Note from John.  As most of you know, brevity is not one of my” long-suits”.  Especially when I get wound up.   I am wound up right now about the idea and value in creating more effective and more forward-thinking nonprofit organizations.  How do we intentionally craft organizations that can effectively and remarkably create positive impact for their communities in tangible ways?  What is the secret of organizations that inspire people to want to get involved?   

I have been engaged with and intimately involved with several different nonprofit organizations at the local, state, and national level in the disability arena now for over twenty years. In that time, one of the skills I’ve developed and am most proud of, is the ability to help the organizations I’ve been involved with to look at and focus on “the big picture”.  It is so important to be able to step back, and to consider broad implications of our work.

No false modesty …. I’m a pretty good storyteller, and telling stories is something that really lights me up inside.   I believe that I have a talent for telling stories from a place of authenticity. Many have told me through the years how much they have enjoyed or been impacted by stories I’ve told at a speaking engagement, or through a column or blog piece I’ve written.

The following long piece is something I started writing a long while back. My original motivation in writing it was to help myself think about the power of telling a better story, and to unpack (for myself) how doing so can benefit some of the organizations that are dear to me.  

At some point during the writing though, I thought that it might find resonance with some of my many friends and colleagues who also work or volunteer with nonprofits around the country.  A few years ago now, I sent a scaled-down version of this out to a group of friends I had connected with in “the work” in the autism and greater disability community.  I got some good feedback then.    But the piece got set aside and largely forgotten.  

Now, upon rediscovering and re-working this piece a bit, I find that I still believe in my heart in what I wrote back then.  Perhaps I believe it even more so here at the end 2018.  Maybe that’s because I talk about the extraordinary value of authenticity, and authenticity is so seldom found in the news out of Washington these days.

But the point is this:  If you give of yourself … your time, your passion, your energy … to a cause or an organization that matters to you, I hope this piece helps you think about your own stories and how effective you are at telling them.  Telling our stories and keeping knowledge of “the work” out there in the public view is important.   It is important, both for the sake of your own personal clarity and sense of purpose, and for the sake of the organizations and causes you love to serve.

I’m sending this out again relatively far and wide.  I’m going to publish it to my blog, “The Very Stuff”, and I’m going to link to it on Social Media.  I hope you find what I’ve written useful.  Or at least, I hope you find it mildly entertaining (if only at the expense of thinking me a bit odd for caring about such things.)

If not…. there’s always that delete key or the scroll wheel.      

Stay in touch. –   John

Your Service

If you’re receiving this missive from me via email, it’s because you have some connection to one or more non-profit organizations that I’ve encountered in my own advocacy journey.  I hope you know how greatly your contribution is needed and appreciated, no matter how it is that you serve.   In all likelihood, your service adds great value to those organizations with which you are affiliated.

Now more than ever, our non-profit communities need committed people who are effective at bringing their knowledge, talents, energies, time, connections, and resources to bear on the organizations they serve.   Not just effective … but passionate, driven, and on-fire for the cause.

Never doubt this: Your service, given in a spirit of generosity and love is priceless.

However, you owe it to yourself (and to the group or groups where you serve) to see that you are giving your service effectively.  Have you given much thought lately to how you view role in your organization?  How is it that YOU add value to your grassroots non-profit organization or agency?  What part do YOU personally play in helping to create and sustain an organization that is inspiring, challenging, and fulfilling in the hearts and lives of your stakeholders?   In our non-profit world, the BEST organizations are the ones that touch lives and compel others to want to get involved.  Are you part of THAT mission?

We don’t often enough think about our individual role (or roles) as a board member, staffer, volunteer, or active supporter in these terms.  In terms of the “inner work” of being … as Thomas the Tank Engine says, “a really useful engine.”   We do what we do and give what we can of our time, energies, talents, etc., for many reasons.   Maybe it’s because it just feels good to “help” …. that is to say, in some way it satisfies our need to “contribute” or give back.  Perhaps it is because we feel we uniquely have a particular something to offer. Whatever the reasons, I hope the service you give is fulfilling to you in ways that are meaningful to you and your own sense of subjective well-being.  And if you’re a paid staffer, I STILL earnestly hope that you view what you do as an act of service.  Because, let’s face it, NOBODY enters the non-profit sector to get rich.   So the “inner” rewards are a real part of your compensation for the work.   The work.  Let’s talk about that for a minute …

“The Work”

Our organizations, if they are successful, will come to be known as a place of refuge and belonging and a source of community for those whom we serve.  If we have done our job well, those who find their way to us will have found a home that is at once inspiring, challenging, and fulfilling.  It’s a valid way to think about the work.

