The myriad of tools available to us today means that we can see up to the second information on how many volunteers are signed up, how many donations were made yesterday and how many people were talking about us within the last hour.
This, of course is a double-edged sword.
One, we might spend more time looking at the numbers, because we can, and it’s exciting to see things change. However, spending more time looking at the numbers isn’t necessarily going to get more people signed up for the cause.
Second, we might get more discouraged than if we didn’t instantly know the numbers, because the picture it paints might not be what we want to see.
The challenge then for today’s non-profit leader is to not get sucked into one and two above. Do we spend more time looking at the real-time stream hoping for a miracle or get out and do the hard work and make the tough decisions that will bring about the future we envision?
Immediacy cuts both ways. The art is making it your friend.
doublederivativeca 