Idea Transcript
Kriss Deiglmeier Tag Line
Dear Funders, It’s Not Business as Usual Dear Funders, January 2017 is here and the world has returned to work. Typically, this time of year the nonprofit sector shifts into high gear digging into annual action plans, setting up board meeting schedules, and depositing checks written the final days of December. Looking forward with a proactive approach to progress is front and center. This is not a usual year. This month a new administration will take office in Washington, advancing new policies that will reverberate throughout the world. We are heading into a new world order, one marked by a level of uncertainty and volatility that we have not seen in decades. From climate change to health care to women’s rights to human rights and immigration, the new administration has called for drastic measures that have the potential to severely erode past gains and successes. The mixed messages and absence of clear policy plans make the environment in which we operate highly unpredictable. In this unusual year, it is impossible to adequately “plan” for 2017 and beyond within the current model of nonprofit funding. All bets are off, and all assumptions are up for question. In this year of the unknowable, everyone working for social good, justice, and the environment must be ready to bend to changing rules of the game. Nonprofit and philanthropic leaders must learn to pivot quickly, mobilize collectively, and get comfortable operating within ambiguity, or we will all lose. We must adapt, and fast. We must shift from traditional planning processes and goal setting—what we’ll call “offense”—to strategies that put defense front and center. As a sector, playing offense is embedded in our DNA. For most nonprofits and funders, business as usual is an optimistic pursuit, ever working to propel things to be better. With the changing tenor in Washington progress has no guarantee, and it will be our jobs to hold the line and prevent things from getting worse. Within the nonprofit sector, existing funding dynamics will become our own worst enemy if we don’t do something about them. Sadly, the nonprofit funding ecosystem doesn’t operate with agility to support adaptive organizations needing to switch to ready defense. The established funding models, mindsets, and tools award grants for offense—for scoring points in the favor of positive change, of lives improved, of policies passed and quantifiable results, often executing plans laid out months ahead of time. Existing funding dynamics will become our own worst enemy if we don’t do something about them. But today’s climate requires us to change our game and actively protect the gains of the past. We need defense, not just offense. However, so far, funders have not stepped up to provide agile and flexible funding for this work. Nonprofit leaders are plowing ahead, doing what they can to anticipate changes and take on this work without a corresponding commitment from funders. But without money to play defense, we have so much to lose. Funders, you need to change. Get aggressive, take some risks, and get on the team. You need to feel the same pressure to act as those on the frontlines. Step out of your comfort zone, put down your multi-year plans, and get on the field to provide crucial resources to your grantees. This needs to happen today. This isn’t something to deliberate over in prolonged discussions that delay action until it’s too late. Funders, the signs we’ve seen so far indicate that you are still playing by the old rules. You are talking a lot in your e-news, but we’ve seen no visible changes in your funding or ways of operating. Most nonprofit leaders are hearing from you, but your messages lack the responsiveness and urgency that this situation demands. It’s not enough to huddle with your teams on new strategic plans. It won’t work to promise that you will revisit requests in Q2, when the political landscape is clearer. Q2 may be too late and moreover, how do you know it will get clearer? So far, the arc of reality since November almost guarantees that instead of getting clearer, everything will just get messier. Funders, you need to speed up, not slow down timelines. Give more, not less. Expand general operating and rapid response support, don’t restrict funding to narrow offensive strategies. We need you to drive change in this new reality with new partnerships, new ways of operating, and unprecedented agility that supports the people and organizations working to uphold decades of social and environmental work. This defensive work may not be as sexy as flashy offensive plays, but it’s vital to holding the line. Let’s put aside the usual ways of operating that involve annual grant cycles, five-year strategic plans, and project-based funding. Instead, let’s collaborate more. Let’s package less. Let’s show each other our scribbles on whiteboards and try to figure out what these defensive plays are, and how they can best uphold our position until the time is right to push for our next big wins. Let’s put our muscle behind big causes, not branded campaigns or narrow project plans in limited geographies. Let’s pull in allies across sectors, companies, governments, universities, and citizens of our nation and across the world. Let’s be true partners. You like to talk about risk. Now let’s see you put that talk into action at your own organizations and in how you engage with the people and work that you fund. The world needs the entire nonprofit sector—the changemakers as well as the funders—to adapt, respond, and act, now more than ever. Sincerely, Kriss Deiglmeier, CEO, Tides Jane Leu, CEO, Smarter Good JANE LEU is a serial social entrepreneur and Ashoka Fellow with more than 20 years of experience in founding and leading numerous social enterprises. Her latest venture is Smarter Good, a global services firm with a mission to improve the efficiency and impact of the nonprofit sector.
