What do you want to accomplish?

Those are becoming my magic words: What do you want to accomplish??

The more time I'm spending in non-profit management, the more I realize that those of us working where our passion is as important to the job as our skills, can often get caught up in ideas and solutions without taking the time to identify what it is that needs to be accomplished.

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with two dynamic women who have recently stepped in as fund raisers for an organization in which they believe heartily! Listening to them discuss how they are getting their arms around a busy development and marketing function, I heard in them what I often hear in my own passions. How often do I get stirred up by what I think the organization, the team, the situation needs, without stopping to listen to what it is the organization has identified as "the job".

As fund and audience development leaders, it is critical that we get the managing leaders of our organizations (be it boards or executive directors) to articulate what it is that needs to be accomplished in the long run. This is usually called the Vision and the Strategic Plan. It is the fiduciary responsibility of the organizations leadership to always be operating within the framework of a vital, responsive, relevant strategic plan.

Ideas, brainstorm, and all the other "out of the box" discussions only have value for me if they are generated within the context of a believable and accepted Strategic Plan.

Guess this doesn't have much to do about Social Media, but felt necessary given the great amount of good people in our community working hard to raise funds, bringing to the table many great efforts, but that are not necessarily working within the framework -- and protection -- of a good strategic plan.

Twitter in 15 minutes

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Twitter in 15 minutes

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