Category: Organization Development

Sometimes when it is too easy to find board members for your board, you may discover that at least one of those people is using your board membership as a resume builder. Over the years I have come across a few resume builders when putting together NGO boards. These personality types can be a detriment to your board, as they can prevent the board from running effectively.

However, there are actions that you can take to weed out people who are resume builders before they get on your board of directors. These are the actions you can take:

• Ask the existing board to suggest potential board members – It helps if new board members are already known to an existing board member, because then they can usually attest to the person’s commitment and reliability.
• Request a resume and references – Inform potential board candidates that you screen all potential board members and then make sure you do. It is best if you ask for at least one person who has worked with them on a board in the past, if they have worked on boards before. Past behaviour is the best gauge for how a person will perform in the future.
• Develop a set of questions – The Executive Director and Nominating committee should develop two sets of questions. One set to ask of the potential board members references and the other to ask the nominee. Make sure you ask questions about reliability, attendance, ability to work collaboratively, and their preparedness for meetings.
• Interview the candidate – The Nominating committee for the board and the Executive Director should interview potential board members to be certain that they are on the same page with the current board. That is not to say that a new board member shouldn’t have innovative ideas, but rather that they understand and follow the processes already in place for implementing their ideas.

Question of the Day: What other ways can you suggest to weed out resume builders in potential board candidates?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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By Ingrid Zacharias

Envisioning the Future International

http://envisioningthefutureintl.ca/

Although crisis management continues after the crisis is over, its focus must shift

During a crisis, all focus is on the problem at hand. The problem that some encounter, though, is that they continue to dwell on the situation after it has ended, rather than strengthening themselves, shoring up holes, and moving on. In a recent interview for Black Enterprise Magazine, Dawn Angelique Roberts, managing partner of KD Communications Group, gave some advice on how to do just that:

“Have a plan for when the crisis is over,” says Roberts. “Talk about what you/the company is doing now, what positive things you’re working on and have planned for the future. [If applicable,] talk about what you’re going to do to fix the incident or situation after the fact. Don’t concentrate on what just happened.”

Remember, crisis management, if done right, can actually result in organizations or individuals coming out stronger than they were before they landed in hot water. By taking the opportunity to not only apologize, but show stakeholders how you are ensuring there will not be such a crisis again, you build trust and a start a rapport that will ultimately strengthen your reputation.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

The latest trend in attacks presents new crisis management challenges

You’ve probably already heard of the fake Chevron PR campaign, an elaborate and temporarily effective attack by activists. For those that missed it, the elaborate prank, whose aim was to draw attention to questionable environmental practices, involved not only a fake website, but an entire series of false documents, including press releases featuring made up quotes from Chevron officials, and even a spoofed Ad Age Web page reporting on the story. This type of attack is becoming more and more common, and is likely to continue growing in popularity as more are successful. Here is one expert’s view of the future, from an AdAge.com article about the incident:

“It’s an increasingly troubling issue,” said Gene Grabowski, senior VP, Levick Strategic Communications. “We live in a time when some of the most trusted names in news are satire shows like ‘The Daily Show,’ ‘The Onion’ and ‘The Colbert Report.’ We live in an era where satire is now the news source for people. And recently Mr. Colbert testified before congress, so increasingly consumers don’t know the difference between satire, comedy and news, so it’s only natural that individuals and organizations who want to take advantage of that would launch mock PR campaigns.”

Mr. Grabowski said companies will have an uphill battle trying to combat these pranks. “It’s like a thumb trap, the more the company tries to defend itself, the more it becomes part of the story and that makes it more interesting. The company being attacked can’t effectively fight back itself and that’s why these tactics are so effective.”

These types of attacks present a serious crisis management concern, as even when consumers recognize that they are fake, they are usually presented in such a slick and entertaining manner that they are shared among peers, and, with the vast majority of that sharing happening online, they have a dangerous propensity for going viral.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

No two crises are the same, but some guidelines apply to all types of crisis management

Crisis management is not an exact science, but there are certain steps that, when taken, are almost guaranteed to provide significant benefits. While these steps are similar in many cases, for maximum effectiveness they must be tailored to fit the situation at hand. In a recent post on the Blue Glass blog, Gina Gotthilf gave a list of practical ways to manage what is now a common occurrence: Facebook crises. A couple of my favorites:

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Sure, it’s not really a fun conversation to join but – newsflash – it will continue to take place whether or not you make an appearance. Does this mean saying “Hey guys! I know you’re pissed but let’s talk about it so we can defend ourselves?” No. Again, many other articles will state just the opposite but few focus on the practical rather than the theoretical when it comes to crisis management. The first thing that will calm down an angry mob is if you…

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

Even if YOU are not personally responsible for the crisis – or if the company is not directly to blame – if this conversation is taking place on your Wall then some of it was most likely your team’s responsibility. Your fans want to hear you say “sorry, we screwed up and this won’t happen again.” Find the words you find most euphonious and appropriate – but stick to this basic message.

