by Susan Detwiler | Aug 23, 2009 | miscellaneous, social media
Social media is all the rage among people who advise corporations and nonprofits on how to reach their audiences. You have to be on top of it! It’s a whole new world! It’s not like the old media; you have to be transparent! Well, maybe not.
As someone who has been involved with nonprofit organizations in many guises and worked for and consulted to for-profit companies, I can tell you that something which is ‘all the rage‘ isn’t necessarily what you want to be doing immediately. Back in the day, Sears made its impact not by being the first to sell something, but by being the one that capitalized on what others were selling. Obama’s campaign didn’t invent tight messaging and using media, it just did it much better. Even Google didn’t invent searching, they just advanced it to the point that it was really useful.
So being cautious does have its place. I said cautious, of course, not head-in-the-sand. Sears and Google knew what was happening, and they watched, learned, and improved. The same with learning the best ways to use social media.
An earlier post here offered 7 tips for employees who Tweet, Facebook, or otherwise use social networking media. It was called “Don’t Be Stupid.” Now I recommend an excellent set of posts by Tom Cuniff, on the ICPG blog, for organizations contemplating entering this world.
Tom Cuniff is focused on the for-profit world — it’s a blog about consumer packaged goods, after all — but his words of wisdom are very well written, and really nail the fears of companies and organizations in embarking on social media. This post is titled “What if your CEO is right to be afraid of social media?” It’s pro-social media, but acknowledges the risks.
Just my style – a pragmatic look at ways to make our work in the nonprofit world better.
by Susan Detwiler | Jul 26, 2009 | miscellaneous
Interim Executive, Acting Exec, Temporary Exec¦whatever you call us, we have this in common. We’re not expected to be here very long, and we have a lot to do in that time. If all you need is a placeholder, you wouldn’t spend the dollars for a professional. So it’s on the Interim Executive’s shoulders to make a difference quickly.
Your mileage may vary, but I find there are a few initial steps that have to happen to launch a successful interim situation. (more…)
by Susan Detwiler | Jul 19, 2009 | miscellaneous
I’m working as an Interim Executive Director again! It’s for a great nonprofit organization, with a truly committed board and staff. The past three weeks have been incredibly intense: being an interim means that the usual getting-to-know you period has to be shortened, as I try my best to get a quick grasp of the organization, its mission, its priorities, the personalities, and how things are done, in order to be effective in the short time I might be at this organization.
Despite the intensity, I’m getting nothing but support from the people here. As I told my husband, it’s like the Verizon commercial with the lone cell phone user surrounded by Verizon personnel: I’ve got people. The Board is working hard at finding a permanent replacement for the previous Executive Director, but they took an important step in hiring an Interim while they conduct the search.
In fact, the situation reminds me of a post I put up on another blog (the Nonprofit Watercooler). Prosaically titled, Why Hire an Interim Exec or Director, it walks through the benefits of having someone at the helm while you seek a new hire.
Since I still firmly hold to everything that was in that original article, this time I’m just going to point you to that post. Meanwhile, I’m working on another article about how the actual benefit of having an Interim may depend on the quality of the support s/he gets from the Board of Directors and staff. So next week, I’ll share some steps to getting that Interim Executive relationship “ and perhaps any new Executive Director’s work “ off to a grand start.
Meanwhile, enjoy!
by Susan Detwiler | Jul 6, 2009 | management, nonprofit, social media
For a mid-50 year old, I’ve been a pretty early adopter of communications technology. I used computers in 1969; owned my own computer in 1985, had email shortly after and a website since 1995. I most definitely am not as advanced as many of the people I follow on Twitter, but they’re the cutting edge. I’m still just an early adopter.
Yet despite all the changes in media, there are a few rules of social and business conduct that hearken back to the days of print and telephone and still make sense. Or rather, in the words of Douglas MacMillan, columnist for BusinessWeek, Don’t be Stupid.
In his May 8, 2009 column, MacMillan told the story of an advertising agency executive whose client learned that they were wooing one of his competitors “ via a Twitter post by one of the agency’s own employees.
There are the numerous Facebook pictures of young adults who don’t take down the beer pong pictures before applying for a job. In fact, I just noticed a student affairs professional who is listed as a Fan of Beer Pong on Facebook.
Now that summer is here, there are numerous status updates on Facebook and Twitter of employees who proudly indicate that they’re counting the minutes to quitting time or planning on being sick the next day so they can get to the beach.
Why am I writing this in a blog about nonprofits? Because the basic, overall guidelines remain the same for every individual and for every enterprise: Think Before You Communicate!
In a future post, I’ll invite a specialist to write about how to guide an employee who uses digital media on behalf of the organization. But for everyone else, here are some social media guidelines.
