As we Yanks celebrate July 4th this year, just imagine the courage it took our founding fathers to make independence happen.  Remarkable!  It was so dangerous to choose a free country that would self-govern and proclaim life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Talk about amazing social change.  What can nonprofits learn from Mr. Franklin and friends?

I had the great fortune to live in Philadelphia for many years, and am a big fan of Benjamin Franklin.   This post is dedicated to him and just a few of his quotes you may have heard.

 I think we can all still benefit from his wisdom.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”  Clearly our forefathers had a plan.  Do you?  Jumping in without direction will be a waste of time and energy, and will stall progress. There is nothing like a good strategy session to identify key initiatives.  But does this exciting plan then hide in your computer files, only to be dragged out again next year so you can remember what was discussed?  Build some accountability systems into it.  Timelines with clear action steps and necessary resources will keep things moving for your organization.  Otherwise, as Ben says, you might as well plan nothing because that is what will get accomplished.

“Never confuse motion with action.”  Well said, Ben.  All of us have spun our wheels at some point.  We are so busy!  It’s time to slow down, take a breath and look around.  What did you accomplish last week?  Was there clear progress toward your goals?  Did you really spend any time moving the needle on the most important things for your organization?  Did you spend too much time in meetings?  Did you work on a lot of little things, but nothing that really supported major initiatives?  Did you get distracted and try to return all those emails right away? Spend 5 minutes doing a quick analysis of how you spent your time.  Now prioritize next week’s work, and engage some board members, based on what you know is most critical.  No need to tackle it all at once – just take a step.

“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”  Thriving organizations share this – they have leaders who are smart enough to realize they must adapt and be proactive.  This is neither easy nor always comfortable.  But when we get out of our comfort zone, that’s when real learning and innovation can occur.  Be bold enough to take that step.  It’s also critical to evaluate your key strategies periodically and tweak them where necessary to ensure success.  When was the last time your board intentionally assessed your plan?  Status quo will lead to mediocrity at best, and Ben knew that.

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”  Drive.  There is no substitute for it.  Great ideas, great plans, great intentions mean nothing unless there is a solid dose of stick-to-it-ness.  Leading a nonprofit can be challenging and it would be easier to give up and declare you gave it all you could. Really?  Since when is anything significant – like impacting real social change – going to be simple?  If things don’t work well the first time, regroup, talk to your team and try a different strategy.  Do you think our forefathers got it right the first time all the time?  History shows that is not the case.  I think we owe it to our communities to try as hard as we can; to make that hard call, to give that honest feedback, to secure more resources, to focus on compliance issues, to put in a little more time on the critical issues.  What if Ben Franklin, George Washington, Tom Jefferson, James Madison and others had given up on their dream?

I am really looking forward to spending time with friends at a beach concert tomorrow, celebrating our freedom.  I will remember to lift a glass to Ben and his pals.  They had great vision, put together an amazing plan, focused their work, and never gave up until they accomplished their goals. And we all get to benefit from their amazing talent.

Wishing you a wonderful Independence Day!

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