Neglecting to take these two steps has harmed several major organizations (BP, Toyota, need I say more?) in recent social media fueled crises. By taking action early on, you gain control and credibility in the eyes of stakeholders, enabling you to spread your message and resolve the crisis as quickly as possible.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.

There are many types of issues facing businesses, but what counts as a true crisis?

It’s not always immediately apparent when your organization is in the initial stages of a crisis. To this effect, I am pleased to bring you a guest blog submission by Michael Nayor, founder and CEO of crisis consulting firm The Rhodell Group, that investigates “What Really Constitutes a Business Crisis.”

WHAT REALLY CONSTITUTES A BUSINESS CRISIS

A business crisis can be anything that can negatively effect a company’s reputation or bottom line. Many events at first blush may not appear to be serious. HP’s firing of Mark Hurd and the subsequent entanglement with Oracle was not a big deal in the scheme of things, even though internally it must have been a shocker. However, the death or resignation of a key person in any organization could very well be serious for any company depending on just how key that person really was. Natural catastrophes, product recalls, labor disputes, computer data losses. The list is endless. Some are temporary. Some can cause the demise of a company. Most can be handled with honesty and the realization that it may be necessary to absorb losses over the short haul in order to achieve a long and healthy business life.

Two distinct categories of crisis need to be recognized. In one we lump all those events over which we have no control, such as product tampering by outside forces or natural disasters. Even in these situations there are always some actions we can take: tamper-proof packaging, liability insurance, proper protocols. But generally these events can blind-side us.

The second category contains all those events that might have been avoided had we chosen to take the actions necessary to protect ourselves and the public. Some are obvious. We look at the BP oil spill and see things that surely could have been done. Other events are not so obvious and these are the ones that can be insidious. When a management believes it is doing the right thing but in fact is fueling a potential crisis we have the makings of a catastrophe. A couple of examples will make this abundantly clear.

Market share is usually very important to a company, oddly sometimes more important than the bottom line. There is always great competition for new customers. Many times the efforts and resources devoted to advertising, marketing and selling to new customers are at the expense of a company’s loyal customer base. This can even be seen at the local level. Where I live heating oil companies consistently offer new customers a deal for the first year in order to lure them in. This, of course, is done at the expense of old, loyal customers who have to make up the slack. The result is that many savvy oil customers these days do a lot of shopping each year to find the best deal. Loyalty is a thing of the past. On a national level the problem has gotten even more serious. A recent financial story in The New Yorker last month observed that there is almost universal recognition that customer service in this country has deteriorated. Such service is considered a “cost”. Companies are looking for the customers they don’t have so they are willing to spend on marketing and advertising but are not as interested in adding to their costs of service. The article made it sound a little like cynical dating. Companies are interested in luring you in but then once they have you, they don’t quite value you as much as the next potential customer they want to corral.

Lack of service is not just a pain for helpless consumers. In this internet age they can do something about it. This is how a company can sow the seeds of its own destruction, and inexorably create its own crisis. Companies and their products and services are being rated on the internet and consumers don’t hold back. They tell it like it is. Granted, competitors may be planting some of these negative comments but for the most part product and service evaluations are being taken at face value. The moral of the story: be faithful to those who brought you to the dance, or the consequences could be severe.

Another form of self-inflicted crisis involves weathering the storm. Whether in politics, professional sports, or in business, “players” still believe that because of their importance they can ride out any issue or problem. They can’t. We can all easily tick off a dozen or so examples, but the latest is surprising. Johnson & Johnson has recently gone through a spate of recalls of tainted children’s Tylenol and Motrin. The Company has generally kept a low profile and even contracted with a third party to buy up Motrin off retail shelves rather than announce an actual recall. And for the last decade it has been settling with claimants for a variety of injuries and death allegedly due from Ortho Evra, a contraceptive patch made by its subsidiary, Ortho McNeil. It appears clear that the current management of J&J has not followed in the footsteps of the management that handled the Tylenol crisis of 1982 which is often cited as the quintessential example of crisis management in modern corporate history. Back then cyanide had been found in bottles of Tylenol in the Chicago area. J&J immediately issued public warnings, issued a product recall, created tamper-proof packaging, and before long was back in business. The Company was up-front and willing to bite the bullet in the best interests of the public. Unfortunately that does not appear to be the philosophy today. There is clearly a danger in believing one’s invincibility. The trust and respect of the public is at stake, and once lost, is very difficult to retrieve.

