​This week we’re talking to Moira Edwards. 

We talked about:
• how technology supports the work of nonprofits and associations.
• Moira explains the three levels of IT infrastructure that leaders need to consider and how an organization typically would apportion the budget to support those three levels
• the concept of the peace time and the war time CEOs come into play as organizations manage the quick shifts forced onto them by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moira Edwards is the President of Ellipsis Partners and focuses on the impact of technology on organizational strategy. As head of Ellipsis Partners, she helps associations and non-profits make smart technology decisions to create member value and support critical business operations.

Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/moiraedwards
https://www.ellipsispartners.com/

​And ​This week we’re talking to Tip Fallon. 

We talked about:
• the masks many people feel forced to wear or personas they assume in the workplace.
• Why we need to do some preventative work to make things easier for people with targeted identities.
• How we are the product of the history that has created systems of oppression, as well as creating history ourselves

Tip Fallon is a coach and consultant who is passionate about working with people to reach their potential. He integrates both a strategic and analytical approach to solving problems with a human-centered focus, tending to people's motivations, group dynamics, and organizational culture. He brings over 15 years of change leadership experience and a background in business and engineering, nonprofit management, and a decade of coaching and consulting to clients in US-based and global organizations.  He has served projects with organizations such as Annie E. Casey Foundation, American Institutes for Research, and the Nature Conservancy. 

The project Tip mentioned at the end of the interview has launched. Learn more about All In Consulting here.

Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tipfallon
https://www.fallonconsulting.net/
https://twitter.com/tipfallon
​

​This week we’re talking to Kathy Patrick. 

We talked about:
• what it takes to influence decision makers.
• the concrete steps leaders can take to create a plan, identify who is key to your organization and how to start building a relationship with them before you need their help. 
• Why it is so important to remember that key decision makers are human first and not fixate on their title and role.

Kathy Patrick, of Strategic Sense, LLC, helps progressive non-profit leaders build influence and create powerful relationships with all types of decision makers, so they can increase the impact and reach of their organizations, attract more resources to their work, and free up time to do the creative, visionary work they were meant to do.

Links:
https://strategicsense.com/
https://strategy-keys.com/
https://strategy-keys.com/engagenow

​My goal is to interview a variety of people who help nonprofit and association professionals do their work more effectively. I hope to learn from them.

I especially hope that our conversations will spark insights for you that you can apply to the work you do in your organization.

Is strategic planning worth the effort? Frequently organizations are concerned whether it will be time well spent, whether the plan that gets created will get implemented. Here are two stories of the impact strategic planning had on two small organizations that prioritized getting intentional about their future.

Challenge:
A small local disability focused service organization spent the last several years strengthening its board, its financial footing and documenting processes for its signature events. After this strengthening process, the leadership decided it was in a good position to be more deliberate about deciding its future direction. 

Approach
After interviewing key stakeholders and conducting focus groups of board members, I shifted what was planned as a full day retreat to two online sessions. The goal of the sessions was to define the organization's key goals for the next 3-5 years. During the online sessions, the board 

• engaged in scenario planning, 
• identified the significant implications of the themes from the interviews and focus groups 
• envisioned the organization's future impact on those they serve
• agreed on three key strategic goals that will shape their next three years.

Results
The organization now has a new strategic plan with clear support from the organization's leadership. The process helped the group celebrate the strides they had taken over the past several years. They were able to acknowledge their success and build on that positive momentum to move forward with focus and direction.

Challenge:
A small local environmental organization had been volunteer-led for most of its 30 years. In the past five years, it had hired its first executive director and added several part-time staff. The organization had not successfully undergone strategic planning and its vision was primarily directed by its founding board members. The organization had a very large board that was still very involved in day-to-day operations.

Approach
I interviewed and conducted focus groups with key board members. Board members conducted interviews with external stakeholders. I facilitated two online sessions to define the organization's key goals for the next 3-5 years. During the online sessions, the board 

• identified the significant implications of the themes from the interviews and focus groups 
• learned about nonprofit life-cycle stages - particularly the challenging shift from an all-volunteer organization to a staffed organization
• envisioned the organization's future 
• agreed on three key strategic goals that will shape their next three years.

Through these sessions the board and staff were able to recognize ways in which how they were operating was getting in their own way and make plans to adjust. They had tough conversations about what the role of the board and the staff needed to be going forward and how to make working together a more positive experience.

Results
The organization now has a new strategic plan with clear delineation of roles and responsibilities as well as action items and key performance indicators. This is the organization's first strategic plan that was developed as a shared vision.