Today we are being pulled into swarms of new styles of communications and sometimes it feels like we are in the eye of a twister. I propose that we live not in the culture of dread, but take the time to allow the winds to gust, but keep ourselves ‘focused’ and allow our philosophy, mission, vision and goals in mind that will guide all of our actions. So ask yourself – does learning about new communication technologies or approaches allow us to support the overall mission? If it does in some way – you are able to then take a step back and think about how to stay focused on the mission, while allowing yourself to spend incremental amounts of time on the future – thinking about new forms of approaching the same old problems.
Often non profits are scared to get started as they are afraid of the swarming, they are afraid to make mistakes, be pulled into the madness without strategies and all of those things are well founded. They need not feel paranoid, but rather seek out help – there are many free resources on the internet to help non profits ‘focus’. Yes, many people are interested to sell ideas, products and themselves, but in your research and pursuit of knowledge, you may find along the way techniques in joining communities of practioners that are thinking about the same issues that you are regarding ‘how to get started’ – what to use and how to approach it. What I propose you do is to join a community of like minded individuals that are also in this stage - this will allow you to focus on just understanding the landscape and asking for insights in a safe way.
If you have a strategic plan in place, that will help you during these difficult times to stay focused and make sure all the staff working with you are working toward those goals. Do you have quarterly business objectives setup for everyone including yourself that includes the key business initiatives that you want the team to stay focused on for the next 3 months? Do you review these with the team every three months? It’s about communication really and yes it takes what some people perceive as extra time away from client facing activities – but if you are able to that focus – it becomes a catalyst.
We need to stay aware of new social media and communication techniques so that we can continue to learn from others, through observation and/or periphery involvement in another community that is practicing and eating their own dog food. So what are you waiting for … jump in …… but stay focused..
