

Some people are tempted to just throw out their strategic plan and start from scratch.  There may be a few organizations for whom that may make sense.  But for most, if your plan was solid before, ask yourself:  do you just implement the same plan just over a longer time period, assuming everything takes longer?  Or have the fundamentals changed such that some of the goals or strategies needed to change? 

In most cases, starting with the old plan and editing it makes more sense than a blank slate.

4. Give your staff (and yourself) time and space to grieve and experiment

Your staff are your most precious resource and it’s important to recognize that they need special handling in this environment.  Beyond the obvious shift many organizations have to go through of suddenly managing an employee working remotely, staff are likely to feel agitated, upset, uncertain, etc. 

While not everyone has experienced the loss of a loved one or even someone they know, there is a degree to which nearly everyone is mourning the loss of the world as we knew it.  You should find ways to give people the space to share their feelings and concerns, even if that costs you time and productivity.

The flip side is that the new context for some people provides a burst of creativity.  I’ve seen this first-hand with another one of my clients where a staff person came forward with some really interesting and implementable ideas for taking real-world activities into the virtual world, with some potential amplifying affects for the group’s ability to communicate – at least in theory.   As a manger, it’s imperative that you keep an open mind towards new ideas that are worth an experiment.

Have you had some experience managing or planning amidst the pandemic you’d like to share? I’d welcome additional thoughts or experiences.

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