Rule #1 is for you “ the employer, the manager, the boss. Acknowledge that your employees will be on digital media. There’s no getting around it. You wouldn’t have been able to keep them from having a radio, a television, a cell phone, or a computer; you can’t keep them from continuing to engage in the next technology.
The next 6 rules are for sharing with your staff:
1 – Keep organization secrets secret. Just as you shouldn’t sit down at a bar and talk to a reporter about an internal mishap or the board member who is totally overbearing, you can’t broadcast anything like that in the media. Your donors and board members are everywhere, and so are potential new funders. They’ll think twice about doing business with you if they don’t think you can keep things confidential.
2 – Don’t bash the competition. If you identify your employer ANYWHERE, or the organization is even just known by anyone, you are seen as representing that organization even on your own time. Bashing another agency invites bashing right back and is just plain rude. It also gets tiresome for the readers, and raises questions among donors about your professionalism.
3 – Don’t grumble about your boss. Again, if you identify your employer ANYWHERE, you are seen as representing that organization even on your own time. If the employees are seen as unhappy, your potential clients, donors and goodwill ambassadors may have second thoughts about doing business with you.
4 – Don’t be an obvious clockwatcher. I wonder about the wisdom of individuals who send tweets like ˜only 2 hours to go’. Either you don’t really doesn’t care that your employer might see this clockwatching, or you are demonstrating contempt for a boss who will never see it. Either way, it’s not a good image for your organization.
5 – Keep it clean. Yes, I know this is a personal account. But I can’t stress this enough. If you identify your employer ANYWHERE, you are seen as representing that organization. You wouldn’t want to see your child’s elementary school teacher standing outside a bar using foul language every other word. You may be on your own time, but it sure doesn’t reflect well on you, and ultimately on the school system.
6 – If you’re not sure, ask! Sometimes it’s good to post new insights in your field, demonstrating the expertise of your organization. But occasionally, those insights might be proprietary. If you’re not sure, find out whom to ask for guidance.
And overriding all of the above is a single thought to keep in mind: Assume your mom, your boss, your friends, your relations, your future friends and relations, and your future bosses are all reading it.
The old rules used to be, don’t say anything you wouldn’t say to your mom, and don’t write anything you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the New York Times. In this time of instant access to the writings of almost anyone, what you write today can affect your future.
Don’t be Stupid! Thanks for the reminder, Douglas.
by Susan Detwiler | Jun 10, 2009 | miscellaneous
The role of an Executive Director is to acquire and husband all the resources of an organization, so those resources can best serve the mission. These resources may be dollars, good will, facilities or, most importantly, the people who are making a difference.
In the past few years, I’ve been asked several times what an executive director does. At Hillel, students and parents can see the Program Director in action; but what did I do? At Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, people can see the work of the veterinarians and technicians; but what did I do?
If a job can have a mission statement, then I believe the mission of an Executive Director is to acquire and husband all the resources of an organization, so those resources can best serve the organization’s mission.
Like other good mission statements, this one is simple and can be phrased in one sentence. But dissecting it shows that its very simplicity holds a myriad of ramifications.
First, defining resources. Resources may be dollars, good will, facilities, leaders, or the important people who make the mission a success. An Executive Director needs to recognize that all of these are part of what makes the organization work. Focusing solely on dollars to the exclusion of the people, or focusing only on the building to the exclusion of community relations is unbalanced. You end up fighting fires if you ignore one of the resources while focusing solely on another.
Next, acquiring resources means building relationships with others who can give you the resources you need. Donor relations and foundation relationships are part of resource acquisition “ to get funds. Developing job descriptions is part of resource acquisition “ hire the best people. Reviewing new facilities and engaging a good real estate broker is part of resource acquisition “ find the best location. Being visible and participating in community functions is part of resource acquisition “ acquiring good will and willing board members. Acquiring resources is a key part of the job of an Executive Director “ it’s important to remember that it doesn’t just mean dollars.
What about husbanding resources? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of the verb ˜husband‘ is to use, spend, or apply economically; to make the most of. Applied to the role of Executive Director, it means making wise decisions on how to use the resources at hand. It means knowing when to spend more in order to achieve great things, when to spend less in order to preserve assets. It means creating a budget that balances the needs of the organization and understanding the impact on the mission when cuts have to be made. It means knowing when to spend on air fare in order to meet with a major donor, and knowing when to expend good will in order to save the organization from mission creep.
The Executive Director is the Board’s partner in driving and fulfilling the Mission and Vision of the organization. It is up to the Executive Director to acquire the resources necessary to fulfill the mission, and use them wisely.
PS….When you don’t have an Executive Director, you should consider an Interim. See this post for more about Interims.
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