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September 8, 2017
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Strategy Is About Focus and Knowing When to Say No From the Trenches of a Turnaround When I started at Tides I was the fourth CEO in four years, many indicators were pointing down, and the organization had just weathered layoffs. I was brought in to restore the organization’s legacy of impact and to clarify our purpose and strategy for the future. Well-meaning board members, staff, and clients came to me suggesting new tools promising quick fixes to Tides’ troubles. I was bombarded with at least a dozen new approaches to strategy, including the Business Model Canvas, Blue Ocean Strategy, and Network Theory. In 2015 alone, there were over 15,000 business books published. Such a plethora of choices and cutting edge ideas can be overwhelming. Before this job, I led several other turnarounds for organizations big and small, and collaborated with lead strategy scholars for Stanford’s Executive Education programs that reach thousands of leaders from business, nonprofit, and government sectors. What I have learned from theory, teaching, and doing the work is that no matter what sector you work in, strategy is about focus and knowing when to say no. Cutting Edge Clutter It’s challenging to set strategy in a world of constant motion where information is always changing and new ideas abound. I recently gave a talk at the annual conference of the Association for Strategic Planning, stepping outside the social change sphere to address leaders from various industries and sectors to explore cutting-edge strategic planning principles and practices. The sheer quantity of philosophies and approaches to strategy can be paralyzing. What is Strategy, Really? Strategy helps you to set and achieve goals. Without a strategy it’s hard to get from A to Z, and even harder to get others to join you in the journey. Yet strategic trends come and go like each season’s fashions, each fad promising tantalizing results. It is tempting to try every new approach, but to do so can fragment your focus and create chaos for your teams. The Three Es – My Fundamentals for Strategy* No expert or management bestseller can tell you what your strategy should be. Strategy must emerge from you and the people who are closest to your mission. It must be anchored in the basics – what I call your “economic,” “emotional” and “execution logic.” Economic logic is what most strategy books talk about. It’s the business model that defines what an organization does and how it does it. It considers the market opportunity, economic drivers, cost structure, and competitive landscape, and it guides the use of resources within the organization. If an organization’s economic logic is not sound and charitable dollars aren’t available to make up the difference, the organization won’t survive. Despite its predominance, economic logic isn’t enough to power your strategy. It often fails to connect with the purpose (emotional logic) and people (execution logic) of an organization. I see economic logic, emotional logic, and execution logic as equal and mutually reinforcing pillars at the foundation of any organizational strategy.
Emotional logic provides inspiration to guide your organization’s work. It defines the purpose – why what you do matters. To discover and channel the power of your organization’s emotional logic, interview your stakeholders, understand what your clients need and value, and clarify your mission so that your actions are all fueled by the same purpose. Even with sound economic and emotional logic, nothing will get done without execution logic. Execution is about your culture, your people, and your structure and how all those elements align to create results. No organization can create value until it successfully translates its vision into a coherent set of choices and actions executed consistently over a period of time. Developing, investing in and hiring the right people and putting the right structures and systems in place to ensure that you are able to achieve your desired impact takes patience and tenacity. We have all been in organizations that set a new direction but do not invest in the less sexy but critical aspects of execution, resulting in a short-term boost but failing to strengthen the foundation that is necessary for sustained results. In the end, unless you have deep alignment across all three fundamentals, your organization cannot thrive. Adding Cutting Edge Tools Once your three Es have been considered, you can think about which cutting edge tools will most enhance your work. Rather than reflexively adopting the latest management trend, be deliberate in evaluating which new approach will most effectively move your team toward the end goal. Maybe it’s a design thinking workshop for your team, a new process for inspiring innovation, a technology to help with communications, or a new approach to social media. Such cutting edge tools will make your organization stand out among others and can help to reinvigorate your team and other stakeholders. However, if your fundamentals are weak, deploying cutting edge strategies is likely to waste time and money. Tides Is a Work in Progress Our process at Tides was not linear, fast, or easy. We faced immense pressure to find a cutting-edge, silver bullet remedy for the organization’s strategic struggles. But with long-term impact as our goal, we started by addressing the fundamentals. We dedicated more than eight months to defining the new vision, mission, and approach. We talked and listened deeply to hundreds of stakeholders. We held small and large convenings, we collected client feedback, we scanned the changing ecosystem, and through an intensive and collaborative approach our purpose and direction (our emotional logic) was brought to the surface over time. It was an old-fashioned process of meaningful interpersonal communication and active listening. Simultaneously we hunkered down to revitalize Tides’ economic and execution logic. We pushed to improve our understanding of data and client needs and took our learnings to update the business model. We restructured the organization to enhance our service delivery and customer experience. And we invested in key infrastructure that had been neglected for years. As we worked to clarify our strategic fundamentals, we chose from cutting edge tools to reenergize our team, elevate our thinking, and differentiate our approach. We thought deeply about our needs and then chose to invest in Design Thinking training for the entire Tides staff. We set clear goals, brought in experts, and ensured that everyone on the Tides team received equal training. The Design Thinking training was not a silver bullet, but has infused elements of human-centered design throughout our organization, which is shaping the way we approach our mission and work with our partners. It is taking time and hard work, but is a very valuable tool to have in our repertoire. However, if we hadn’t also focused on fixing the fundamentals, the design thinking training would have had nothing to stick onto. Our Job Just like you, I have to discipline my attention so that I can focus on what matters most. I have to resist the lure of everything new and stay anchored to the fundamentals of Tides’ emotional, economic, and execution logic. When it comes to new strategy fads, I watch for those that resonate with our mission, team, and context. I have to be fanatical about seeking alignment with our strategy fundamentals or these opportunities would distract rather than support our work. At Tides we are still in the midst of change, and it has not been an easy process. We have had our share of success and set-backs. But the Tides team is strong, adaptive and committed. The transformation has shown real results with grant-making up over 50% and assets under management up over 26% in two years. I’m glad to report that we are beating the odds with a team committed for the long haul of what it takes to drive impact. ______________ * The Three Es foundational framework draws from my own experiences and the work of Jim Collins, Jim Phills, and Sam Kaner.
