Nonprofits: Running on Empty

Most nonprofits are running on empty, according to a new survey by BDO.

Forty percent have less than six months' reserves; thirteen percent have none.

The financial picture's worse among small nonprofits (those with annual revenue under $25 million).

Loss of revenue can cripple a nonprofit. That's why BDO recommends keeping liquid reserves for at least six months.

Executive directors and board members in a bind over money have a clear choice: they can hide their heads in the sand, or take action now to bolster income and reserves.

The economy's rolling, but the joyride can't last forever.

Pick up the phone an call a few revenue-generation experts today.

McGuffins

The main thing I've learned over the years is that the McGuffin is nothing.

― Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock named the mysterious―and incidental―thing that triggers frenzy in a film the McGuffin.

Famous Hollywood McGuffins include the toy sled in Citizen Kane, the transfer papers in Casablanca, the black statue in The Maltese Falcon, the ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz, and the government secrets in North by Northwest.

Directors love McGuffins.

Managers do, too. Consultants call workplace McGuffins administrivia, which The Urban Dictionary defines as, "mindless bureaucratic tasks imposed on workers by management in order to crush the soul and prevent one from achieving anything useful or fulfilling."

McGuffinish time-wasters are inescapable. The seven worst are:

• Deciphering thoughtless emails 
• Learning seldom-used software platforms 
• Attending purposeless meetings 
• Assembling management reports 
• Explaining the obvious to untrained people 
• Explaining what everybody heard, but no one else wrote down 
• Redoing good work 

If McGuffins like these are triggering frenzy during your day, my advice is:

• Tackle urgent and strategic chores first
• Handle things once
• Identify the one or two biggest time-wasters and eliminate them

Until you learn to deal with workplace McGuffins, you'll never get off the crazy-making, value-destroying treadmill.

#MeToo

And now a word from Captain Obvious: women will no longer suffer harassment from the Weinsteins, O'Reillys and Trumps of the world when more of them preside in C-suites. 

I know. From experience.

For the first half of the '80s, I worked for a Fortune 500 company, managing an in-house agency staffed largely by women.

One day, the company announced its appointment of a new CMO, a man who'd been a behind-the-scenes operative in Republican presidential politics for two decades.

It wasn't long before a few of them came to me, independently of one another, and told me of his many unwelcome advances. I asked the other women who reported to me whether the CMO had hit on them, as well. He had. 

I didn't hesitate to report my conversations to my boss, who went immediately to HR.

The CMO was fired, unceremoniously, the same week.

I failed to mention: women filled many of the senior executive positions in the company at the time.

In themselves, firings, lawsuits, board resolutions, and employee training won't put an end to harassment, or to organizations' file cabinet compliance with civil rights laws.

Those will end when more women lead.

Elitist Clickbait

The American fascist would prefer not to use violence.
His method is to poison the channels of public information.

― Henry A. Wallace

The Trump Administration has redefined truth as "elitist clickbait."

In May, the president appointed Nancy Beck, a former lobbyist for American Chemistry Council, his chief deputy at EPA's toxic chemical unit.

When New York Times reporter Eric Lipton sent EPA a letter asking the agency to explain why it's appropriate to appoint a lobbyist for the chemical companies to rewrite EPA regulations, spokeswoman Liz Bowman replied:

"No matter how much information we give you, you would never write a fair piece. The only thing inappropriate and biased is your continued fixation on writing elitist clickbait trying to attack qualified professionals committed to serving their country."

Who Invented Branding?

Josiah Wedgwood may have been the first marketer to brand his products with a logo, but the 18th century potter didn't invent branding.

Eleventh century European monks did.

By design self sufficient, medieval abbeys routinely sold surplus meat, cheese, honey, wool, brandy, beer and wine to local laypeople. 

The abbey's name on any of these products was a mark of consistent quality.

Ten centuries later, the vestiges of medieval monks' marketing smarts remain, most notably in the wine industry. 

Many of our most recognizable wine words derive from the abbeys, including clos, hermitage, prieuri and commanderie.

HAT TIP: Our resident medievalist Ann Ramsey suggested and researched this post.