This intensive is designed for non-profit leaders that desire to develop long-term strategies and solutions for funding their respective organizations. Whether you are a founder, executive team member, development lead, or seeking to launch a new organization, this intensive will give you great perspectives and practical insights into developing your organization. You will walk away with many time-tested insights and principles that will help you immediately help you with your fundraising efforts. The ROI (Return on Investment) for an event like this is a no-brainer.

Topics will include:

• The Courtship of Fundraising: Developing Authentic & Lasting Relationships with Donors
• Practical Insights into Building Corporate Partnerships
• The Keys to Effective Negotiations
• Managing Funding Opportunities
• Staffing Non-Profit Development Efforts
• Leveraging Technology for Discovering New Opportunities
• Off the Record: What Books on Fundraising Won’t Tell You
• Remembering Why You’re Doing What You’re Doing
• and many more!

Be sure to register today for this unique opportunity to learn from one of the premiere practitioners in the non-profit world. Seating is VERY limited so don’t miss out!

Click Here to Get Tickets

We will be hosting this event at The Crosby in Santa Ana, CA from 9am to 3pm! If you haven’t been to The Crosby, you need to. Simply put, it’s amazing. This will be a great venue for our time together.

Registration to this event includes Ideation Intensive materials, copy of “Good Idea. Now What?“, catered lunch, and networking opportunities.

Our Ideation Intensive Facilitator:

Keith Kall is the Executive Director, Corporate Engagement (Global Partnerships) at World Vision. Keith believes in leveraging on the best attributes of the “private sector” to try to help improve the lives of the poor, the thirsty, the oppressed and the suffering, worldwide. He is deeply committed to the pursuit of integrating business, innovation and appropriate technology into health, community development and emergency relief work to provide new solutions to chronic problems. Keith is bridging the gap between the business and humanitarian sectors to build joint-equity partnerships with Fortune 1000 corporations to tackle problems and help fill gaps in African, Southeast Asian and Latin American communities.

Click Here to Get Tickets

While there’s some value in defining innovation, it’s far more important to frame one’s perspective and praxis for innovation. Innovation is much more than simply introducing new things and/or ideas. Good innovation actually solves problems for the one(s) receiving its benefit. Here are some thoughts that have helped me frame how I view and approach innovation:

• Innovation changes the current situation into a preferred one. Innovation is not simply the act of adding a new idea on top of previous ones, especially those that created the problems in the first place. Rather, it’s an endeavor to create a new reality that breaks through our current roadblocks to the future that we desire.
• Innovation requires good problem solving and design skills. Good innovators have (1) the ability to identify, clarify, and articulate the real problem and (2) design a practical solution that people actually need. Development of these skills require lots of practice and time.  
• Innovation moves beyond creativity to strategy, metrics, implementation, assessment, and on-going refinement. Creative ideas are not enough for innovation. Innovation is not brainstorming nor just talking about new ideas. Innovation, in order to be effective, must attach itself to intentional planning, execution, and continual refinement.

Innovation is hard work. It’s far easier just to talk about ideas that might create the change we desire. Unfortunately, ideas are impotent without action.

The good news is that once you get in the habit of acting upon your ideas, your ability to innovate will quickly improve. Furthermore, you’ll start to see noticeable change in your life, work, and play. (You can thank me later.)

#LiveForward

Innovative companies work hard to bring clarity to real problems and design practical solutions for implementation. Many of these companies are exerting a lot of energy and resources towards creating an innovative company versus simply launching innovative projects. Here are some commonly adopted keys to creating an innovative company:

1. Innovation Starts with Vision – The topic of innovation must have a seat at the executive table. It should be a regular point of conversation and integrated fully into the overall narrative of a company. Whether it is a C-Level executive vision casting or a manager speaking to a direct-report during a review, the story of innovation must be integrated into the vision of the company. Team members at every level should be able to point to actual stories within the company that highlight this vision for innovation.
2. Innovation Scales with Culture – The natural outflow of vision should be the development of culture. While it’s tempting to just focus on the short-term ROI found in growth or value-adding products/services for customers, innovation flourishes when there’s a commitment to developing company culture or environment. In the long run, a great culture creates more energy for a company, long-term growth, and retains more talent. People aren’t usually leaving companies because of a lack of new innovation projects. It’s often an issue of culture.
3. Innovation Welcomes a New Kind of Thinking – Traditional thinking tells us to do what we know. How do we know what to do? Look to the past. This kind of thinking does not lead to more innovation. Innovative thinking adds another layer that allows people to diverge from what the past tells them. Divergent thinking takes what we know and then explores what could be. The past alone does not dictate what the future could be in this model.
4. Innovation Embraces Processes & Metrics – Innovation is not just feel good idea-making. Innovative companies embrace processes and metrics. Refining how a company gets innovative ideas to implementation is a constant area of focus for these companies. Developing metrics for how innovation gets injected into a company, how it is measured in-process, and what are expected as outcomes collective provide guidance for the innovation process. Innovative companies don’t shy away from creating and refining processes and metrics.
5. Innovation Needs Space for We & Me – Innovative companies allow for both individual times for employees to innovative as well as collective times. These times are often integrated into the rhythm on one’s work week. Also, these companies encourage the cross-pollination of inter-departmental expertise to spark new ideas and opportunities. There appears to be a growth in the number of idea-competitions, innovation think-tanks, and innovation centers on the rise.

Innovation is no longer optional in our new world. What will you do to help your company innovate?

Ken’s invigorating and insightful commentary combine with acclaimed interview skills to make him one of broadcasting’s rising stars.

During this episode, Ken shares thoughts from his new book, One Question: Life Changing Answers from Today’s Leading Voices.

If you could sit down with the people you most admire and ask just one question, what would you ask?

One Question invites you to peer over the shoulder of a master interviewer with access to today’s best and brightest as he delivers carefully crafted questions and collects answers guaranteed to surprise, challenge, and inspire.

• What is Coach Tony Dungy’s advice for achieving success while maintaining integrity?
• What advice does Malcolm Gladwell give parents about instilling a work ethic in our children?
• How does President Jimmy Carter suggest we continue forward and reinvent ourselves in new seasons?
• What does Robin McGraw have to say to women about reaching their full potential both inside and outside their homes?

Please take a moment to listen to the interview below. (Click here to listen to our previous episodes on iTunes.)

Also, many thanks to CaseCrown for making this podcast possible through their sponsorship!

Life makes so much more sense when we come to a place to that we NEED others. No matter how different others may be in their worldview, cultural identity, and personal preferences, moving towards a mindset that says WE is better than ME is healthy.

G5 Leadership just released a new video, presentation, and discussion guide as a part of their research for a new book they’re writing. It’s absolutely FREE to download.

I hope you will take a moment to watch this video and visit their site for some great resources. Here’s a quick synopsis of the project from their founders, Steven Smith and David Marcum:

As part of research for a new book we’re writing, we noticed a societal decline in unity. You’ve probably noticed it too.

Politicians are divided with intractable positions. Enterprises and teams are territorial. Partners often appear to simply coexist. Families seem more separated, even when they’re together. There is a growing trend of me that divides we. We wanted to do our part to reverse the trend.

We created a video on the power of unity titled We. To spark a discussion, we produced three tools you can download that go with the video:

1. A discussion guide to build a stronger culture of we where you work.
2. A PowerPoint presentation for the discussion guide, including the video.
3. A handout for people who attend the session.

We hope the discussion makes a difference, wherever we matters to you.

No matter how much you think you’ve figured it out, there’s always more to learn. The twists and turns of life truly keep it from ever becoming dull or boring. Unexpected lessons, both from deep sources of pain and experiences of grace, are the bumpers that keep us moving forward in the midst of our seemingly chaotic journey.

While some of the following life learnings are things I’ve learned years ago, they’ve reappeared recently as if to reiterate their importance. Here are some life learnings I’ve (re)noted for myself these past 12 months that continue to shape me as a person (in no particular oder):