September 8, 2017
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Less Talking, More Doing Rocks in Jars
Recognizing an Uneasy Reality I started the year by reminding the Tides team of our vision: a world of shared prosperity and social justice. In the process of aligning our 2016 commitments to that end, we surfaced an uneasy reality. It was only January, and our calendars for the year were already crowded. We were inundated with events and invitations, bombarded with enticing opportunities to learn, share, and connect with colleagues at conferences, pitch events, salons, dinners, networking events, and webinars. I did a quick tally of just the conferences on our internal list. We could spend more than two hundred days just attending conferences this year! I cannot imagine how many days would be filled if we thoroughly counted every social impact conference offered in 2016. The opportunity to connect and learn is always exciting, but I felt uneasy. I had to ask myself some hard questions about priorities, ego, access, and impact. What Do Conferences Crowd Out? Conferences and other gatherings provide a forum to share learning, build an ecosystem of support for social change, and attract energy and ideas to our efforts to build a better world. But the sheer quantity and frequency of opportunities to talk rather than do leaves me wondering: when does all this talking actually distract from rather than lead to real impact? When I was a little girl, someone told me about the “big rocks of life.” If you have a jar and fill it first with sand and gravel, there won’t be room for the big rocks – the things that matter most. But if you put your big rocks in first, then gravel and sand can shake down to fill the gaps, and more can fit in the jar.
When does all this talking actually distract from rather than lead to real impact? Our social impact missions, the people and places that we care about, and our strategies on what to do and how to create results are our “big rocks.” The sand and gravel in our jars are the conferences, conversations, and convenings. They should supplement and inform our priorities, not supplant them. Our Calendars Reveal Our Priorities Our calendars are the jars. How much space in those jars do we dedicate to the people and places at the center of our missions? How many days do we spend listening to our target users and beneficiaries, reflecting on our effectiveness, and refining our strategies and programs to improve and grow our impact? It is too easy for conferences, events, dinners, and dialogues to stake their claim on our calendars, crowding out the time that we need for the hard, slow work of social change. If we also add in webinars, salons, galas, and social networking events, the time to hunker down and focus on the core of our work shrinks dramatically. Beware the Social Change Industry The social change industry has become a very real force with its own hunger to grow and compete for energy and resources. In many ways, this is good. The vocabulary and infrastructure that has grown around social change and social entrepreneurship help to focus our potential and spark action as we work together toward a better world. But we must be vigilant. The conference/convening circuit can be self-perpetuating and self-aggrandizing. As donors increasingly ask nonprofits to adopt self-sustaining business models, conferences provide a potential revenue stream which can diversify their income sources. But when you add up all the dollars to host and attend these events, is it money well spent? Do these events create meaningful results worth the time and resources that our field is spending? These events can help us to build our brands, our skills, and our connections. We need them, because those connections can lead to game-changing collaborations. But the allure of this space and the cachet the industry can bestow on esteemed leaders and organizations can’t distract our focus. We need to remember that it’s about our missions, not ourselves. The “In Crowd” As I looked around at familiar faces and old friends at a recent gathering, I had to ask, who is being left out? Don’t be fooled – despite intentions, the field of social change is not immune to the human tendency to bifurcate into those who belong and those who don’t. Money, access, and biases help people get in, and once they’re in, opportunities, access, and funding increase and continue to grow over time. Part of the problem is that thought leaders, speakers and luminaries – the “in crowd” – often don’t take the time to engage with attendees. Last year at the Global Philanthropy Forum I reached out to a number of speakers, all colleagues of mine, to connect while there. Each responded that they wereonly going to be present for their talk. We all multi-task and try to make the most of our travel time, but we owe it to ourselves and our missions to take a few extra hours to connect, and expose ourselves to new ideas and new faces. Those who are outside of the inner circle are often overlooked despite their powerful commitment to social change and their dedicated work to make a difference. It makes me sad when I get out in the field and meet with an amazing nonprofit leader that is championing innovative work that few people have heard about. In almost all cases money and access are the barriers. We need to create a social change system that is steeped in our belief in human potential and social justice. Rather than build a self-aggrandizing industry, we must build a system that is open and always looking to bring in new perspectives, approaches, and ideas. If we become complacent, if we forget to welcome new approaches and ideas, and if we fail to bridge the pathway for others to access the attention and resources they need to shape the conversation and make an impact, then we are missing the point. When does all this money and time actually lead to impact? We haven’t signed on for a cushy ride. Empowering people and populations that are disenfranchised