Professional Development

What’s the job? What skills and knowledge do you need?

The chief development officer is a senior staff person. At the table with the other senior staff and the CEO. S/he must see the big picture, not just the tactical details. You know, the big picture of the organization, not the smaller picture of the development office.

Some development officers are great technicians. But that’s not enough. The best fundraisers are organizational development specialists, too. These strategic leaders realize that most fundraising problems are not fundraising problems. Most fundraising problems arise from some other area in the organization, and then affect fund development.

So what kind of development officer are you? And if you’re hiring a development officer, what kind are you looking for? Just a great technician, or more? You choose. Read my monograph, Choosing Your Road and learn what it means to be a great fundraiser.

Visit CFRE International and make sure you know the right stuff. Read books (check out the CFRE International booklist for a good start). Pursue continuing education from the many professional associations out there. Like AFP, AHP, ALDE, CASE, and so many more. Check out the various academic opportunities like the Philanthropy and Development Program at Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota. Visit the Fundraising School at the Center on Philanthropy.

So many opportunities. Get out there and develop yourself.

Ideas from two books I read back in 2009:

Marty Neumeier’s book The Designful Company. This is a great organizational development book. A great book for strategic planning and organizational culture.

Here’s some stuff from Neumeier’s book. I hope you’re intrigued enough to read the book!

— The difference between ordinary brands and charismatic brands: “Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is famous for a crazy video in which he yells, I — Love — This — Company. With Apple, it’s the customers who shout that.” (Marty is quoting Mike Elgin, a former editor of Windows magazine. (Neumeier goes on to say that BusinessWeek reports: Microsoft’s brand value is at 17% of its market cap but Apple’s is at 66%.) By the way, I LOVE APPLE and I despise Microsoft. Microsoft’s products, including Word, are not very good. And Microsoft controls too much. Anti-trust violations anyone?

— “Companies don’t fail because they choose the wrong course – they fail because they can’t imagine a better one.” Apple keeps innovating because it operates with a culture of innovation.

So much more. Read The Designful Company.You’ll learn a lot. Good insights. Useful tips.

What Would Google Do? Author Jeff Jarvis promotes a new acronym, WWGD as a constant stimulus for creative thinking, learning, and change. Wow. Another good one. Read it!

Jarvis says, “The question I ask in the title is about thinking in new ways, facing new challenges, solving problems with new solutions, seeing new opportunities, and understanding a different way to look at the structure of the economy and society. I try to see the world as Google sees it, analyzing and deconstructing its success from a distance so we can apply what we learn to our own companies, institutions, and careers…Google is our model for thinking in new ways because it is so singularly successful…The world is upside-down, inside-out, counterintuitive, and confusing…”

And why is Google so singularly successful? “They didn’t do it by breaking rules. They operate by new rules of a new age.”

Read “10 Things Google Has Found To Be True?” Check it out. Things like: Focus on the user and all else will follow. (Sounds like being donor-centered and customer centered.) It’s best to do one thing really, really well. (Focus!) You can be serious without a suit. Great just isn’t good enough. Read the whole list.

What are you reading?