smart growth for crps_part1--presentation

Smart Growth for CRPsMay 24, 2011

Your Trainer

• Peter Brinckerhoff– [email protected]

– 217-341-3836

– www.missionbased.com

Three key philosophies-and a pair of rules.

• Philosophies

1. Your nonprofit is a mission-based business.2. No one gives you a dime.3. Nonprofit doesn’t mean no profit. Why?

• Rules

1. Money is the enabler of mission.2. Profit is the enabler of more mission.

• Not all services need to be profitable.• There’s a double return on investment.

Most Importantly....

• Remember that your mission is your most valuable asset.– More valuable than your building, your board, your cash

and yes, your staff.– Why? Because the mission is why all those people show

up, it’s why the building and cash were acquired.– Your mission is THE. MOST. VALUABLE. ASSET.– So protect it, invest in it, use it all the time.

If you’re going to grow...

• It needs to be about mission first, middle, last.

• Each decision you make as a staff or board should result in:– More mission– Better mission– More efficient mission– More effective mission

• That’s the point.

Some discussion Questions:

• Is growth in nonprofits generally a good thing? Why or why not?

• Now, just hands: Do you want your organization to grow over the next three years? Why? Why not?

If you didn’t choose to grow, what’s the most important thing you can do over the next three years? Choose one of the following: Show of hands...look around!

• Improve quality of services• Improve quality of staff• Make (and save) money for later growth• Break even so we do as much mission as possible

each year

A decision tree...

• Allows you to let staff and board have the same decision context

• Allows you to make sure you’re asking all the key questions

• Allows flexibility within an overall framework

• Our decision tree will mirror the way we go through the full two-day course.

Evaluating a Growth Opportunity

Proceed with caution

Can we protect our existing

services’ quality?

Do we have the capacity to grow?

Have we done the appropriate

business analyses?

Have we consulted/involved

the appropriate people?

Do we have the cash to invest?

Is it something we already do really

well?

Do NOT proceed until problems are

resolved

Can we get good before

we start?

What mission benefits come from growing your organization?

• Do any of them directly affect mission? How?• Let’s make a list.

Staying small

• We’ve seen that there are benefits to staying small as a strategy.

• This becomes and senior management/board issue of policy.

• Even if you have the desire to grow, you may not have the capacity to do so (we’ll look at that later) simply from a lack of staff or transportation options.

• If this is your situation (or your choice), check out the book “Small Giants: Companies that Choose to be Great Instead of Big,” by Bo Burlingham

Mission and Values




resolved




we start?


Have we consulted/involved the appropriate

people?



well?

Is the growth area consistent with our mission and

values?


business analyses?

Remember, mission is...

• YOUR. MOST. VALUABLE. ASSET.

• More valuable than your building, your Board, your cash and yes, your staff.–Decisions, strategies and plans should all result in

more mission, better mission, more effective mission and/or more efficient mission.

So it’s about mission--but what about values?

• The mission is the why or your CRP• Your values are the how....• Values will define your culture, attract (or repel) staff,

board and volunteers.• Values require constant, personal leadership.• When people feel comfortable in their values

environment, everything benefits.

Hands-on Values

State your case in your values. Think these through collaboratively, and don’t just

put obvious things in. Have values that require discussion to implement.

Be analog not digital. Google’s key value?

Don’t have values you can’t live with. Share and amend as needed.

More on values

Use your values in your employee and volunteer recruitment.

Use your values as a management and decision-making tool.

Enforce values in your behavior management.

Be public-hold yourself accountable!

Have some values….

Respect: We will treat others as we would like to be treated. We do not tolerate abusive or disrespectful treatment.

Integrity: We work with customers and prospects openly and sincerely. When we say we will do something we will do it. When we say we cannot or will not do something then we won’t do it.

Communication: We have an obligation to communicate. Here, we talk the time to talk to each other….and to listen. We believe that information is meant to move and that information moves people.

Excellence: We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in everything we do. We will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great fun here will be for all of us to discover just how good we can really be.

Remember...

• Values can be a real accelerator of your growth.

• They define both you and your organization as much as your mission does.

• If you decide to try something that conflicts with your mission and values you SHOULD get called out by staff and board.

• If your growth conflicts with your values--don’t proceed. Don’t just chase the money.

Competence and Capacity




resolved





business analyses?


people?



well?


values?


we start?

Core Competencies

• What do you do well, really well, as opposed to just getting by?– Job placement, contract fulfillment, budgeting, employee

morale, just-in-time…..?– The key with expansion is to do more of what you do

well. Back in the day, we could get by with OJT; remember OJT?

– Not any more. We have to be good at what we do on day one.

Core Competencies

• What are they?– “A key ability or strength that an organization has

acquired that differentiates it from others, gives it competitive advantage, and contributes to its long-term success." (from BZ Business Dictionary)

– How do you know if you’ve got one or more core competencies?• This is hard, and fraught with danger. What we’re proud

of might not always be what we’re good at, and what we’re good at might not always be what our customers want.

Finally, there are those other CRP’s and Funders...• “Other CRPs are doing laundry (call centers, multi-

state expansion)...so we should too.”• “Our Funders (or AbilityOne) told us about a model

they would like us to use...it’ll work, right?”• Even the best model only works with the right people

at the right time in the right place....that’s why you will be doing feasibility studies first!

And then, there’s capacity




resolved





business analyses?


people?



well?


values?


we start?

Capacity means...

• Enough people with disabilities suited for the job at hand

• Enough staff without disabilities to support them• Enough physical space• Enough HR capacity• Enough IT capacity• Adequate raw materials/equipment/transportation

None of this is free:

• And, staging the growth physical space, IT, HR, transportation, waste removal and the like is a key part of any strategic plan for growth.

There’s lots more in part II

• In 15 minutes, we’ll reconvene and I’ll talk about growth from a cash and quality perspective for about 30 minutes.

• Then, we’ll hear from a panel whose organizations have grown and what they’ve learned from the process. See you then!

One more before you go...

• This is just 90 minutes of a 2-day AbilityOne course titled Smart Growth for CRPs.

• I next present the training November 15-16 in San Francisco.

Thanks for coming!

email me with any questions:[email protected]

Remember to email me any follow-up questions...

Session Evaluation Information

SESSION TITLE: Smart1

SESSION CODE: CRP-W130

smart growth for crps_part1--presentation

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