or saving endangered places is already an uphill battle. Market forces are rarely in our favor and entrenched patterns of power work against us. This is not work for the faint-hearted. So it takes resolve not to be lured by the ego boost offered by the social change industry. What to do? The answer is not simple but requires us to hold ourselves accountable. When we attend a conference, join a webinar, or accept an invitation we need to remember where these events fit in the long, hard slog toward social impact. We can’t let these activities crowd out time to do the dedicated internal work, to reflect on what we are learning, to listen patiently, and to make sure that our efforts are indeed creating the impact we intend. And we need to ensure diverse representation of people and organizations in our work, no excuses. Whenever we get together, we should not only be talking about where we are, but also actively working to push ourselves forward. Earlier this month I attended and was inspired by the Encore Conference. Instead of just talking broadly about how to engage people in later life in order to benefit society, they focus specifically on the work, celebrating and awarding prizes to people who exemplify that mission. The Purpose Prizes may not be a silver bullet, but they help further the work of successful and innovative people. At the Encore Conference, speakers, funders, journalists and thought leaders stayed and engaged, fully committing themselves to meaningful conversation. As for me, I’m making a commitment to get out in the field for as many days as possible in the year ahead. And I will keep working to bring new voices into our work in order to anchor Tides’ vision in the realities of our world. After all, crossing boundaries and engaging with those whose lives are affected are two pillars of my organization’s approach. I believe that we can build a thoughtful and inclusive system for social change, and resist the temptations of the social change industry in favor of ideas and opportunities that move us closer to our vision. Amanda Greco contributed to and edited this piece, a true partner February 29, 2016
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Ways to Choose Humanity for the Holidays As we come to the end of 2015, our world grapples with the sorrow of war, violence, and displacement and the uncertainties of political, environmental, and economic change. The needs that surround us are immense. Yet we are more informed, interconnected, and able to contribute to solutions than ever before. We must come together to deliver meaningful responses to our current refugee crisis, the largest since World War II. According to a November report by World Vision, 12 million Syrians have fled their homes because of conflict. Half of these people are children. It’s daunting to navigate the political complexities of relocation and resettlement, and it’s hard to know how to help in the effort to provide for basic needs as winter nears.
Source – World Vision The threat of welcoming refugees has been excessively overdramatized. As immigration policy analyst Alex Nowrasteh points out, “Of the 859,629 refugees admitted from 2001 onwards, only three have been convicted of planning terrorist attacks on targets outside of the United States, and none was successfully carried out. That is one terrorism-planning conviction for every 286,543 refugees that have been admitted. To put that in perspective, about 1 in every 22,541 Americans committed murder in 2014.” It is easy to react to tragedies like the attacks in Paris with heightened concern for our own security. Yes, the challenges are complex and we do not have all the answers. However, in the world of knowledge and interdependence that we live in today we have the expertise and reach to make progress on lasting solutions. Most importantly, we can’t ignore the plight of refugees, and we can’t ignore our shared humanity. Like us, refugees need clean water, food, and shelter. Like us, they need safe environments for their children to play and attend school. And like us, they need the opportunity to earn a living and provide for their families. I believe that by directing our resources and our actions for positive impact, we can make a difference. As you open your hearts and charitable giving as the year-end nears, I encourage you to contribute to the issues that are most meaningful and personal to you. I also encourage and to take a stand for the humanity of all through supporting those in crisis and dire need.
Donate to providers of emergency relief At a minimum we must support emergency efforts to alleviate suffering. These organizations work tirelessly to provide food, shelter, and emergency shelter to uphold basic human dignity. Tides has partnered with several organizations, individuals and collectives to administer grants to effective relief organizations around the world. Currently, we are working hand in hand with Google to match $5.5 million in donations to humanitarian relief for refugees and migrants. Here are several other organizations worth supporting. Mercy Corps is an international development organization that helps people around the world survive and thrive after conflict, crisis, and natural disaster. They provide direct aid to Syrian refugees in the form of food and supplies, and by increasing access to clean water and sanitation, shelters, and safe spaces and activities for children. Donate now. Hand in Hand for Syria is working to provide aid on the ground in Syria, including food, clothing, water, sanitation and crucial medical assistance. They work in collaboration with partners such as UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to plan aid distribution throughout the country. Donate now. International Rescue Committee serves refugees and communities victimized by oppression and violent conflict worldwide. They provide emergency relief, protection of human rights, post-conflict development, resettlement assistance, and advocacy. Donate now.
