A mere 25 years ago there wasn’t widespread adoption of email or internet technologies. Texting from mobile devices didn’t become popular until the early 2000s and smart mobile phones weren’t ubiquitous until later that decade. Email, the internet, texting, mobile devices. . . We have experienced tremendous technological advances over the last 25 years. And, as…
Category: Constituency Service
Just Go Play
My son plays high school basketball. During the fall of 2020, his freshman year, his high school made the difficult decision to cancel most of their season due to the pandemic. Because he would be missing a full year of his high school career, my son went to his coach and asked what drills he…
Feeling Questions
People feel the intent of the question, regardless of the word choice or content. “Can you help me understand the numbers?” can be an authentic, even humble question. Or, it can be a passive-aggressive bomb. “Were you invited to the meeting?” can be a question that elevates one’s sense of value. Or, it can be…
Hope and Indifference
Two socially transmitted doctrines. In one, we invite an authentic, joyful, heartening belief to overtake us: “Tomorrow will be better than today.” In the other, we give in to a cynical, misanthropic, resigning frame of mind and heart: “I’m not concerned about tomorrow.” There is no question that advancing our institutions is done best when…
From “How” To “Why?”
Yesterday, I used OpenAI’s artificial-intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, for the first time. I asked ChatGPT the following question: “How can I raise more money as a university development officer?” Here, in full, is the response I received in less than 10 seconds: “As a university development officer, your primary responsibility is to raise funds for your…
Believing What We Say
“We don’t believe what we hear. We believe what we say.” Social scientists have proved this old saying over and over again in a multitude of studies. For instance, and as Daniel Lieberman and Michael Long report in their book, “The Molecule of More,” if we talk with someone about the importance of honesty and…
I Need Better Data
“I need better data,” is the response we often hear (and sometimes give ourselves) when we are uncomfortable with a next step. Consider: “I need more data before I know how much to invite him to give. . .” “I need better data before we can run an accurate list of donors who gave at…
Letting The Outside In
I visit with many college and university presidents, nonprofit executives, and other leaders. When I ask, “so, how are things right now?” I often get one of two types of answers: A reflective, introspective response focused on what is happening within the institution. How things are progressing with the leadership team, for instance. Or, how…
The Diagonal Problem
Organizational charts matter. They aren’t the final answer to the question of “how effective are we?” But they are an important component of that answer. When we don’t communicate based on the organizational chart, we risk problems. Take, for instance, a Dean of a college engaging the Foundation CEO regularly instead of her gift officer….
5 New Ways To Get Great Abs!
There is a simple reason headlines like this are used over and over again on fitness magazine covers or fitness posts on social media, etc. They work. For a whole host of reasons, many people seek slimmer midsections so they are curious about, “5 new ways. . .” As a result, such tried and trusty…