Said another way, we are in the business of changing lives.  Think about that for a minute: “The business of changing lives”.  Isn’t that really the most salient and valuable measure of our success?   I’d go a step further, and say that it may be the ONLY measure that truly counts.

Gut check time:  Is your organization changing lives?  Are YOU an integral part of that aspect of the work?    If your group were to cease to exist tomorrow, how deeply would it matter to your constituents or members?  How many people would truly mourn the loss of your presence?

Does your organization pass the “So what?” test?  You’re there and you stay busy.  Very busy.  So what?

Nobody strives for “average”.  Nobody aspires to be mediocre.   No, we want to be, we need to be remarkable.   We earnestly crave remarkable work.  Work we can be and are proud of.  Work that, yes, changes lives.

Hopefully, the answer is that your organization passes the “So what? “ test without question.  Hopefully a PART of that affirmative answer is that you yourself are a part of what “matters” most in your organization.   (If either of those things is not true, there are some immediate steps you can take to begin to address those challenges, and some of those steps will be the subject of a future message.)

Have you ever thought about this question before?  What IF your organization had to shut down and lock the doors?    What would that mean for your community?

In my very first board meeting with what was then known as the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee, back in 1998, the treasurer gave this gloomy report.

“We have just a little over $10,000 in the bank.  We have rent, we have our share of utilities here at the co-op, and we have paychecks to write for three part-time employees, printing and mailing of the bi-monthly newsletter, and some other miscellaneous expenses.  We have no outstanding grant applications that we’re hopeful of receiving soon, no major fund-raisers planned, and few prospects for any significant income in the very short-term future. We get a few spontaneous and unexpected donations, but not enough to sustain us. If something doesn’t change, we will burn through that bank account before we know what happened.  So, we need to start thinking about how we will “shut it all down” if it comes to that.  What are the essential parts of what we do?  What are the first things we should jettison, and what is the last thing we would hold on to?”

That was a sobering message, no?  Welcome to the Board of Directors!

But it did two things.  First, it forced us to think about our mission and our values.  To decide who we wanted to be, and how to get there and stay there.    Secondly, it served as a needed “kick in the pants” to get out there and refocus on doing “The Work”.

For the record, what we decided was the most important aspect of our work was the fact that our organization was a “lifeline” for families reeling from news of a new diagnosis of autism for their child.  We were the voice on the phone that provided a compassionate shoulder, and that knowledgeable friend with answers and information about resources (formal and informal) that those families needed.  We were there to BE their community, their newfound home-base.   And, no matter what it took, THAT aspect of our mission could NEVER go away.

I’m very proud to say that it never has.  Within a couple years, I was president of that organization, and functioned (somewhat inexpertly) as a de-facto Executive Director until such time as we could hire one.   By the time I left the board of that organization several years later, it was on firm footing financially, and that same business … the business of “Changing Lives” … was still our number one focus.  Today, Autism Tennessee (as the organization re-branded) is still thriving.   Not so much because of anything I did during my tenure there, but because as a group …even though the “players” changed quite a bit through the years … the organization never lost sight of the power of that core mission.   It was a collective work of love.

As for me personally, I got very good at telling that story, as did many of my fellow board members and our amazing staff.  The story of how and why we passed the “So What” test.  The story of changed lives.  The story of how we lived out our values for the good of the community and those we served.  We got good at it because we had to.

When I was asked to be on the Board of Directors of the Autism Society of America, it was my great privilege to work closely with chapters all around the country and to help the leadership of those local chapters learn to focus on their own mission, and to tell their own stories.  I made lifelong friends during my time there.  It was vital and thrilling work, and I was good at it.  I was really good at it.  There were parts of it that were difficult, but the important work of helping local leaders feel valued, feel empowered, and helping them to learn to be better at what they themselves needed to do in their own communities … that was important work and I loved it.  I was good at it precisely because of my experience and hard work in our own local organization.

I want to be really clear here:  I’d say that working diligently on reaching down within myself to excavate and to tell that story … and many of the other collateral stories about what it means to be a parent to a child with a significant disability, to find community, and to live a life of joy (or at least, more joy than heartache) for you and your family … THAT work is the best and most meaningful and most impactful journey I’ve ever been on.   I wrote a bi-monthly column for many years and always felt a bit wrung out like a limp dishrag after the writing.  I’ve been called on to speak at conferences and workshops and and retreats on everything from being the dad of a kid with autism to how to build and nurture a struggling nonprofit organization.  From what it means to be a leader to how to avoid burnout.  From how to effect change through the legislative process, to how difficult sometimes the journey for grandparents and extended family can be.