Donate for long-term education & economic empowerment Organizations working in the field can understand needs and are best equipped to work with local communities to develop lasting solutions. The following organizations invest in longer term initiatives to address the root causes of suffering and instability. The Peace Appeal Foundation works to achieve agreed, fair, and just outcomes, ending violent political conflict. Founded in 2000 with a mandate from five Nobel Peace Laureates including Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk, the Peace Appeal Foundation helps local stakeholders create and sustain broad-scale peace and dialogue processes and structures to prevent and transform violent conflict, and build the foundations for just and durable peace. They have a program in Syria called “Building Peace from the Bottom Up.” Donate now. Nuru International’s mission is to end extreme poverty in remote rural areas. They identify and train local leaders to design and implement solutions that address four basic needs. Founded by former US Marine and Stanford MBA Jake Harriman, Nuru aims to provide a path to prosperity and security that will prevent humanitarian crises. Donate now. Heifer International works to end hunger and poverty around the world by providing livestock and training to struggling communities. Their gift catalog and farm animal donation options provide concrete ways to support livelihoods around the world. Donate now. Samasource takes outsourced digital work and gives it to people living in poverty in underdeveloped regions around the world, including Haiti, Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya. Their approach provides people with formal job training and work experience, creating opportunities for those living in poverty to earn a living wage and to establish a dignified life for themselves and their dependents. Learn more. This holiday season, let’s focus our good intentions and resources into action that helps those most in need. Let’s reach out meaningfully to our neighbors – at home and around the globe – and remember that our world is deeply interconnected.
We must all take a stand for: Hope over fear Peace over conflict Help over exclusion Generosity over ambivalence With deep appreciation to each of you in the Tides community for your work to create a more just, sustainable world of opportunity and shared prosperity. December 4, 2015
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Big Data in the Social Sector: Promises and Pitfalls By Kriss Deiglmeier Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data, so much that ninety percent of the world’s data has been created in just the last two years. But data is only valuable if you can do something with it. And, like any tool, data can be used for good or bad. Making data-informed decisions is nothing new. But the scale of today’s data ecosystem challenges us to think creatively about new ways data can inform our work, policies, and programs. I’m writing to highlight a couple examples that inspired me, and to share tactics that socially-minded organizations and innovators can adopt to tap into data’s potential for good.
Promise and Problems Data is easier to acquire and cheaper to store than ever before. This trend is democratizing access to information and increasing transparency between the information haves and have-nots. Data can tell us whether our work is having the impact we desire, reveal patterns, and even predict future needs among vulnerable populations and environments. However, the immensity, diffusion, and ethics surrounding data are daunting. Data without interpretation is meaningless, yet extracting knowledge can seem intrusive and expensive, requiring skills from social and computer sciences. Some parts of the world are lagging behind the digital divide, without comprehensive legal frameworks to govern data access and storage. We are at a new frontier, navigating uncharted terrain where conflicting priorities around privacy and public good converge. Crisis Text Line and the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs have taken different approaches to using data for social impact, each offering its own lessons for our work:
Crisis Text Line Nancy Lublin founded Crisis Text Line to provide free, 24/7 emotional support for those in crisis. She has trained volunteer counselors around the United States to respond to text messages sent by people in crisis, helping them transition from “a hot moment to a cool calm” in dealing with issues ranging from eating disorders to suicide. In just 2.5 years of operations, Crisis Text Line has processed more than 7 million messages. Their data has volume, velocity, and variety. Patterns in the anonymous texts help Nancy and her team understand user needs and improve their service without compromising privacy. These patterns can also inform research, policy, and programming far beyond their own organization. According to their website, there has not been a comprehensive study on youth and mental health since 1997. Crisis Text Line launched CrisisTrends.org to help us better understand the crises that Americans face, offering unprecedented insight into where and when these crises occur. This interactive, aggregate dataset can inform the public and the media, shape government and school policies, and drive academic research to help people beyond those who use the Crisis Text Line service. Crisis Trends Website
The Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs China has many environmental protection laws, but lax enforcement by state and local governments has hindered their effectiveness. Ma Jun founded the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) in 2006 to gather and analyze publicly available but hard-to-find data on environmental violations across China. His organization makes this data accessible and easy to use, so that press, investors, and citizens can hold suppliers, multinational corporations, and local governments accountable. He and his team have aggregated and analyzed this data to rank multinational brands by their environmental impact and to rank Chinese cities according to their level of environmental information disclosure. By making data on environmental violations publicly accessible and recently introducing a mobile app to monitor air quality, IPE has empowered Chinese citizens and international consumers to pressure factories into compliance and inspire local regulatory action. IPE also works with companies and factories found in violation to develop more responsible environmental practices. Jun’s work is a great example of how data can be accessed, interpreted and shared to tangibly change the behavior of firms, governments, and individuals. IPE Waste Map
There are many other examples of innovative uses of data for social impact, from HP Earth Insights’ monitoring of biodiversity in tropical forests, to the United Nations’ tracking global patterns in refugee movement, to Fundación Paraguaya’s mobile data capture to inform its microlending strategy.
What Social Innovators and Organizations Can Do Most of us have limited resources for complex data capture or analysis projects. For those yet to prioritize such work, what can we do to move in the right direction? Identify and respond to staff needs. Ask your front-line team members where their pain points are at work. Data for data’s sake can be a source of staff frustration. Find the places where staff struggle to deliver on your organization’s mission, and see where data can make their work easier or more meaningful. Start small. It’s easy to feel paralyzed by the magnitude of your vision or the complexity of what is possible. Start by defining the problem you most want to solve, and then finding a couple of metrics that will help you to know if you are on the right track. The answers you get will reveal which question to pursue next, and your data will grow over time. Ensure you can access your data. Beware of custom solutions that require outside expertise to administer. You don’t want your data to be the hostage of an obsolete database, so make sure you can export it at will. Open source or mainstream solutions that can be customized are often better than something developed just for you. Talk to partners and others working on the same issues. What questions do they ask? How are they tracking their outcomes and which indicators do they measure? Collaborating to build parallel data sets is valuable because it creates the future potential to aggregate your information for greater statistical significance. Plan the feedback loop. Since data without interpretation is worthless, allocate time to analyze results, learn from patterns, and adapt your strategies based on what you learn. Ideally this is a regular part of operations and programming, not a once-a-year event.
