Yea, but how are you going to fund it?

When do-gooders envision a future in which the problem they’re passionate about is solved, we begin to move in the right direction.

And there are plenty of problems to solve, so we’d better get to it.

But let’s notice that when people talk about these visions of better futures, there’s a singular focus on the problem. Education, food insecurity, and access to healthcare, just to name a few.

Usually some personal experience opens our heart up to a problem that now feels more proximate, and we’re inspired to help out. The thing is, the process I’ve described happens every day, on its own. For millions of us.

The part I’m more focused on is how we think about funding the solutions to the problems we’ve identified.

We know our WHY, what we need is better systems-thinking around the HOW.

Markets tell us that products and services are how value is delivered. That means you better have one or the other, otherwise it’ll be hard to understand why you’re involved. Especially as a nonprofit.

So why don’t we give HOW a try?

The WHY will get people onboard, the HOW will take us there.

Strategy starts by stepping back

I tend to work on various projects at the same time and getting organized about how I create for those endeavors has been a process. In the nonprofit world, resources are usually at such a premium that a near frantic pace ensues.

Whether as an entrepreneur, a nonprofit, a small business owner, or an employee in a larger company, the tendency can be to feel like we don't have enough time to stop, analyze & strategize.

We have to act, and now! But maybe we should rethink that........

Whether taking a walk, stopping to read something for leisure, meditating, or setting certain schedules for tasks that help anchor our day, there are various habits & rituals that can help us back away for a moment, only to come back to our work with fresh eyes and renewed energy.

What habits and rituals help you decompress?

Hit the button below to Get In Touch or just reply to this email, I'd love to hear what you do to step back.

Habits and rituals that help refresh the mind are hugely valuable because they help us do better work in smaller amounts of time. Have you ever felt like you HAD to get something done, then basically tied yourself to the laptop until it was completed (even though you were creating way less potently and the flow really wasn't there)?

I sure have! But I'm trying to do it less and less. I've been trying to convince myself that it's OK, even better, to stop for a minute or 15, then jump back in.

And it's true. Creative potency up, time spent down.

This allows us the space to slow down long enough to have a plan. And here's the thing... the plan can change. In fact, it has to if it's going to work.

But having a plan is about how our different projects function (whether in one company or various companies), how much time they require, how we're going about implementing them, and most importantly, how having new data about what we've done can help us improve it.

Let's be skeptical of anyone who says something can't be done better.

The ripple effect is: Step back for mind breaks -> Create more in less time -> Use saved time to strategize more effectively.

I suspect that strategy starts by stepping back.