I love this work.  I mean, I really LOVE it.

At times,  I have told stories about things that were difficult for me, or for Janet or for the two of us.   I have told stories about monumental challenges that Evan has faced, or that his siblings have struggled with.  I have told stories about victories or joys that show the love that wraps all we do and brings us peace and comfort.

Laying these things bare into the world has at times been extraordinarily difficult.  But I have always done so with intention, eyes wide open. However, knowing that the authenticity I have always tried to bring to that work has been beneficial to others is extremely rewarding.

When I was named as one of the finalists for “Nashville Nonprofit Board Member of the Year” by the Center for Nonprofit Management several years ago it was truly an honor.  But it was also a bit of a shock, because truthfully, I didn’t feel like I’d done all that much of value. (I chalk it up to a dynamite nominating letter!   –  Thanks Lynnette and Amanda) 

Unlike the fellow who won the award that year, I hadn’t brought millions of dollars into the organization.  I hadn’t saved babies in Haiti and the jungles of Africa from certain death.  All I ever tried to do was tell my stories and connect authentically with people who I felt could glean some value from knowing that, yes, there are other people out here that feel the same way you do …. people who struggle sometimes just to see and experience the abundant joy around us.

I have zero regrets in the knowledge that I will be on this journey the rest of my life.  As any other parent of a child with a significant disability will tell you, we’re in it for the long haul.  Helping your loved-one with a disability find their sense of subjective well-being, and finding that sense for ourselves, is the journey of a lifetime … and the rewards are beyond anything I could hope to describe with words.

I have moved on to be a part of The Arc Tennessee family now, and am currently on that Board of Directors as Past President.   It is such a wonderful organization, and I am truly honored to be a part of the work.  I love my friends that I have made at each stop and each step along the way, and hope I can bring passion and energy and authenticity to bear for the good of the community.   For what it’s worth, I think it is the thing I do best.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”  – Maya Angelou

I’ve rambled a little far from the path here … so let me get back to the implications of “story” and how we choose to serve the “organization” …. the struggle for sustainability never goes away.  Funding and running and growing a viable small nonprofit is a HUGE challenge.  Making that nonprofit organization truly relevant to the broader community is a bigger challenge still.

Resource Crunch

In these difficult economic times, the threat of “ceasing to exist” for many small non-profits is all too real.  There’s not a leadership team for any organization out there who, if they are honest, isn’t feeling the crunch of increased competition for a dwindling pool of available resources. Foundations and grant-making groups are cutting back on the size and number of available grants.  Corporate sponsors and partnerships are harder to find and maintain.  Attracting and maintaining high attendance and engagement at fundraising events is more difficult than ever.

Individuals of extraordinary means who have traditionally given generously and philanthropically are now more cautious than ever and more selective with their gifts and with which projects they choose to sponsor. Even if they are still giving generously, they exercise more care in making sure that their dollars go to those places where they can have maximum impact.   And the more common giver, those who have reliably given those $10, $20, $50, or $100 gifts are now giving at less than their previous levels.

Therefore our need is greater than ever to be not only convincing, but to also be truly compelling while pleading our case for support.  Do we “tell our story” in such a way as to move people’s hearts and minds, and to move or inspire them to action and support?

Certainly we need to “tell the story” through high quality collateral materials.  That is to say, yes, it is important that we tell our story well through our web sites, our literature, our marketing & PR materials, etc.    But to put too much focus on such things is to miss the point.   No, even more importantly, we each need to remember that every time we talk about our organizations, every time we mention it in casual conversation, or speak of “the work” …. we have an opportunity to tell the story.   And we must be telling the story effectively.  It is important for each of us to tell the story well, personally and authentically because few large gifts (if any) will ever come in to your organization unsolicited, based solely on the strength of your website or brochures.

Telling the Story

Becoming more comfortable and proficient at “telling our story” is a big part of creating the kinds of highly effective organizations we want and need.  Are you a good storyteller?  Well, are you?   Think about that question.

The great teachers and spiritual leaders throughout history were all storytellers. Every single one.  For many of them, their stories (or parables or fables or whatever they’re called) are the very thing that defines their presence among us.

