Have you ever thought about how much noise you're bombarded with daily?
By noise I mean the sea of fundraising and communications advice. And for the record, I realize that I could very well be part of that noise in your day today.
But seriously, SO MUCH NOISE.
What I'm perpetually curious about is how we can tune out the noise and tune into what works.
After all, you are just one person. You don't have time to try all of the advice that's being thrown at you. Not only does it spread your resources thin, it prevents you from being super focused on what's getting results.
You need a filter. Part of developing a filter is developing best practices for yourself and your organization.
To tune out the noise in the non-profit sector you need to develop your own best practices.
Here's a peek at my process for sifting through the noise and creating best practices.
1. Make a list of the projects/initiatives/tactics I'm currently using
2. Gather data and outcomes associated with each
3. Review the data, noting any insights and outliers
4. Ask the following questions:
What am I doing now that I should do more of?
What am I doing now that I should stop doing?
What am I doing now that I should keep doing at the same level?
These questions in step 4 will help you get the heart of your best practices and strategy. They give you insight as to where to focus your resources and time, but more importantly they will help you tune out some of the noise.
Developing your own best practices is the only way for your organization to lead itself and develop strategies that truly work for it. On January 17 I'll be teaching a webinar to help you create your best practices for 2019. Find out more and sign up here.