• Patience is a virtue and virtues take time to integrate into one’s life. It’s pretty self-evident, but it truly takes a whole lot of time to build patience as a virtue. I wish it wasn’t so. Yes, think about this one.
• Human beings are totally unpredictable (including me). This often leads to much joy and sometimes much pain. I’ve realized that a person’s intent for good doesn’t necessarily guarantee a good outcome. Nevertheless, I’m going to continue to give people the benefit of the doubt. I’m not sure if I like the alternative.
• Reciprocal friendships are hard to find. Be as generous as you can to everyone, but be sure to invest and nurture your true friendships. Don’t spend too much time or energy with people that only seek to receive and not contribute.
• Say “Thank You” and “I Believe in You” often. The affirmation of others is truly powerful. Sending regular notes of encouragement to people you appreciate reaps unexpected moments of fulfillment. Don’t do it because you want something in return, but don’t be surprised if you get something in return.
• Kids are awesome. They remind us of the wonder, joy, and simplicity of living life. They are resilient and regularly point out all the things we “grew out of”. Keep learning from them.
• Learn to create rhythm and pace for living (when you can). Very few people have control over their entire schedule. Nevertheless, embrace the windows of time you do have control over. Keep those sacred and be sure to include things that fill you and make you come alive. Life is too short not to feed our souls.
• Don’t rebel to rebel nor conform because it’s easier. Be uniquely you while not living with angst or anger towards systems that you can’t control. If you’re unhappy, design a new reality, even if you have to make a painful transition. We need to minimize the number of people who are growing more bitter with age. #JustSaying
• Work hard towards refining and discovering your unique offering to the world (or at least, your world). Being the best at something requires us to ignore the hype the surrounds us in order to focus what we were designed to become. Go for it. No one is stopping you to be the best.
• Enjoy food & drink. I have no research to back this but I’m going to guess that there’s a correlation between appreciating good food & drink with personal happiness and fulfillment. (No, I’m not talking about going on an eating binge because of stress or depression.) If you can’t enjoy food & drink, you’re probably way too busy. I’m trying to be better in this area.

What are some things you’re learning about life these days? Please leave your comments below or send me an email. Love to hear from you.

Unfortunately, many just go with the flow and end up exerting too much energy and resources into areas that take them away from creating quality products and services. While we ought to be mindful of shifts in the market and consumer behavior, it’s vital for us to pay attention to what we’re actually building through our efforts.

Here are some tips to help you rise above the market clutter and develop a brand that people choose to talk about:

• Know Your Customer – This goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. Most products and services we create won’t benefit everyone. In other words, we don’t have to go after everyone. Focus your storytelling and marketing efforts to those that need to hear your message. Blasting out invites and messages for everyone you think you know will often be perceived as spam-like, unfocused, and poor business strategy. Just because something like email is free doesn’t mean you should send it to everyone, especially without their permission. Build your customer base one customer at a time by providing individual attention to their needs (even the ones they don’t know they have).
• Focus on the Quality & Refinement – As marketing guru Seth Godin as said in the past, create products and services that people will choose to make a remark about. Isn’t that what it means to be remarkable? This takes a ton of work. We have to be the best in a category of thought. Instead of trying to mass market your idea, focus on building a better product or service. Give yourself permission to stay in beta even after you launch. Continual refinement and improvement is a cultural commitment every company and organization should embrace. Yes, you’ll never be done.
• Articulate a Meaningful Story – Why should people care that your product or service exists? Is there a story that helps us understand why you do what you do? Is that story clear and memorable to your customer? I’m not just talking about having a nice pitch with some articulating of how and what you do. I’m talking about the “why” behind what you do. If people can’t understand our why, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for them to develop brand loyalty in the long run. Clarify why your work is an essential piece to the lifestyle of your customers.

In fact, allocating lower budget percentages towards overhead is viewed by many as a weightier metric for success than an organization’s ability to scale impact, sustain growth, and provide impactful services. In my opinion, this common view of non-profit spending is broken and dysfunctional. While it may be noble to get as much funding “to the field”, this business model often works against an organization’s ability to do the very thing that their mission and vision states.

I think donors as well as organizational leaders must rethink non-profit spending. The thoughtful strategy for scaling mission and impact should take precedence over lowering the overhead percentage. In many cases, we will help more people by spending more in the right areas that lead to great ROI.

Please take a moment to watch this insightful TED talk by Dan Pallotta. He challenges us to not equate frugality with morality and start rewarding charities for their big goals and big accomplishments (even if that comes with big expenses).

Bono, in this compelling TED talk, thinks so. Using some of the latest data from global efforts to end extreme poverty, hunger, and disease (especially in Africa), Bono makes the case that if we harness our current momentum, we can indeed move towards 0% percentage of people living in extreme poverty (i.e., people living on less than $1.25 per day) by 2028.

Could it be true? Is it possible?

I think it’s worthy goal that we should all participate in. Please take a moment and take in some good news on poverty!