Being consistent doesn’t mean being boring. In this short video, you’ll learn the two reasons you should nurture consistency, and hear about an organization that consistently hits the mark (Kaboom!) and one that had a consistency hiccup (Seattle Symphony).
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/38113385[/vimeo]
Earlier this week, we looked at how a name can frame an issue or idea. So can color.
The AIDS movement brought “color for a cause” into the mainstream with the red ribbon. Susan G. Komen took it to new heights with pink. They successfully made pink synonymous with breast cancer. From travel mugs to cupcake baking cups, you could pinkify your life and help erase breast cancer. Seemed like a win-win.
At some point, pink fatigue set in. Terms like “pink-washing” and “pink think” popped up. Organizations like Think Before You Pink were created to counter the proliferation of pink products flooding the market.
When the news hit that Komen would no longer fund Planned Parenthood, the pump was primed for some pink bashing. And heads they did a-roll.
Now that the crisis has passed, the question is: what will become of pink?
Here are two options:
#1 Carry on with business as usual
#2 Give pink a second lease on life
Pink is currently framed as the color of breast cancer. Perhaps it should be re-framed more broadly as the color of women’s health.
Breast cancer is a women’s health issue. So are heart disease, depression, and osteoporosis. In North America, women out-live men by up to 10 years and on average 3.1 of those years are reduced quality. We’ve gotta get serious about getting women healthy. Maybe pink can help us do it.
Heck, if red can be the color of choice for both AIDS and heart disease and Valentine’s Day can become Generosity Day, the door’s wide open for pink’s next job to be raising awareness about women’s health so that loads more women can lead happier, healthier lives.
Mind you re-framing wouldn’t be a piece of pink cake. Re-framing takes work. Allison Fine, Beth Kanter, Stephanie Rudat, Amy Sample Ward, Lucy Bernholz, Tom Watson, Lisa Colton, and others kicked things off on Super Bowl Sunday with Take Back the Pink (#takebackthepink). This effort was focused on making pink about breast cancer as a cause, rather than Komen as an organization. It got the ball rolling.
What do you think? What should pink’s next job be? Should pink take on women’s health or stick with breast cancer?
Earlier this week, news got out that Susan G. Komen had decided to stop funding Planned Parenthood, leaving more than 870,000 women without access to breast cancer screenings. These screenings save lives.
This post isn’t a blow by blow of how this all went down. This post is about silence.
After two days of “no comment”, Nancy G. Brinker, Founder & CEO of Susan G. Komen, released a video. In the video, she never mentions Planned Parenthood. Not once. She talks about the grant review process they initiated in 2010 and how it will affect many of their partners. But no mention of the frenzy swirling around their decision to de-fund one specific partner–Planned Parenthood. Kinda weird. Kinda too bad.
By not addressing the real issue, Brinker’s attempt to “set the record straight” backfires. There were many natural opportunities to mention Planned Parenthood. It didn’t need to be the whole story, but it’s clearly a big piece of the story. Not mentioning it only makes that part of the story a bigger deal.
In today’s world of YouTube, social media and immediate access, you’ve got to be real. Using tactics–like a scripted video–fall flat. They come across as inauthentic, especially when you’ve got an 800 pound gorilla in your video that you don’t so much as bat an eye at!
You can come up with all the great messaging and talking points you want. In a case like this, it doesn’t matter one lick. Why? Because it’s not what you say that matters, it’s what people hear and it’s what they feel. When all you do is put out a tightly controlled speech that is almost completely void of emotion, what people hear is that you don’t really want to set the record straight or, taking it one step further, make it right. You just want the PR craziness to go away.
The only way to truly set the record straight is to engage. Give interviews. Do live webcasts. Blog and respond to comments. Put yourself out there!
The lesson: Silence is not always golden. (Komen should’ve learned this with the Pink Bucket Debacle.) When you do talk, be real. There’s a time and place for speeches and scripts. Now’s not that time. Now’s the time to be real. A lot of women are depending on it.
NOTE: If you’re interested in great coverage on this story, check out Kivi Leroux Miller’s post. She’s become a one-woman Komen-Planned Parenthood news channel and is doing an exceptional job. I’m grateful for all her tireless work on this.
I’ve gotten loads of comments, questions, thought bubbles, etc. in response to my crusade to rename the non-profit sector the iSector.