Words for the Wise Despite all its promise, big data is no panacea. Society’s biggest challenges are left to the social sector because markets have failed, legislation is lacking, and incentives are twisted. To solve the most pressing social and environmental problems of our time, there are no barcodes and PayPal is not accepted, so we have a tougher path than does Google or Amazon. We do this work because we care, not because it is easy. Remember: Not all people and problems are “data-ified.” Many of the environmental and social services we provide happen offline and are impossible to codify in a stream of 1s and 0s, yet they are of vital importance as we work to build a more sustainable and just society. Many people and places are not just offline, they are living without access to regular electricity and clean water. We can’t overlook these people or forget the urgency of meeting basic needs. There is no substitute for the human touch. Nancy Lublin of Crisis Text Line emphasized her decision to retain human counselors at the core of her service, despite the rich information in her data set. No algorithm or automated process can match the empathy our work requires. Experts are expensive and hard to find. It’s going to be tough to recruit data scientists away from top private sector firms, despite the heroic effort of the engineers who left Google to resolve the Healthcare.gov debacle. In targeted, short-term cases, a team of pro bono data scientists might be able to help. However, for the longer term, we need to dedicate more funding for data science and invest in the statistical and analytic skill set of the people already working in our field. At its best, big data can be interpreted to help us allocate our resources to maximize social impact. It can help us evolve from what “might be working” to what has “maximum likelihood to work the best.” It can help us to prevent future challenges, to predict shortages, and to avoid disasters. This insight can direct our time, resources, and services more wisely. But unlocking the power of big data is not easy and it’s not cheap. We cannot expect nonprofits to add this to their list of things to do with existing resources, so we must encourage new funding, learn from the pioneers doing this work, and continue the spirit of creativity, innovation, and optimism that is needed in this sector. Note: Amanda Greco contributed to and edited this piece, a true partner. I’d also like to acknowledge the Data on Purpose conference at Stanford University and presenters Nancy Lublin, Andrew Means, and Jim Fruchterman for many of the ideas summarized above. September 15, 2015
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Poor People Are Not Your Guinea Pigs: The Dark Side of Design Thinking Education Introduction Design thinking is hot. This methodology for human-centered innovation has changed the world as we know it, shaping the forms and functions of everything from the toothbrushes on our countertops to mobile banking in developing economies. It’s an approach that puts the user front and center, and is a positive force in the way things are created and systems are designed. But using vulnerable or underserved people as guinea pigs for design thinking education is not. In conversations with nonprofit leaders and public servants who serve homeless people, teach in low-income public schools, or distribute food to the hungry, I’m hearing of a dark side to design thinking. Design thinking in schools Because this approach is so popular, schools from K-12 to universities are offering design thinking courses to meet student interest. But in order to teach design thinking for social impact, schools rely on community-based organizations and social service agencies for access to the “users” so central to this approach. And for the resourcestrapped organizations that must be central in the process, I hear that frequently the experience is a drain rather than a help. Who benefits more? For students, stepping outside the classroom to grapple with society’s toughest problems is exciting. Done well, it can help to sensitize students to social and environmental needs and build empathy for others. But let’s be honest about the conflicting incentives at play here. Schools are in the business of education and aim to provide students with an experience that enhances their skills and builds their resumes. They prioritize their students’ needs over those of the intended recipients of these design thinking projects, even if they aren’t conscious of this bias. Service agencies welcome attention to their causes, care about impact in the lives of their clients, and hope these projects can generate useful solutions. The incentives do not align, and in the worst cases, which are not infrequent, people in need and the stretched organizations that serve them contribute a lot of time and knowledge without getting anything in return. On top of that, school calendars have time limitations. Classes generally run only eight to ten weeks, hardly long enough to engage meaningfully, get input, generate solutions, and deliver real value, even for professionals. We all know social change does not neatly align with academic calendars and requires patience and persistence. What is design thinking? For those new to it, design thinking methodology entails the following cycle. It is not a linear approach. Empathize: learning about the audience for whom you are designing Define: redefining and focusing your question based on your insights from the empathy stage Ideate: brainstorming and coming up with creative solutions Protoype: building a representation of one or more of your ideas to show to others Test: return to your original user group for testing and feedback While the idea of design as a “way of thinking” has been around for a few decades, its rise to prominence as a tool in business is relatively new. Other approaches tend to be more fearful of failure, less likely to engage input and participation from diverse sources, and less agile in responding to new information and feedback. Today, it seems obvious to put your audience’s needs and behavior patterns at the center of any design process, but it’s not easy. So what could go wrong in such a straightforward, benevolent process? Design thinking’s greatest strength can also be its greatest weakness: its dependence on real users. If you are using design thinking to solve a problem like homelessness, you need to empathize with homeless people. If it’s recidivism in the prison system, you must meet with prison inmates. If it’s poverty, you must engage with the poor. I’ve heard about design thinking projects