Many of the public leaders we have elected … the ones we remember and revere … are the ones who could illustrate principles and inspire us with stories.  As a society, many of our most recognizable and powerful stories are those that have ancient roots and have passed down from generation to generation.  Stories are memorable.  Stories inspire. Stories move people to action. Stories generate buy-in.  When we tell a good story, it connects us personally and viscerally with our hearers. More importantly, it connects THEM with our cause. It causes them to identify powerfully with the things that are important to us.   In short, stories MATTER.  They matter a lot.

Some of you may be fans of the old Andy Griffith show.  If so, you probably remember one of the early episodes where a very young Opie and his friends come bursting into Andy’s sheriff’s office, complaining about their awful new teacher, “Old Lady Crump”.  It seems she has the audacity to want them to spend time doing homework in HISTORY!!!   Ick.     At first Andy says some things to Opie and boys that the kids twist around, mistakenly supposing he things learning history is useless.  This ends up fueling their fire to defy their new teacher.   Of course, Miss Crump comes to the sheriff’s office to meet this man who has undermined her authority.   After being confronted by Miss Crump, Andy makes amends in the most amazing way.  How?  He tells the boys an AMAZING story!!  A story about a bunch of farmers and shopkeepers and average folk, who when the British threatened their way of life, form a group.  The group is called …. The Minutemen!!!  Andy says they chose that name because they could be ready in a minute to defend their cause and their way of life.   And when the British decided their time was right to invade Lexington, old Paul Revere himself gets a signal by lantern from the tower of the Old North Church, and takes off on his ride, alerting the Minutemen with the cry, “The British is a comin’!!  The British is a comin’!!”    And they end up firing the “Shot Heard Round the World!!!”     Excited and engrossed in Andy’s story, Opie and his friends (and Barney too, of course!) can’t WAIT to hear what comes next.  They totally buy into and get excited about the idea of “studying history” by learning more of those stories.  Andy “closes the deal” and tells them casually that they’ll just have to read their textbooks to find out the rest of the story.   They even decide to form a club of their own, the “Mayberry Minutemen”, to learn more about this country.  All because Andy has made dry old “history facts” come alive with an amazing and personal story.    Oh yeah, Andy wins Miss Crump too.  But as they say, that’s another story.

Too simplistic??  Maybe. Maybe not.  I will maintain it’s a completely valid illustration.  Nobody is inspired when we tell our story in straight “Joe Friday” fashion … (remember Dragnet’s monotone detective? “Just the facts ma’am”)   If you want to inspire someone to learn, you DON’T toss them a textbook.  You tell them a story.  An authentic story, with enough “tug” in it to draw them in.

In the nonprofit arena, when we tell our AMAZING and MOVING stories … the stories of changed lives … we do so in part to generate buy-in. It may in all likelihood be that the MOST profoundly changed life is your own.  Through authenticity we prove that we ourselves are passionate about being part of our organizations. We build brand image, understanding, and loyalty.  And, oh yeah….  we can also change the world.  One life at a time.

In the book, “The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion Through the Art of Storytelling“,  author Annette Simmons (recommended reading) says that if you wish to truly connect with others and influence them, there are six stories you need to know how to tell.

1.   “Who I Am” Stories
2.   “Why I Am Here” Stories
3.   “The Vision” Story
4.   “Teaching” Stories
5.   “Values in Action” Stories
6.   “I Know What You’re Thinking” Stories

These six stories are appropriate for your organization.  And whether you can tell them well or not, they DO already exist.  This is an important point.  Don’t miss it.  The stories ALREADY exist.  You’re not making anything up.    It’s not only a good idea to spend some time discovering, connecting with, understanding, and learning to tell these stories and TELL THEM WELL, it truly is essential to do so.

Can you tell the story of your organization?  How did it come into being?  Why is it here in the first place? How long has it been around?  What are the stories behind your organizational vision, and how was that vision inspired originally, and how do you know that vision is true and appropriate?   What lessons have you personally learned (YOU personally!!) from your organization?  How have those lessons changed you?  What does the organization value most?  What are the stories of some of the activities that your organization’s primal values have led it to do?  How successful have those endeavors been?    What are the needs of your current (AND potential!!!) constituents, supporters, consumers, or members, and how can they have the confidence that YOU understand and are prepared to meet those needs?

If you can’t answer any of those questions with a story, it’s time to consider spending some time to formalize them.  Write them down.  Gather with other key leaders and make sure you all agree on the authenticity of the stories.  Then, when you know those stories and can tell them, consider:  How best to share those stories with your key “insiders”?  And how can you make sure all of those insiders have them ready at a moment’s notice to share with potential new stakeholders?

