During the corona virus of 2020, the ED of a client of mine decided to send a query to all his board members and staff. The ED was using some of his time to read – to learn more – to become the best ED he could be.
So he sent this email:
May I suggest a little exercise? Could you ponder the question below – and send me your answers? I will aggregate the responses and let you know what we collectively thoughts.
I believe this will shed some valuable light on what’s important – or should be – to us as we think strategically and as we nurture and expand relationships with our constituents. A future excercise would be to ask previous trustees…and gather a selected group of “other than us” to see what they think.
So here’s the question this so smart ED is sending out: “Let’s pretend our organization and its programs disappeared tonight. Tomorrow, we’re gone. What will the world / the community / individuals regret having lost?”
And where did this ED find this question? In Tom Ahern’s book What Your Donors Want.
And what I, Simone might add? How about reframing your multi-year strategic planning — and your annual planning to start with Ahern’s question: “Let’s pretend……….”
