Archive for June, 2012

7 Principles of Business Integrity

Sunday, June 24th, 2012

Robin Noah

I recently read an article on the 7 Principles of Business Integrity by business strategist Robert Moment . He comments on Alan K Simpson’s views that”If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters“.

If a survey were done and the question posed was “What attribute is the most influential in regard to the success of a business, would you know immediately which one is the most important? It seems that integrity is at the head of the list.

Where Does Integrity Start? As Mr. Moment writes “…. when business integrity is present throughout the deepest layers of a company and not just at its surface, it becomes the heart and soul of the company’s culture and can mean the difference between a company that succeeds and a company that falters

Whether it is a nonprofit organization or a not for profit business the basic premise would apply. Integrity has always existed as an overriding component among the business community, but in recent times it seems to be falling short. In these days of electronics and social media businesses are more susceptible to scrutiny and measurement in their competitive markets, especially in global markets where customers will simply not consider a company that shows any less than the highest level of integrity.

A highlight of the 7 principles of business integrity is: 1) Understanding the customers expectation of trust, 2) Ensuring the continuous improvement or goods and services, 3) honoring commitments and obligations, 4) making sure promotional materials are accurately representing the company, 5) being visible and involved in the community, 6) proactive fiscal responsibility and 7) conducting business with professional respect and courtesy

Truly successful businesses recognize the significance of integrity as a tool for achieving its desired outcomes. They recognize that while certain precise universal principles lead to business integrity, it is in the overall mindset of the company and the unfailing implementation of these key elements that an enterprise is truly defined. 　

Note: Robert Moment is a business strategist and author of It Only Takes a Moment to Score found on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

Author:  Robin Noah,  Executive Coaches of Orange County,  www.ECofOC.org

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Can 360 Evaluations Help Your Nonprofit?

Monday, June 18th, 2012
Bob Cryer

Bob Cryer

According to an article written by Michelle Gislason and Marissa Terona of Northwestern University, “the 360 process provides a framework that ensures that feedback is received in a balanced way from a variety of stakeholders”. A 360’s design collects feedback on the skills and attributes that are most valued by an organization. This kind of feedback is critical to leadership development and improving collaboration in a nonprofit. It supports “relentless learning”, encouraging employees and leaders to seek out and utilize new ideas for improving their effectiveness in the nonprofit organization.

A 360 consists of a series of questions about how well an individual is doing relative to the skills and attitudes that are most valued by the nonprofit. A 360 experienced HR consultant typically works with management to select an appropriate set of questions to include in the 360. The person receiving the feedback and their manager identify who to collect data from (subordinates, collaborators, donors, clients, managers, board members, etc.). The process is explained to everyone involved, and they all receive the 360 questionnaire. The responses to each question are typically limited to multiple choices like “strongly agree”, “somewhat agree”, “neither agree nor disagree”, “somewhat disagree” or “strongly disagree” plus the option to provide a comment on each question. The HR person aggregates and summarizes the ratings and comments to protect the anonymity of the sources and meets with the person receiving the feedback to explain the results and to help them create a personal development plan. The individual might then meet with their manager to discuss their proposed development plan.

According to the authors, many nonprofit employees live in “feedback desert”, receiving little more than an occasional offhand comment on how they are doing. Even those that get a performance appraisal may not be receiving feedback on all of the attributes that are valued by the nonprofit, and may only be getting one person’s limited perspective. In order to create a “culture of learning” for more rapid leadership and organization development, feedback needs to be comprehensive, unbiased, trusted and fairly frequent. The 360 might be one way of doing this.

To read the authors’ article “The Good, Bad and Ugly of 360 Evaluations”, go to www.nonprofitquarterly.org/management/14386.

Author:  Bob Cryer,  Executive Coaches of Orange County,  www.ECofOC.org

 

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Performance Reviews- yuck!

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

Larry Tucker

Each nonprofit board of directors should be reviewing the executive director’s performance annually, and in turn, the executive director should annually review the performance of her leadership team. I’ve been surprised to learn these reviews aren’t occurring, or aren’t occurring at the right frequency, at many nonprofits.  

Performance reviews accomplish some very critical goals for an organization. They…  

  • Prompt (force) discussions about performance that may not be happening on a regular basis.
  • Provide the necessary documentation for all future actions, like pay increases or firings. 
  • Ensure that all leaders of an organization are on the same page, working toward the same goals, and acting out the organization’s vision and mission. 

You can easily spot the nonprofits where performance reviews aren’t happening….sloppy processes, mixed messages, “bad apple” employees. Reviews take time and energy, and often involve difficult conversations, so many leaders conveniently forget about doing them.  