The idea of the “elevator speech” is a well-known tactic in sales.   You’re likely familiar with the basic idea. It goes something like this:  If you got on the elevator with a key decision-maker in the lobby, and had only the time it takes to get to the fifteenth floor to persuade them that your business was worth considering, what would you say?

Over 30 years ago, I went through IBM’s sales training boot camp in Boca Raton, a somewhat abbreviated version of the same intense training they give their “blue-suiters” … perhaps the most elite salesforce in the world.   It was brutal.  But it was invaluable in teaching about how to “read” people and how to connect with them.  There’s a reason why IBM is known as having one of the best salesforces in the business world.

In that training, they drove home the point that prospects will often make a judgement about you and your company within the first two minutes or less. We actually had to do an exercise … under the pressure of a stopwatch, and rated by our peers and the instructors … where, as trainees we had literally 90 seconds to make a compelling case to a “buyer” across the desk.   What we were selling was a highly technical manufacturing systems division product.  The challenge was to NOT try to “baffle them with bullshit”.  Rather, we had to find a compelling way to connect with them in a genuine, human, authentic way … in 90 seconds … with the goal that an invitation to a longer conversation would be offered.  To do that, you HAVE to know how to “keep it real.”

One of the most important lessons I learned from that training is that if you come in and are ready to spout “features and benefits” about your product or service, you’ve already lost.  People don’t remember that stuff.   But if you can engage them in a story, you win.   Because people don’t remember lists of “facts”, they remember narratives.  It’s just how we’re wired.   And if you can naturally weave some of those features/benefits into the narrative, they get to come along for the ride, free of charge.

Keeping it Real

IF you are telling YOUR story … that is, the story of how your organization has directly impacted your life, or why and how you personally became motivated to get involved … and IF you are telling that story from a place of authenticity, it WILL resonate with your listeners.  You must not only shoot for, but also you must achieve three things in your story:  It must be Authentic, Organic, and Real.    The average hearer has an extraordinarily well developed BS meter.   Organic means that the story is a narrative of how something unfolded naturally … it’s told in just the way the story actually happened.   Authentic means you’re not just spouting facts, you are speaking from the heart, with a mindset of wanting to connect with your hearers.  Real means…. just that.  It’s GOT to be true.  Truth matters.   How to do this?

Joseph Campbell and many others who have examined the role of storytelling as an integral part of our shared history have written about the structure of the prototypical mythic tale or “Hero’s Journey”.  It may seem a bit “over the top” to think about it this way.  However, in all likelihood, if you really work to get to the bottom of the larger story of your organization (and especially your place within that larger story), you will find it can be mapped almost perfectly onto the “Hero’s Journey”.

A worthy exercise right now is to set aside some time to think about your story, and how does it fit the outline?

• The Call.
• The Journey into the Unknown.
• The Challenge.
• Slaying the Dragon.
• The Homecoming.
• Sharing the Discovery.

Above all else, keep it real.  If it’s not, they’ll know.  More importantly, YOU’LL know.  Knowing that you had an opportunity for authenticity and failed is not fun.  Having lived though it more often than I care to admit, it’s not something I wish for you.

Visioneering

I want to talk specifically for a moment about “The Vision Story” and the “Values in Action” story.  All of the six types of stories mentioned above are important, but perhaps the Vision Story and the Values in Action Story are the ones we really need to focus on for our organizations.   Specifically, the Vision Story is the one that may give potential stakeholders the best “big picture” view of who you are and what you’re trying to do.  What is it that your organization is trying to do in a big way?   Not just the “Mission Statement” or your “Vision Statement”, though that is certainly a part of it.  The Values in Action Story gives those real-world examples … compelling, moving examples … of WHY you do what you do.

To say it another way, if you could look back in 3 or 7 or 14 years from now, and feel a sense of accomplishment for your organization having been successful, how would you explain that?  In what specific ways will the world have changed because of YOUR or your organization’s efforts?   What’s the Vision? How did you live out your professed Values?

Authors Jim Collins (Good to Great) and Jerry Porras first mentioned the idea of the BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) back in 1996.

A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines.  – Collins and Porras, 1996

Some famous BHAGs from companies you know:

• Google: Organize the world’s information. Make it universally accessible and useful.
• Sony:  Change the worldwide image of Japanese products as poor quality; create a pocketable transistor radio, to have the most recognizable brand worldwide of any Japanese Company.
• Disney:  To be the best company in the world for all fields of family entertainment.
• Amazon:  Every book, ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds.
• Facebook:  Everyone connected socially to anyone they wish, expanding and strengthening the scope and power of the personal network.
• Twitter:  To become “the pulse of the planet”
• Star Trek:  To seek out new life and new civilizations.  To boldly go where no man has gone before.   (ok, not a company, but you get the idea)

Talk about some BIG (and hairy and audacious) goals!!