Here’s what people said:
Even though I’m the iSector instigator, I concur with this last point. It feels a bit trendy, a tidge flashy, a little too Apple-esque.
So let’s name this thing together!
Below is a list of options that have been floated as alternatives to ‘non-profit’.
Which do you like and why? Other suggestions?
I’ve been thrilled to hear more and more mission-driven organizations talk about their brand. It’s downright happy-making.
In this day and age, understanding your organization’s brand is imperative if you want to stand out while staying grounded. When the three elements of brand (visual, narrative and experiential) come together in a compelling and consistent manner, you create an engagement-rich environment.
Here’s what doesn’t thrill me. When someone uses the word ‘brand’ instead of ‘organization’. To illustrate:
“Donors just love our brand!”
Really? Have you heard a donor say: “I support Organization Awesome because I just love their elevator pitch.” Or perhaps, “Organization Awesome is my #1 partner-in-good. I mean, look at their logo!” Might how you talk about your organization (narrative aspect of your brand) and your logo (one piece of the visual aspect of your brand) resonate with a donor? You bet. But it’s that you are effectively speaking to what they care about through these things that makes their hearts go pitter pat.
What donors–and anyone else engaged with your organization–love is your cause and your mission. They care about what you do and how you do it (your mission) and why you do it (your cause). (Here’s more on the difference between cause and mission, if that last sentence made you furrow your brow.)
The word ‘brand’ is trendy. That’s fine. It risks ending up on the Banished Words list, but it’s fine.
What’s not fine is if you let its current celebrity status distract you from the whole point of having a clearly articulated brand–so people can connect with your cause and engage in our mission!
In Sum: Brand for brand’s sake is lame. Brand for the purpose of connecting with supporters who are passionate about your cause and lit up about your mission is awesome.
[DIY Moment: If you’d like some help figuring out your brand, here’s a free resource.]
On Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 2:14PM Pacific, I published a blog post on the iSector.
On Friday, October 21, 2011 at 6:11PM Pacific, I got a phone call from my dear friend, Alison Carl White.
On Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 8:24AM Pacific, I was running around the seawall in Vancouver, B.C. in gale force winds and torrential downpour.
This three moments are inextricably linked.
The iSector was the outgrowth of my long-held belief that the name of our sector–currently, the Nonprofit Sector–does a huge disservice to what we are trying to accomplish. I can’t say I love the name ‘iSector’, and I will continue to search for a better name, but at least it gets us away from referring to ourselves as the ‘Non-Progress Sector’. Publishing that post was a big moment for me.
The phone call from Alison was another big moment, but in a very different–and tragic–way. She was calling because she had just learned that her husband, Senator Scott White, had died. Alison is 39. They have two young children. Scott embodied health, energy and leadership. To say this was a shock would be the understatement of 2011.
What struck me most about Scott was his belief that so much was possible. While most of us would scratch our heads, shuffle our feet (looking a lot like Eeyore), and wonder how we’d get out of this mess (insert whichever mess might cause you consternation, e.g. education, transportation, the environment), Scott was bounding along in pursuit of a better path forward (sort of like Tigger, with the brains of Owl).
I imagine Scott knew a roadblock when he saw one, but he never seemed to focus on its presence. He always seemed focused on how to find a dignified way around it that would make the world a better place. He was pragmatic, for darn sure. But he was also an optimist.
And this brings me back to that gusty run. As I came around the point, it blew so hard I actually fell over (not a pretty moment). I was so wet that my shoes were making a bizarre squishing noise every time my foot struck the ground. You’d think I would’ve been cursing this run.
Instead, I was grinning ear to ear.
Why? Because I could be running in that crazy weather. Because I had a choice. Because it was possible.
In moments like these, I now think about Scott. I think about what’s possible. I try to think bigger. As big as Scott thought about what’s possible.
I believe it is possible for us to truly make the world a better place. Call me a Polyanna. Call me naive. I really don’t care.
I believe–regardless of tax status and official sector name–that if you get up every morning set on making the world a better place, that you can. And that you do.
On that run, I had a vision of a sea of people with t-shirts, badges, ball caps, tattoos, and buttons that all said: Because we can!
Because we can make the world a better place. If we couldn’t, why bother trying?
We should try. Every day. In ways big and small. We should try.
We should make the world a better place, because we can.