Here are some thoughts about easing your way into a set pattern of effective performance reviews. 

Use a 360 Review Process. An effective 360 review process makes certain that you receive many perspectives on the same employee and doesn’t rely solely on your observations and opinions. The feedback, then, is more credible to the employee and will likely be better accepted.  

 Start with yourself. If you are the executive director, get performance feedback on yourself from your board and your direct reports. It won’t be a surprise then when you start the process on others.  

 Start simple. If this is the first review you have done in a while, don’t try to accomplish everything. Start with a few primary critical areas, like focusing on each person’s ability to “live the mission statement”.  

 Use existing templates or create your own. The internet is loaded with 360 review templates, but creating your own isn’t too difficult. It can simply be a series of statements like “Encourages teamwork” with four choices to choose from: Strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree. 

 Use internet tools. Websites like Survey Monkey and Zoomerang allow you to design and administer a 12-question survey for free and the results are presented anonymously in summary form.  

Effective performance reviews are important for the success of your organization. Start today!

Author:  Larry Tucker,  Executive Coaches of Orange County,  www.ECofOC.org

 

 

 

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Avoiding Scandal for Charitable Giving

Monday, June 4th, 2012

Adrianne DuMond

What precautions can be taken to avoid any scandal in charitable giving? Recent scandals by well-intentioned philanthropies have caused concern in the non profit world. (See Madonna and Malawi girls; Greg Mortenson and Three Cups of Tea; Penn State’s Coach Sandusky and The Second Mile, Rev. Schuller and the Crystal Cathedral). Charity experts say there are common causes that can lead to this kind of scandal. They are: 

• Insufficient oversight: At least five (5) independent Board members need to provide oversight of how the funds are spent. Charity-rating organizations usually require at least five, and more if the charity is a large one. 

• Potential conflicts of interest: Are donated monies personally benefiting an individual or business of a Board member or staff? 

• Celebrity Founders: Inspirational founders, who create loyal followers, impassion an audience, and blind a naïve, innocent Board to the pitfalls of poor financial oversight, can cause a scandal from which the charity has a difficult time recovering. 

• Family ties: Daniel Borochoff, President of Charity Watch, a charity watchdog organization, says ‘Family members can easily collude’, and warns against Boards being dominated by family members.

Being proactive in 2012, surveying the leadership of your organization, and its policies, are the best way to stay clean from any scandal. This article was researched in the January, 2012 BoardSource Newsletter, from an article written by Sandra Block.

Author: Adrianne DuMond, Executive Coaches of Orange County, www.ECofOC.org

 

 

 

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Cause Marketing: Marrying Business Efforts with Nonprofit Missions

Monday, June 4th, 2012
Dan Charobee

Dan Charobee

A “marriage”? Nonprofit and business? Isn’t that like a Hatfield meeting a McCoy at the alter? Doesn’t business damage or destroy and nonprofits clean up or repair? Smart executives know that customers and contributors expect more from both. We expect business to be good stewards of the resources they use and also a contributing member of our community. Business is responding to this demand through the concept of Cause-Marketing. 

The origins are said to go back to Marriott and March of Dimes in the mid 70s, but began before that, as most things do, at a smaller level, like the first pizza parlor that posted photos of the local school sports team or fire department. It still operates that way today, with large and small businesses working with nonprofits. It has developed into $1.68 billion in business spending in 2011 and is predicted to grow to $1.73 billion in 2012. IEG, LLC., whose figures appear here, titles a feature article “More Nonprofits Earning Majority of Revenue from Sponsorship”. 

How do you go about approaching this area of fund generation? As in any good marriage, it goes beyond getting a contribution. Major corporations appreciate the added awareness of developing a significant presence in a community through supporting a good cause. And, so should you.   

  1. Make cause-marketing a part of your strategic plan. If it relates to your mission, it fits your program and better relates to the business you select to work with. 
  2.  Include prospective businesses in your communications system. They need thorough information to present your organization’s information to their customers, managers and employees. 
  3. Provide additional ways for customers and employees to contribute. Tie your story to their interests and let them know they can contribute directly.  
  4. If you are the Executive Director, make it your priority to find common ground with the business community. Or, keep the ED involved and able to talk with upper management.  
  5. Match the scale and scope of your organization with the businesses you are trying to reach. Then, go beyond that to your Vision of where you want to be?  
  6. Show your appreciation for their effort.  

Forbes contributor Timothy Ogden cautions about cause marketing backfiring due to mismatching. A great relationship can last a lifetime as many major corporations have developed years of support to specific nonprofits.

 Author:  Dan Charobee, Executive Coaches of Orange County, www.ECofOC.org

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