How does this idea relate and translate into the Non-profit sector, and more specifically to YOUR organization?   In the non-profit world, as mentioned before, we are all working in SOME way to “change the world.”   We are working to change the world, even if it’s just OUR little corner of the world.

So, our BHAGs are not just “feel good” statements of where we’re headed.  They are an emotionally charged “position statement” about what kind of world we want to live in.  They are IMPORTANT statements about a shared vision of a better world created through effort and through community, and a bold declaration of our belief that we can create that better world.

Creating a better world.  That’s some pretty heady stuff, no?  When you tell the “Vision Story” or the “Values in Action” stories of your organization, you must learn to be fearlessly emotionally invested.  Emotionally invested authentically, because remember … it’s not something you can fake. You must believe in the call to action so deeply within yourself that it’s kind of hard to tell the story sometimes because of the lump in your throat.

Caring so passionately about something that it sometimes overwhelms you is not unnatural. It’s not unnatural at all.  Indeed, it may be the exact way we should express our feelings about what we are here to do.  Pour yourself abundantly into the stories that others need to hear about “the work”. Do it for them. Do it for those you serve.  Do it for you.

If you don’t occasionally get a bit choked up about the power and implications of what you’re trying to accomplish through your work with your organization, you’re probably not telling those stories right.  Maybe it’s time for a pulse check.

Who ARE These People and Where DO I Sign Up?? 

Are your stories compelling?  Are they so compelling that telling them or re-hearing them moves even YOU?   Are they so compelling that others will repeat them?   Are they SO compelling that those who hear them will be rooting for you and for the success of your organization?  Will they want to be a part of what you have going?    More importantly, will they tell others about you?   i.e., “I have some people I think you need to meet!!!”

Much has been written in the traditional business press about creating “customer evangelists”… that is,  “customers”  who will go out and in effect, BECOME your virtual “sales force”.  Think about Apple computer … they’ve done this more successfully (arguably) and for more years and with more different products and in more industries than anyone. They did it first with the Apple II. Then they did it again, and in a really huge way with the Mac computers.  Then they did it with the iPod, and in the course of that effort changed the very way people consume music.  They did it with the iTunes store. Pixar movies (ok, not technically “Apple”, but close enough … the Steve Jobs factor.)    Then they did it with the telephone itself, releasing the iPhone and by doing so changing the very way we communicate with each other.  Rarely (if ever) has one company dominated so many markets. Rarely (if ever) has one company completely re-defined so many activities that impact us each daily.  You want to be hip and ahead of the curve?  Get on board with Apple.  They’ve done it with superior design and an unmatched “cool factor” to be sure, but they’ve also done it with word-of-mouth marketing and customer evangelists.  They were also one of the first companies to formally put “Evangelists” on the payroll.  (With Guy Kawasaki being the most famous).   But more importantly, they’ve done it with millions (tens of millions) of consumers who “show and tell” their friends about the latest Apple cool gizmo. Don’t believe me?  Try to buy your favorite teenager a “generic” smart phone.  Not cool.  On the other hand, buy them an iPhone… and you are one rockin’ daddy-o.  Like I said…. You want to be hip and ahead of the curve?  Get on board with Apple. ……   Dang, did you see that?  They’ve got ME doing it now too!!!  (I promise, that was NOT intentional).

In OUR arena… the non-profit arena…. we need to figure out a way to create those “customer evangelists.”  In fact, we need them desperately and now more than ever.   In the book, “Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits“, authors Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant identify that one of the six critical practices that are essential for high-functioning nonprofits, is to “Inspire Evangelists”.  But that won’t happen unless first WE are passionate evangelists ourselves, and that starts more than anywhere else in becoming effective story tellers.  (Of course, we have to deliver on our promises as well, but that’s another topic…stay tuned.).

If you’re still reading, thanks for your time.  I hope this has moved you to think about connecting with your own stories, and to learn to tell them well.  Your organization deserves no less. I hope you reach out to others in leadership with your organization, and TALK about these things.  If you need help in getting to the core of your story and how to tell it, I’d love to help.

Send me an email or a private message or give me a call.  I’d love to hear your stories, and I’d love to tell you mine.

love,
John