Work Your “Core” Like You Mean It

By Sean Mikula, Chief Executive Officer

Any personal trainer will tell you to work your “core” – your abdominal and lower back muscles – during every workout. Consistency is critical. Why? Because these muscles are required for any substantial movement and the stronger they are, the greater will be your physical capacity and resilience against injury. Biceps, chest muscles, and the rest are just not as important.

For nonprofit executives, the strength of your relationships with your most important members / investors / supporters is analogous to physical core strength. These individuals are central to your ability to thrive. With their input and support, you can quickly respond to opportunities and threats and stand strong in the face of political or other challenges. By contrast, a weak or uncertain “core” set of relationships will leave a nonprofit executive vulnerable.

And yet, many executives leave development of relationships with their top 25+ to chance – or at best, they make sporadic efforts. And it shows – especially when the time comes to mount a substantial fundraising campaign or other large effort. Wouldn’t a structured, consistent approach be better?

We think so. As with building physical core strength, it takes sustained work to build productive relationships with “core” (top) investors and members. If you are a nonprofit executive reading this, you know how to build relationships or you wouldn’t have achieved the position you are in. However, if you are not currently employing a consistent, structured approach, the recommendation that follows could be of help to you – at least it could be one powerful “tool” in your toolbox.

Recommendation

Schedule and conduct a:

1-hour progress report / input session
With a member of your top 25
At the same time
On the same day (Friday is best)
Every other week (25 / year) – and preferably, every week (50 / year).

Imagine sitting down with these individuals one-by-one, briefing them in a structured way on what you’re up to / working on, where the organization is going / what impact you intend to have, AND THEN stepping back and asking for their opinion and advice regarding your plans.

At POWER 10, we conduct such meetings in the context of running capital campaigns to great effect. We have found that such meetings inevitably “move the ball” – they increase engagement, strengthen the relationship, and often uncover excellent advice because we are speaking with CEO’s and CEO-types who are smart, highly capable, and have sharp business minded recommendations.

Process Details

1. Identify Top 25. Develop a list of your Top 25 most important members / investors based on their perceived current / future ability to impact your organization. And if you’d like to do an interview every week, shoot for 50+ names.

2. Establish time slot. Establish a set day / time for your meetings each week and keep this time sacred – we like Friday office meetings from 8-9AM or 9-10AM. Why Fridays? We have found that top leaders prefer to put off their less-than-urgent meetings until the end of the week – and folks are generally in a good “TGIF” mood on Fridays.

3. Send formal invite. Send formal / written meeting invitations to your top 25 (or more) investors / members requesting the meeting (at their business location) and providing a couple of date options. Mention that you would like personally to update him or her on your organization’s progress / plans AND ask for their input. In the invitation, request a 1-hour time slot, but promise to limit your meeting to whatever time they have available. Offer to bring boxed meals to their place of business if you request a breakfast or lunch meeting.

And for the nonprofit executives and fundraisers reading this, IMAGINE requesting a meeting for a purpose other than asking for money. What a concept!

4. Prepare and use an agenda. ALWAYS use a printed agenda and hand one to the member / investor at the start of the meeting. Agendas focus the mind on the topics that should be covered, the sequence, and the outcomes to be achieved. Follow the discussion flow mentioned earlier:

Where We Are (Present)
Where We Are Going (Future)
What Do YOU think?
You CAN actually use the previous three bullets on your agenda, but be sure to provide specific content under each category. For example, under “Where We Are Going,” you might write: “Three Primary Initiatives” and then list them out. The agenda will function as a “leave behind,” so be sure to include content you’d like the individual to remember.

5. Follow up. Immediately upon your return to your office, do any follow up needed from the meeting – send a thank you, add information to your CRM, invite the member / investor to your social media platforms, etc.

In-Between-the-Lines of the Agenda

The discussion should include YOU learning more about the member / investor (or prospect) – the individual himself or herself, their business, their family, etc. The better you understand them and their personal /professional aspirations, you will more easily see connections to your organization’s work and the possibilities for a strengthened mutually beneficial relationship.

Outcomes / Results

Will one of these meetings “move the ball” for you and your organization? The answer is somewhere between “maybe” and “probably.” But imagine the COMPOUND EFFECT of doing these meetings every single week or every other week. Think of what you will learn, think of all of the help you can provide to the interviewee (potentially) and to your organization, and then add in all the subsequent less formal contact you will have with this individual that will only further the relationship.

If you take this proactive approach, when the next challenge or opportunity presents itself, your “core” strength – the strength of your most important relationships – will no doubt be ready for action.