gone awry from Stanford to Harvard and Maryland to Portland and at many schools and organizations in between. Here’s an example from our own backyard. Stanford offers a short format “pop-up” course on “Redesigning Criminal Justice.” Here’s the announcement: Are you a Stanford student and can’t wait to dig into design thinking? Are you excited about the d.school, but can’t commit to a full-quarter class? Are you fired up by working on projects on cutting edge topics? Take a pop-up class at the d.school! Pop-ups range from weekend workshops to multi-week intensive design projects in a variety of subjects. I am an optimist, but I can’t conceive of any way that even brilliant Stanford students can make real inroads to redesigning the criminal justice system in a weekend workshop, particularly not using “human centered design.” To be true to design thinking I dare to say it takes commitment and time. A design thinking project that yields useful outcomes for the target audience should allow time to really listen, develop empathy, brainstorm, propose solutions, get feedback, reflect, iterate, and try again. Am I the only one who sees this pop-up course purporting to redesign criminal justice as an example of craziness? When education is prioritized over impact, it can really suck for people you thought you were going to help. Whether homeless, incarcerated, or hungry, yes these people have needs. And it’s nice that students want to better understand those needs. But these people are not guinea pigs for your learning pleasure. When I speak with organizations tackling these social problems, they have some pretty nasty things to say about their interactions with universities. They perceive arrogance on the part of educators. They see students and faculty as aggressive and entitled in seeking their time and attention. They say that at first students make big promises and seem committed to the issues, but that the commitment dwindles fast. Students visit, talk to their clients, gather a few interviews, and then head back to campus. Whether distracted by friends, exams, or the end of a quarter, college life gets in the way and there is usually zero follow up or value provided to the organization or to the end users students proposed to help. Sadly, such experiences can compound the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged, when their intent is to have the opposite effect. Four keys to design thinking education Design thinking is a powerful methodology, and for the record, I am a big advocate. I think it has potential in the world of social change and have taken the entire Tides staff through design thinking training. We see design thinking as one tool to employ in serving our clients, knowing it will take years to build our skills and practicing first in our own organization, applying the methodology within the TIDES team, processes and programming. I am against quickies in design thinking, and I think it’s crucial that schools not overlook the costs they put onto organizations and end users in asking for this kind of engagement. If you are school who wants to educate your students in design thinking to solve social problems, here are some pointers: 1. Hold the education and impact goals with equal importance. Educating students is a priority for educators, but if you aim to use design thinking, you must be genuinely invested in social impact as well. You must commit to follow-up and be mindful of the costs you put on the organizations that provide you with access to end users, and on each end user as an individual. Be clear in setting expectations, and do not pretend to care about meaningful impact if you aren’t willing to prioritize the work it will take to ensure that it happens. 2. Make time to do it right. Schools face inherent time constraints, because classes are bound by quarter or semester calendars and students don’t stay forever. But there are ways around this. My favorite example of design thinking education is the Design for Extreme Affordability course (fondly referred to as “Extreme”) at Stanford’s d.school. Extreme has worked around this constraint by spanning two academic quarters, and requiring participation in both. Between winter and spring quarters, students taking the course have the opportunity to travel during spring break to go deeply in the field to better understand their end users, and some students even apply for support to work on their projects over the summer. If you don’t have the time required, consider making your campus the design thinking sandbox and create opportunities for students to experiment with the methodology to address issues on campus, where the stakes are lower and the chances for short-term success are higher. Or if you really want to engage with organizations in the community, be realistic about the value of their time and the probability of them getting anything of value in return. If you will take more than you will give, offer to make a donation to support their work or to pay for their time and services. 3. Establish committed relationships. Design thinking is more akin to a marriage than a short-term fling, and it’s critical to really screen potential partners, take the time to get to know them, understand their interests, priorities, and constraints, and agree to hang in there even when there’s a bump in the road. The design thinking cycle works best when both parties are committed, have open channels of communication, and both get something of value from the relationship. Be aware of power imbalances in your relationship, and seek to hold both sides in equal importance. 4. Find a champion. Getting the first three right is only possible with a champion who deeply understands the inherent conflict between educational and social impact priorities and will make it a personal mission to reach both objectives. Professor Jim Patell is this person for the Extreme course at Stanford. He pushed the educational structure to accommodate the unique requirements of Extreme. He and his team personally vet and engage with each of the course’s partner organizations. He deeply believes that it is possible to deliver both student learning and high-impact interventions. And he does all he can to further the impact students make for end users. To close, I have a new plan for responding to the emails I get from people excited to introduce their students to design thinking. They write to ask me for introductions to partners doing great social impact work with “users” for students to meet. I think I will send them this article. If they have a plan for meeting my criteria above to ensure that both impact and education goals have a chance at success, I’m happy to chat. Amanda Greco contributed to and edited this piece, a true partner. March 10, 2015
