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Welcome to Karen Eber Davis Consulting
Warm summer greetings. Tomorrow is the Raising the Bar on Your Strategic Thinking and Planning Teleconference. Last sign-up is today at 4 p.m. In this issue, you will find an introduction to the DOOR Planning Process. You will also find updates on other upcoming events, a Time-Tastic! tip from our new booklet Time Management for Nonprofit Leaders and other information to use now.
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Nonprofit Strategy
Don't Play "Let's Make a Deal"
"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live."
Flora Whittemore
Do you remember the TV show Let's Make A Deal or its new version The Big Deal? At the end of the show the successful contestant has the opportunity to select one of three doors. If they guess correctly, they win the grand prize. If they guess wrong, they end up with a consolation gift. The suspense comes from the fact that three doors with the different prizes are closed.
Unlike the contestants on Let's Make a Deal, when you plan your organization's future you want the odds in your favor. To do so, gather all possible doors, open them in advance and select a future strategy after confirming that it will take you where you want to go in the most expedient way possible. This article introduces the nonprofit planning process DOOR. While no one can predict the future, DOOR helps you to identify the future that best fits your organization, with an awareness of all the possibilities and their potential impacts.
D: Discover All Doors
Good strategy thinking considers all the possibilities the "doors" to your future. Therefore, the first step is to collect all possible doors. Do this gathering before you begin to narrow your focus on the most appropriate doors. Gather the possibilities by listening, brainstorming and exploring divergent views. Gather all possibilities even the ones of which you're not personally fond. Include those rejected in the past. ("We go back to being an all volunteer organization in response to the fiscal crisis.") Gather far-fetched ideas, like "Let's franchise ourselves across the country." Gather ideas both said and unsaid. Gathering all doors and considering them seriously will help your organization now and later. Even though this step is not about consensus building, gathering all possible doors and seriously evaluating them in relationship to each other, provides the information you need to create consensus later-even though this may seem counter-intuitive.
Read more...
More Resources
This is a brief overview of DOOR. For more ideas on how to create meaningful nonprofit strategy, join us in our teleconference tomorrow (see side panel.) To do more strategic thinking, also see, Month-By-Month The Strategic Organization (here)
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Time-Tastic Tip
27. Block Islands. For large tasks, set aside a two-hour block of time. Repeat over several days or weeks, as needed, to make progress on key activities. Prioritize these time islands just like you would appointments with key donors.
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Visit Karen Eber Davis Consulting
Podcast #2: Karen Eber Davis Interviews Grace Armstrong about the Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay and Management Support Organizations
In this session, Karen learns about how management support organizations help nonprofit organizations. |
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What's New on Advanting the Non-Profit Sector Blog
These articles:
Fund-raising Discourse is Story-Deficient, Research Finds
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Upcoming
Events
July 30
Time Management for Nonprofit Leaders
Yes, it is different. Yes you can help your organization to manage time better.
Participants will:
1. Learn why time management is different in the nonprofit sector and how being proactive about it improves outcomes.
2. Review/Learn the basics of all time management systems and practice using the four key activities
3. Explore, in-depth, the heart of meaningful time management. Find your answer to the question, "What is the most important thing for me to do now?"
In coordination with the Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay, Inc.
Register today
2010
Teleconferences
 12 Noon Eastern Time
Raising the Bar
Register today
July 16
Raising the Bar on Your Strategic Thinking and Planning: Why Most Strategic Planning is Broken & How to Fix Yours
In this session, we will look at why you must do strategic thinking and planning to succeed. Why is it often done poorly? How can you do it right? You will leave with a dozen practical solutions to use at your organization to create strategies that energize you and your leadership team.
September 17
Raising the Bar
on Your Team Experiences,
From Networking
to Collaborations
To do more we need more help. One way to get help is to partner with others. At this event, you will learn how to:
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Improve the quality of your relationships with partners
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Attract and retain more partners and donors
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Reduce wasted time and money and misunderstandings
Register
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Need help?
Call today and
get started!
941.924.4860
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kareneberdavis |
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