Not sure if it was the caffeine or the sunshine or some combination thereof, but we had a LIVELY discussion at Claxon’s monthly forum this morning. Here are a few of the highlights:
So there you have it. The lively and wending discussion from this morning. We clearly had a lot of thoughts on these topics–what are yours?
Depending on where you live, you may call them non-profits, not-for-profits, or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). These organizations educate kids, fight for justice, feed the hungry, house the homeless, eradicate poverty, protect our planet, fuel the arts, nurture our spirits, find cures for cancer and generally do everything in their power to make our world a better place. And yet, we define them by what they are not.
If you look at the Latin root of the word profit, it means either ‘progress’ or ‘advance’. At what point did we decide it was okay to be defined as the ‘non-progress’ sector when the whole point of what we do is to make progress?!
And there’s more: the term ‘non-profit’ refers to donor profit, not organizational profit. It is about the individual impact on the person making the gift, i.e. the donor is foregoing personal profit by giving money to a charitable, tax-exempt organization.
At what point did we transfer a reference to impact on individual tax returns and bank accounts to the impact of the sector?
At what point did we confuse one individual foregoing personal benefit with millions of organizations creating community benefit? At what point did we decide it was okay to define ourselves by an erroneous and unrelated marker—profit—instead of by what we are?
What’s in a name?
If individual organizations were to name themselves by the opposite of their intent—e.g. Divided Way, Badwill Industries, Nature Destroyer—we’d think they were crazy. Yet we refer to an entire sector by the opposite of its intent.
If the sector shouldn’t be named for what it’s not doing and/or for an erroneous reference to individuals deciding to ‘not profit’ from a donation, what should it be named?
As with all else, it should have a name that reflects what makes it truly unique, by what distinguishes it, by what piece of mental real estate it will occupy in people’s brains, by its most compelling attributes.
In this case, we should name it: the iSector.
The iSector’s Five ‘I’s
Why the iSector? The ‘i’ captures its essence and most compelling characteristics, all of which start with an ‘i’.
With its intrepid spirit, the iSector inspires innovation and investment that leads to impact.
Let’s unpack that, shall we?
INTREPID: Honestly, if you look at what the iSector takes on—poverty, sustainability, education, homelessness, health care, arts, athletics, Alzheimer’s, malaria, and polio just to name a few—it boggles the mind. Only those with “resolute fearlessness, fortitude and endurance” would go there. It is the intrepid spirit of those drawn to the sector that sparks and sustains the work.
INSPIRES: The volunteer who patiently teaches a six year old to read inspires. The donor who believes cancer can be conquered inspires. The board that enthusiastically launches an audacious capital campaign inspires. The organization that believes art is a right not a privilege inspires. The foundation that believes we can eradicate malaria inspires. And it goes without saying, but is worth saying anyway, that this work is inspired by individuals who deserve equal access to a better life, a better future, a better world.
To be clear, I’m not saying the iSector is all rainbows, flowers and unicorns. Solving intractable problems is tough and we don’t always get it right. Sometimes we get it flat out wrong. However, this contributes to the sector’s inspirational nature—there are rarely easy answers, straight-forward solutions or obvious wins. And yet we are undeterred. That’s inspiring.
INNOVATION: This word gets tossed around a lot, so much so that it has almost lost its meaning. The technical definition is “the introduction of something new”. That doesn’t quite seem to do it justice, particularly when you look at it in the context of the iSector where innovation has as much to do with adaptation and experimentation, as creation. Regardless, “Nobody innovates when they’re fat and sassy, “ as Kenneth Foster, Executive Director of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts put it. And although the iSector might have a little sass, there’s nothing fat about it. Resting on your laurels isn’t acceptable. And so, we innovate. Not on occasion but all the time. It is part of our rhythm. A daily occurrence, rather than a rare occasion. It may not always look or feel innovative in the moment, but when you add it up, it most definitely is. We innovate with purpose whether on purpose or not. That purpose is to create greater impact.
INVESTMENT: To fuel inspiration and innovation that leads to impact, we must invest in organizations and individuals. The organizations need the resources to not just do the work, but to do it well. The iSector—and those who benefit from the work—need the very best that we have to offer, not the bare minimum. Investments of money, time, capital, commitment, passion, energy, connections—this is what we need to do what we need to do.