A crisis is not just the obvious explosion at a plant or a mine. Companies can and do create their own crises. Companies must evaluate their philosophy, their strategy and their honesty. They must take action to minimize their vulnerabilities but at the same time be prepared to take action in the best interests of the public if they value company longevity.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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Michael Nayor (Cornell University (B.S., M.B.A.) and New York University School of Law (J.D.)) is founder and CEO of The Rhodell Group, LLC, a consulting firm that advises domestic and foreign companies and industry trade associations on crisis and reputation management issues. His LinkedIn site is http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-nayor/a/861/17

He has taught economics, and written and presented seminars on a variety of business topics. He can be reached at michael_a_nayor@sbcglobal.net or 203 222-7700.

Your strategic plan will only be as effective as who you invite to participate in the process. In fact, sometimes, it is even a good idea to set up more than one planning session in order to avoid diluting the ideas by having too many interest groups involved in the same session. So plan well, which groups its okay to clump together and which ones to have a separate session for.

In my experience, the best plan for strategic consultations works in this way:

• Make the target population consultation open to everyone – The best way to ensure you hear a variety of perspectives is to invite your clientele and any other stakeholders from the community who might have an interest in participating. This keeps the process open and transparent and gives the entire community an opportunity to provide feedback.
• Keep Board members separate – By this I mean, invite your board to attend the public sessions with your clientele, but encourage them to hold back their comments and input until they have their separate consultation, in order not to dilute the voices of the clientele.
• Staff member consultations should be done separately – Your staff have a unique perspective in that they know the organization from the inside, and so to get the most benefit from their input, it is best to have that consultation separately because they will offer ideas on how to improve the processes within the organization.
• Group funders and partner organizations together – In one of the strategic plans we did, we combined our funders and partners and the results were fantastic. Funders are more aware of your organizations challenges than you often think they are. Our funders offered vital ideas on what issues our organization should be addressing in upcoming years. The good part about including your partner organizations is that they can attest to the challenges your organization is facing, and it is good both for the funders to hear partner organizations’ perspectives, it is equally as valuable for partner organizations to hear funders’ perspectives.

Question of the Day: Who else do you feel a non-profit organization should include in their strategic planning process?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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By Ingrid Zacharias, Managing Director, Envisioning the Future International, Email: izacharias@envisioningthefutureintl.ca , Website: http://envisioningthefutureintl.ca/

Proactive social media monitoring by H&R Block stops a potential crisis in its tracks

We’ve seen several examples of employees sabotaging their employers via social media, the most infamous of which may have been the YouTube video showing a pair of Dominos employees doing various disgusting things to customer’s food. Perhaps as a result of witnessing such incidents, H&R Block has a very proactive Social Media Policy in place, as former employee and self-styled Internet phenom “Kid Fury” discovered after a Tweet asking his followers to call in and ask for him by his Web moniker brought a swift reaction from H&R management. This quote from David Meerman Scott’s WebInkNow blog explains:

“Our Client Services organization, with guidance from our Social Media Team, are actively responding to customer service questions, issues, and comments via Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites,” Zena Weist, director, social media at H&R Block told me.

“What Kid Fury didn’t realize was the impact of his tweets. People searching online for H&R Block help came across his ‘just for fun’ tweets in their search results.”

Because Weist and her social-media team actively monitor tax-related comments online, they knew the moment he began posting. “We had a team monitoring and responding to customer-service inquiries on social networks,” she says. “Within 10 minutes, our social-media outreach team had identified and contacted him and his manager. About an hour later, he had deleted his tweets.”

The speed at which the situation was resolved speaks volumes for the values involvement in social media holds for crisis management. Had H&R’s team not made it a habit to monitor for specific keywords that would concern or involve the company, it would all but guarantee the flood of calls would have lasted longer and cost far more money than it did.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.

Controversial topics can easily lead publications to the need for crisis management.

A Marie Claire writer has sparked a social media crisis for the magazine after a seemingly negative article about the “Big Six,” a group of leading women’s health and fitness bloggers, drew thousands of fans to their defense. Ragan’s PR Junkie blog has more details:

These “Big Six” bloggers write about their sometimes extreme exercise routines and strict eating habits–habits that the article’s author, Katie Drummond, suggested border on eating disorders. They might be a bad influence on their readers, the story said.

