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You are here: Home / Fundraising Advice / Non-Profit Planning Series – Shaving the Yak and Other Useless Endeavors

Fundraising Advice Non-Profit Communications

Non-Profit Planning Series – Shaving the Yak and Other Useless Endeavors

If you hired me as a consultant, chances are we would have a conversation at some point where I would say to you, "Stop! You're shaving the yak!"

You would likely say, "What?! There's no yak in my office! What are you talking about?" 

I'm taking about going down a rabbit hole on a project that takes up time and resources and, most importantly, aims to solve a problem that doesn't really need to be solved. You my friend unknowingly find yourself shaving the yak, which as you can imagine isn't really something any of us need to do. 

I can't take credit for this phrase. I read it here on Seth Godin's blog years ago but I wanted to share it with you in our planning series because it captures something I see happen so often at non-profits -- solving problems that don't really need to be solved, which leads to more unnecessary problems needing to be solved. 

Some examples of shaving the yak that I've encountered in my years of consulting:

  • Trying to optimize the signatory on a direct mail letter
  • Debating a 2 or 3 column newsletter format
  • Over segmentation or suppression of segments for mail or email
  • Deciding on the colors for gala, which inevitable leads to conversations about table clothes and napkins

You get the gist. 

The challenge of shaving the yak is that we don't always recognize we're doing until we've already spent hours attempting to shave it. 

And this is exactly why I bring up this problem in our planning series. 

Whenever you make plans -- be it a fundraising plan, a communications plan, or even a strategic plan -- you need to find a way to get objective about the plan and identify where you are trying to shave the yak. 

When you look at your goals and projects, ask these questions:

  • What problem is this really trying to solve for us?
  • This is a problem that needs to be solved?
  • Is there are better problem to solve? 

Need to catch up on the planning series posts?

  1. Setting a Chief Initiative
  2. Choosing Priority Projects

If you've found this post helpful, you may enjoy this webinar recording that is a 90-minute guided workshop on planning. Yes, it talks about planning for 2019 but everything I teach in it is applicable to planning anytime! 

Interested in storytelling planning resources? My book has worksheets and step-by-step guidance to help you create a custom 12-month storytelling plan.

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About Vanessa Chase Lockshin

My name is Vanessa Chase Lockshin, and I want to empower you to tell your story. In my personal life, finding ways to tell my stories has been a transformational practice. In my fundraising life, I’ve helped hundreds of organizations tell their stories to engage and inspire their donors. To date, my work has helped non-profits raise over $10 million.

« Non-Profit Planning Series – Choosing Your Priority Projects
4 Questions to Make Strategic Decisions »

Hi there!

My name is Vanessa Chase Lockshin and I've helped non-profits raise over $10 million by telling stories that engage and inspire donors. I'm the author of The Storytelling Non-Profit: A practical guide to telling stories that raise money and awareness, and the creator of immersive online training programs that have trained thousands of non-profit professionals. Read More…

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