Summary: "The things that cause a nonprofit organization's success are often the very same things we couldn't stand about the for-profit world when we worked there." The Mission Myth, page 25 How can you tell the difference between a good organization and a great one? The answer is in The Mission Myth: Building Nonprofit Momentum through Better Business by Deirdre Maloney. What exactly is the Mission Myth? It's the myth that heart alone will fulfill a nonprofit's mission. Success is coupled with hard work, determination, leadership, and most of all, what Deirdre calls the 4 M's: Money, Marketing, Management, and Measurement. What makes Deirdre's insight unique is that she's been through the corporate world too before making her way towards executive director of the Colorado AIDS Project. She has learned from mistakes and synthesized the myriad lessons. She now runs her own company which helps nonprofits run more smoothly through better business. While written primarily for leaders in the nonprofit sector, one of the biggest revelations she shares is that the assumed rift between nonprofit and for-profit is mostly illusive. When it comes to serving your clients and running a great organization, despite what the bottom line is, there's still a need to have organizational systems, good communication, and fiscal responsibility, so that operations can run effectively and efficiently. These are the ongoing traits that will empower everyone to thrive and accomplish a lot. Sometimes the greatest lessons shared between great businesses and nonprofits are the way they handle the 4 M's. Golden Egg Leadership Is Always Required "It may be the mission that drives you. But it's the business that drives you to success." The Mission Myth, page 25 Leadership is a pre-requisite before the 4 M's can be diagnosed and addressed with honesty. When ex-corporate refugees strive for the nonprofit sector out of pure altruism, there's a belief that you will leave all the lethargy behind. Surprisingly, that same tension of office politics, bureaucracy, and inevitable responsibility with resources (money, staff, etc.) can still emerge within the confines of a nonprofit. It still takes skill to soothe conflict and ultimately transcend pain points into strengths. Despite whether you're a nonprofit or for-profit, it'll still take a great leader and a great team to set milestones and execute the steps to get there; manage outcomes and results; own failures and learn from them; acknowledge the need for growth; clearly communicate the mission and its values; empower staff, clients, and stakeholders; manage money wisely; and balance passion with grounded business savvy. How an organization endures in these areas is what distinguishes an organization that merely does good, versus an organization that does good well. Mission and business leadership shouldn't be considered separate, or sacrificed over the other. They're not mutually exclusive. In fact, they belong together. On the flip side, this same advice can resonate for business leaders, too: For doing business (or anything) well, you must not forget the passion for what you do in the first place, and this can be the passion for your craft, your industry, or even the love of helping your customers or clients. Have you ever witnessed a business that conducts "business as usual?" Where the mission statement taped to their office walls seems lifeless and phony? GEM #1 Relationships Still Matter "Providing good customer service means you won't just get customers involved in your organization one time; it means they'll come back." The Mission Myth, page 116 Every handshake, phone call, compliment, and thanks, will have an effect on our clients and communities. Deirdre begins the lesson simply: When people join your organization for the first time, it's most likely because of the mission. But what keeps them coming back? When you give people sincere thanks,
