I recently had the honor of speaking on the plenary panel at ARNOVA, the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action.  The experience provided a real opportunity, as the moderator, Dr. Alnoor Ebrahim, a Harvard business school professor and fellow Leap Ambassador, asked each of us to consider what advice we would offer to academics; specifically, “What is the one critical skill we need to teach students in nonprofit management programs?”
 
My response centered on the need for solid theory-of-change skills, explaining that future executives and governing board members need these tools to understand how to ask and answer the right questions regarding outcomes.
 
Upon reflection and hindsight, I’m now clearer about what else I might have shared.  I maintain my response of building a solid theory-of-change; one that includes clarity on target population, purpose, market need, and evidence-based programs that lead to improved client results. 
 
But I would add skills consisting of a mindset shift toward openness, iteration, and evolution. 
 
This means becoming a leader who genuinely wants to learn, is open to client, staff, and community feedback, understands that environmental norms are in constant flux, and that informed adaptation is the best practice for organizations to thrive; and, in turn, for clients to thrive as well. 
 
With equal rigor to the technical skills, our academic institutions and professors need to teach flexibility, creativity, nimbleness.  We need to infuse ethical behavior, power-sharing, and humility into our next generation of leaders.
 
These “soft” skills are notoriously hard to teach, but they are vital for executive leadership as well as anyone in or entering a governing role in the social sector.
 
I acknowledge that this may sound unattainable - how do you teach emotional intelligence, self-reflection and self-knowledge?  Can they even be taught or are they innate?  The question that Dr. Ebrahim posed was brilliant in trying to expose the ideal skill-set.  Similar to client outcomes, we need to identify what defines success first, and only then should we tackle the challenge of how to measure and manage toward that success.
 
My hope is that the academic community will step up and find ways to teach these soft skills, perhaps looking outside the business/management school faculty to incorporate other disciplines. 
 
We need to allow social sector leaders to maintain their “dreamer” status, while forging priceless inter-personal and organizational skills.  The technical skills can then build upon this foundation. 
 
In the face of either super complex social issues or super challenging financial issues or both, this informed adaptation, combined with self-knowledge, optimism and humor will keep us energized and ensure our colleagues remain engaged and motivated.   
 
I believe that these critical skills will guide emerging leaders in the social sector to forge real and lasting social change. I look forward to learning from academics if they are up to the challenge.
 
I write this at the start of a new year, with a wish that 2016 catalyzes your learning journey.  May it be iterative and reflective. 
 

A dozen years ago, when I started my journey of pushing (and occasionally dragging) parts of the social sector toward results, first as a researcher, then as a trainer, and ultimately as a consultant, it was clear that the ideals of shared measurement, benchmarking, and addressing the under-capitalization issues were too big and too daunting to gain real momentum.  The sector was not ready.  Now, largely post-recession, there is exciting and significant movement underway, representing real potential to change the landscape toward results.  It’s actually happening.

There are three specific initiatives I’m involved in that I believe represent catalyzing efforts to shift from the “nonprofit sector, expanding activities and efforts” to “the social sector, managing to results”:

1)    Full cost/Real cost funding toolkit
2)    The Performance Imperative momentum
3)    Local examples of infrastructure and commitment to change

I’ve summarized these actions, which transform the conversation from theory to practice.  Each is closely aligned with my vision for DBN & Associates:  “Social change is defined in terms of client outcomes, rather than well-intentioned programs and activities.”

First, the Donors Forum is making headway on a strategic initiative called “Full cost funding”.  I am passionate about this topic.  I have been a strong proponent starting around the time that GMN’s Project Streamline published “Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted from Purpose” and pre-dating Bridgespan’s work with Donors Forum, resulting this short video on “Real Talk about Real Costs”.  Since then, Guidestar, Charity Navigator and BBB Wise Giving Alliance published “The Overhead Myth” and the message of effectiveness beyond earlier definitions reached a wider audience.  As co-chair of the Donors Forum initiative, we are taking the foundational concepts and bringing them to life.  As the process continues, the Commitment to Full Cost Funding, will grow from a manifesto into an action-plan for Illinois funders and service providers – transforming from an idea at the conceptual phase to an actionable set of beliefs that will translate into practice.  To reach beyond the early adopters, there are several educational tools and resources planned that will guide funders and service providers on how to use “Full Costs” in both culture change, communication, and budgeting processes. With a parallel effort in California and national interest from organizations like Guidestar and GEO, this has great potential to become a sustained campaign for change. 

Second, I wrote in my Spring blog about the ground-breaking publication of the Performance Imperative.  Since planting the seed, great new action steps are blooming.

·         Harvard Business School is using it in an MBA course;
·         Large social sector organizations like Building Changes are baking it into their theories of change;
·         Grant-makers, like St. Luke's Foundation, are using the PI to guide the organizations they fund in asking themselves the right questions toward high performance.

Third, there are many great examples emerging of the culture changes needed to truly achieve social change.  The momentum that Collective Impact catalyzed should not be understated.  While the PI is focused at the organizational effectiveness level, sustainable social change happens when high performing organizations come together with shared outcomes, and widely varying yet complementary strategies to forge large scale results. In my current work with the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, it is clear that a culture of trust and long-term relationships lead to investments that represent true partnerships and a focus on continuous improvement.  Their commitment to population change, via agency support is inspiring.  It is exciting and energizing to facilitate and witness agencies and leaders who serve the same target populations to come together and learn from each other.  From this listening and learning, shared results and contributions will lead to a greater understanding of gaps and opportunities. With hard work and good planning, the result will be even better, more streamlined programming and services for the people that the whole eco-system aims to benefit.