“But behind the [bloggers’] cutesy titles and sloganeering lies an arguably unhealthy obsession with food, exercise, and weight,” Drummond wrote.

A BlogHer post referred to the story as a “mean-spirited attack” on the Big Six.

That’s the overwhelming sentiment across social media platforms, where the backlash to Drummond’s piece has proven fast and furious. In only a handful of days, the story has sparked outrage in blogs, on Twitter, and on Marie Claire’s Facebook page.

If you look at Marie Claire’s Facebook page, it is absolutely covered in negative postings about the article, but any response from the magazine is suspiciously absent. The case is the same for Twitter. As we’ve seen in many other social media crises, declining to respond is one of the worst choices an organization can make. By delaying the inevitable mea culpa, Marie Claire is allowing reputation damage to pile up and increasing the likelihood of traditional media sources taking notice of the story.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

When I first started in the community development field, I was amazed to discover that so many of the target populations that we dealt with really felt they didn’t have a voice and that their opinions didn’t matter or count for anything. At first I had a hard time grasping the concept that someone could believe that their voice could mean nothing. But as the years passed and I worked with more and more people who felt disenfranchised and felt they had no voice, my opinion started to change.

Probably the greatest hurtle that anyone doing community development or capacity building has to overcome is the fact that many of the people they work with feel very alone and because of their dependence upon social agencies and government services, they have been made to feel like they have little control in their lives and so their opinions don’t matter.

But the power of one person can be combined with many others to make a difference in their own lives, in their communities and in our society. The power of one when united with a multitude of others with common perspectives is a huge power and a strong voice.

How do we help people to realize that their one voice has power? Well there are several ways to do this. Community development workers can:

• Build a positive relationship with their clients – Speak sincerely, openly and honestly with your clients and demonstrate that you value their insights, opinions and perspectives. Never promise them anything that you can’t deliver.
• Talk about current issues in the news – Talk to clients about current issues that impact their lives and ask their opinions on those issues. Encourage them to share their opinions through group discussions, coffee meetings, or having them present their opinions in a speech to their peers.
• Ask for clients input on community – Create opportunities for clients to provide input on what they think about their communities and what they identify as issues in their community and challenges they are facing as residents of that community.
• Set a goal – In co-operation with your client and other individuals, set a goal to accomplish in the community. Set a goal and encourage them to take ownership of that process by talking to others about it. Once the goal is achieved, your clients will begin to understand that their voice when united with others can be loudly heard and have a huge impact on their personal lives.

Question of the Day: What other ways can you think of to assist people in recognizing the power of one?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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By Ingrid Zacharias

Website: http://envisioningthefutureintl.ca/

If there’s one challenge many social enterprises have in common, it’s finding capital. Insufficient capitalization is a primary reason that small businesses fail or fail to grow, and that’s also the case for social enterprises.

The good news: that seems to be changing. A new field is emerging, so young that it still goes by many names (social capital markets, social stock market, impact investing), but the overall goal is the same: create structures to connect socially focused investors with socially focused ventures.

We’re not talking small potatoes here. According to some sources, there is a $120 billion untapped market of individual investors who are willing to invest resources into social enterprises that produce positive social and environmental impacts. But as yet we do not have the structures (such as social stock markets) to attract those investments.

So the race is on. Next week, the third annual Social Capital Markets Conference (SOCAP10) will convene in San Francisco on just this topic. The conference web site notes “a proliferation of (social) investment funds of $100 million each, and a new index to help investors better target their financing.” Social capital is already flowing.

Since capital flows with little regard to national boundaries, so does the work in this field. The notion of a social stock market seems to have sparked (or had its latest spark) abroad, in the United Kingdom. A recent article about that effort (and connections with the US as well) can be found in a recent article published by Foundation Center, Bring on the Social Stock Exchange.

You can keep in touch with this emerging field by keeping your browser pointed at Social Edge, where this has been a lively discussion topic lately.

Finally, a major challenge for the emergence of this field is figuring out how to measure social performance in a manner that will be meaningful and transparent to social investors. This is often called social return on investment (SROI). Check out the Performance Review discussion on Social Edge about this topic.

We’ll come back to SROI in a future blog. In the meantime, do some thinking about what it would take to make your social enterprise venture (or idea) attractive to that $120 billion opportunity.

Will your venture be ready?