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Screw Networks by Kriss Deiglmeier Kicking off a new year often inspires ideas to better ourselves and to increase the impact we are having in our careers. Promoted like a trendy diet or exercise regimen, networking tips and strategies have bombarded my inbox, with big promises about how networking in the right way can propel me to professional stardom. As I reflected on my transition into the role of Tides CEO and my own goals for 2015, I realized that networking is low on my list of priorities for the New Year. I think the hype about career networks is just that, hype. So I’ve resolved to ignore the pressure to build my network, and instead focus on the types of relationships, values, and actions that really mattered when I needed them most. Expert Esteem for Networking My plan to screw networks may not be popular. A friend and colleague of mine from Stanford, Professor Jeff Pfeffer, co-authored a recent book on this subject, arguing that one’s networking ability “is crucial for getting things accomplished and making change inside organizations in both the public and private sector.” Who am I to disagree? Who’ll Be There When You Reach Out? Stepping up to lead Tides last year pushed me into new and challenging territory professionally. The pressures were more intense than business as usual, the learning curve was steep, and the bar of expectations was so high it sometimes felt like scaling a mountain in the Himalayas. In times of transition it’s more important than ever to lean on others for support, and there were times when I needed sage advice. I had expected that my network of acquaintances and colleagues working across the world in diverse sectors would be instrumental to my success as CEO. But as I thought more deeply about what really mattered this past year, the view of networks as “crucial to getting things done” did not hold up. This is what I learned: 1) Honest and authentic relationships matter much, much more. During the years I worked at Stanford, I often would feel pressured by the need to network and say to myself, “I should go to this event to meet with Ms. Super-Connector. It would be good for my work.” I was subconsciously using job title and access to gauge the effort I would make to connect with a person, not the promise of an authentic relationship based on shared values or mutual interests. In hindsight, I spent too much time in places with people I did not like, and who did not like me. I put the idea of the “network” above the value of the relationship, and when meetings, referrals, or events were grounded in a “networking” mindset, connecting in an honest and authentic way often fell short. These loose connections were not the ones that enriched my job transition or provided key insights for my new role. Instead, the people who responded on a moment’s notice to my emails and phone calls were men and women that I know in a real way and with whom I have mutual respect. When I needed wisdom about board transitions, or to expand my perspective on a particular issue, I was humbled by the number of smart, busy, over-extended people – investors, authors, executives, stay-at-home and retired colleagues alike – who responded to my questions at a moment’s notice and met with me over breakfast, for lunch or coffee to refine my thinking and share expertise, asking nothing in return. 2) Start with empathy. In business education there is a lot written about how to be an effective leader. Not surprisingly, a lot of this leadership advice relates to establishing power. One approach taught by world-renowned Stanford Professor Deborah Gruenfeld is about establishing your power in relation to others, specifically how to “play high and play low.” In this highly viewed video, she provides advice about how to use your body language as a source of power, including tactics like looking away from the person that is talking to you, checking your phone, or staring down to appear disinterested or occupied with more important matters. I don’t know about you, but when I speak with someone exhibiting those behaviors, I think, “what a jerk!” Whether subconscious habits of the powerful or strategic acting by someone trying to appear important, this kind of dismissive, pompous behavior is repulsive. In contrast, relationships that matter are based in empathy. When I start with empathy, make eye contact, and truly take the time to listen and get to know a person’s perspective, I learn so much. Each person provides a window into a lived experience that is different from my own, and the most valuable insights come from unexpected people, places and industries. They are rich, they are robust, they are meaningful. These are the ideas that shake up my assumptions, enrich my thinking, and expand my spectrum of possibilities to inform future decisions. 3) Time is precious, know when to move on. It’s vital to engage with folks who are different and to stretch into new and uncomfortable situations to cultivate empathy and build our mental flexibility and perspective. And striving to be empathetic, give our best, and be open to others doing the same takes time. But because we all only have 24 hours in a day, I think we need to be cognizant of what drains us and what fills us. Don’t hold on to relationships and activities that are nothing but a drain, move on. Don’t waste your precious time with people who are jerks, and don’t endure “networking” events that zap your energy. Life is short, and so many authentic relationships could benefit from the scarce free time that you have. Relationships and Empathy in 2015 As I look to 2015, I hope I can repay all those friends and colleagues who gave so much of themselves to me and to Tides’ future. Thank you, thank you, and thank you from the bottom of my heart. We still have a lot of work to do at Tides. I have a lot of work to do professionally and personally as the CEO, and I am grateful for the authentic, honest, and empathetic relationships that support me. Guiding my resolutions this New Year is this quote: Watch your thoughts, they become words Watch your words, they become actions Watch your actions, they become your character Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny… -Frank Outlaw My New Year’s resolution is to prioritize relationships and empathy, for that is the destiny I want to create. Note: Amanda Greco contributed to and edited this piece, a true partner. January 20, 2015
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