IMPACT: When you take the intrepid spirit and couple it with the inspiration, innovation and investment, you get impact. Impact that is felt by individuals, organizations, neighborhoods, communities, cities, states, countries, and continents. Across oceans and Internet connections. Much of it you can quantify. Some of it you can’t. However you measure it, the iSector’s impact is undeniable. Is it enough? No. Can we do more? Yes. (This is where you come in.)
The iSector has nothing to do with tax status. It’s not about whether you work for a 501c3, an LLC, or a publicly traded company. It is about a mindset. It is about admitting that how we have been doing things has gotten us far, but not far enough. It is about taking a risk. It is about taking a stand, a stand that says: Now is the time to do more, even if we have to do it with less. Now is the time to take everything we’ve got and apply it in ways that we never thought possible. Now is the time to take our intrepid spirits and inspire innovation and investment that leads to impact—huge, unprecedented, unimaginable impact.
The iSector already exists. The question is: are you part of it?
[Shout-outs: Unlike most of my posts, this one was awhile in the making and has a special place in my heart. I wanted the following people to know how much I appreciate their passion, smarts and support. (alpha by first name) Alison Carl White, Carrie Zanger, Dana Robinson Slote, Dana Van Nest, Erin Hertel, Gloria Jordan, Heather Hill, Lenora Edwards, Lindsay Bealko, Peg Giffels, Peter Drury, Scott Allard, Shanon Doolitte, Susan Howlett, and Zan McColloch-Lussier.]
Last week, I had the great, good fortune of spending two days In Twisp, Washington with organizations from Central and Eastern Washington. Talk about inspiring! They were a dedicated group and stuck with me as we covered a whole lotta territory in record time.
One of the many topics we covered (which included, but was not limited to: birthdays, food, dates with babies, rowing and snake eyes) was talking about the benefits of your organization rather than the features.
This is one of those topics that is an eye opener every time it comes up at a training.
Here’s a short list of features and benefits:
tutoring | knowing how to read
family planning | access to choices
education | expanded opportunities and/or connection to heritage
theater | inspiration
Super smart dude Zan McColloch-Lussier over at Mixtape Communications asks the question, “What business are you really in?” For instance, the business of tutoring or of teaching people to read? Most organizations would say, “The teaching to read business!” And yet, when asked what they do, they talk first about tutoring and then about reading.
Tutoring is how you get to your why, i.e. you tutor kids so they can read.
We also had a breakthrough moment around Believers, Agnostics and Atheists. Really, seriously, you can’t convert atheists. (Here’s a short video for those that still think they can.)
This group was also full of poets, musicians and artists. (Happy birthday sounds so much better when there are some singers in the group!). Here is a poem by one of the students on the Inspiration Sector.
When you are at a party and the conversation pauses,
You tell people that you work for causes,
Oh…they say…you work for a non-profit,
You look them straight in the eye…and say stop it!
Solving issues is my nectar,
I work in the Inspiration Sector!
So glad I work in the Inspiration Sector and got to be inspired by this fantastic group of change agents!
At 5:06 am on Sunday, September 18, 2011, it was raining cats and dogs in Seattle. It was pitch black and, although not cold per se, it wasn’t balmy. Along with 404 others, I decided it was a mighty fine day for a triathlon.
Fast forward to 9:54 am. I am huffing and puffing my way to the finishing line. I hear music. I hear my family cheering me on. And I hear a voice announcing my name as I cross the line. (Woohoooo!!!)
There was only one glitch: it was a man who announced my red-faced lunge across the line.
Don’t get me wrong: I like men. I’ve got a great husband, an adorable son, and a fantastic dad, all of whom were there cheering me on.
The glitch was that this was the Trek Women Triathlon series. As Sally Edwards (who is an amazing, iconic and completely and totally inspiring woman) says, the events are meant to help women find their “inner athlete”.
So I was kinda expecting a female voice to be cheering me on in that final, give-it-all-you-got, lunge-for-the-finish-line moment. Why? Because the Trek Women (and Danskin Women) Triathlon brands are all about the ladies.
The lovely gentleman who was kind enough to make me feel like a rock star even though I looked like I needed an oxygen tank would be a dream announcer at most any other triathlon. But at this event, it was out of sync with a brand based on the belief that all women can use athletic goals as a way to achieve their life goals.
I’d recommend the Trek and Danskin Women Triathlons to any woman who wants to find her inner athlete. And I hope that when you cross that finish line–and cross it you will!–one of your triathlon soul sisters is rocking the mic and cheering you on to glory.