Why should we care about this?   

Immersed in the nuances of implementing outcome management, I spend significant time thinking about the connection between the true costs of running a nonprofit organization and the vast difference between the cost of running activities and achieving outputs and the need to invest in participant results and achieving outcomes.  Outcomes are expensive AND represent the level that all social sector leaders need to aim for, in both time and resources.  Yes, this may mean more focus, more support, and greater scrutiny, but it WILL forge the social change that we are all in this to achieve.  It will mean healthier people, organizations and communities. 

We know the benefits of flexible funding models, of trusting and investing in courageous, adaptive executive and board leadership (First pillar of the Performance Imperative).  So, what is on the horizon to help the funding community embrace investing in results and in fact, implementing it as the new normal?

Increasingly, really smart people are writing and speaking on these issues.  So, even if you are new to this conversation or have been following the trends for many years, the question is:  what can you do?

Three things this month (follow the wisdom of Nike and “Just do it”):

1)    Read and share the Performance Imperative with your organization at every level – it is short, straight-forward and credible.  Get it in the inboxes of your CEO, board, and management team.

2)    Focus on a specific program in your organization and ask the question:  Are people better off now than when you started?  This is beyond a single anecdote (even though every changed life matters) but focused on whether the program is systematically achieving positive client outcomes.  Simply ask the question and consider how you might find out the answer.

3)    Keep the faith that our sector is shifting, that funders are embracing the need to invest in full cost funding and longer-term results and that providers are defining success and managing to achieve it.  There are increasingly smarter tools to assist service providers to embed outcome management and continuous improvement into their very DNA.

I leave you with a One Minute Manager Kenneth Blanchard quote:  “There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient.  When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses - only results.”  

In an inspiring series of discussions with both the director and lead educational consultant for my son’s pre-school, I started to hone in on a new approach to my work with nonprofits.  It focuses on the balance among continual learning, iterative feedback loops, reflective time, innovation and a rigorous use of evidence.

With my renewed energy, I am collaborating with a brilliant group of associates and colleagues across the globe based on my personal networks and through my involvement in the Leap Ambassadors, a brain trust of leaders working to define and implement high performance for social programs.

Meaning of my new Logo

Several people have inquired about my new logo design, so here is insight on the meaning…

My bridge logo harkens back to many years ago, when I was invited to speak at Harvard for a group of performing art centers executives.  I remember feeling quite intimidated after a full morning of listening to leading business school professors explain the intricacies of complex performance management theories.  I sat there, knowing that I would need to present my rather simple tools afterward, feeling out of my league!  How could I possibly share anything of value after the sheer brain-power we had all just experienced?  I was horrified.  The room felt numb, drained of all interaction.  I thought we were all shocked by the brilliance.

Then, everything shifted.  The professors left, presumably back to their classrooms, and I started to hear disquieted mumbles from the sharp executives in the room.  Their lead consultant summarized:  “We’re pretty sure that we just experienced some truly important information and teachings.  Unfortunately, we have no idea how to move them into practice!”  At that point, the facilitator invited me to the front of the room.  Yikes!

After I started to speak, I was pleased to see and feel the energy rise in the room.  As I unveiled my approach, color returned to participant’s faces and body language showed clear engagement.  I realized then, over 10 years ago and I am actualizing now, my calling:  to serve as a bridge from research – often academic – to practice, translating “scientific evidence” to the potential for implementing innovation to achieve life changes for the target populations we care most about.

After a decade running The Center for What Works, a national nonprofit providing research, training, and consulting around outcome management, I chose to start DBN & Associates, L3C as it provides the best opportunity to continue my impact on the social sector.

With time and space to reflect on both my prior accomplishments and future interests, I gained clarity toward three goals:

1.       To continue on my current trajectory, partnering with ready nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs to implement outcome management toward becoming high performing;

2.       To forge toward a vision for the sector more broadly – partnering with research efforts and practical approaches to make shared measurement and collective impact possible;

3.       To be more available and more present for my family.

Through DBN & Associates, a social purpose consultancy, I am actualizing all three of my goals.  I am working with several inspiring new clients, including several in Chicago and a few distant ones that I can manage mostly via the web.  I am consulting with a top-notch think tank in DC.  And I’ve been able to be home with my boys to help with homework, teach the younger ones to ride bikes, and re-calibrate my work-life balance.

I am excited to co-create innovative work in partnership with respected clients, colleagues, mentors and associates.

What you can Expect from me and DBN & Associates, L3C

As a consultant and professional advisor, I pride myself on being well­­ versed in the trends and research regarding social sector management and results and then having the emotional intelligence to translate that research into client success.  I use a systems design approach to connect vision, mission and outcomes for clients and then guide them on the best route to implementation.  DBN & Associates balances clients' desired outcomes with realistic operations, facilitating social programs and collective initiatives to achieve the best results possible with and for their target populations.

Vision:  Social change is defined in terms of client outcomes, rather than well-intentioned programs and activities.

Mission:  DBN partners with mission-driven leaders to effectively manage for client results.  DBN leads social sector organizations toward high performance by sharing extensive expertise and tools to reflect, learn, change and continually improve.

I look forward to sharing my learning, contributing to effectiveness and moving the needle on social issues! 

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