Nonprofit Performance 360 Magazine Vol 4 No 4

replacement services weren’t ready. Helping your members identify the next generation of services they want from you, tied to cash flow and funding management, can substantially increase the probability of your long-term success. Financial KPIs include cash flow levels and velocity, and operating capital levels and velocity. Ask yourself: On a scale of one to ten, how solid is your cash management and growth funding plan? Culture that Upholds a Unique Brand Experience Many organizations underestimate the power of culture. Culture is the unspoken or codified rules of conduct that define how the organizational team behaves, how they treat each other, and ultimately how they treat members. Tip: Culture determines how we treat each other: employees, prospects, and members. Culture overrules everything, whether it’s defined, allowed, or tolerated. No matter what the mission statement or business rules, culture dominates the organization. Most entrepreneurial non-profits start out with the founder’s personal culture being the organization’s culture. As they grow, the founder hires people they know and so easily align with that unspoken culture. When the organization grows beyond the founder’s family and friends, they inadvertently hire people who don’t share their same culture,

and the organization starts to deviate as these new people begin to hire and manage to their personal culture. The only way to keep this from happening is to define culture and have it reflected in the business model and business rules. What is Branding? Culture ultimately defines the organization’s brand. Let’s explore the concept of brand for a moment. Branding is not a logo, color palate, or any other design element. Branding is the member’s expectation of a certain experience. The history of branding goes back to the days when cattle ran free in the open range of the United States. Cattle owners would mark their herd with a hot branding iron. When the cowboys drove the livestock to market, buyers over time could identify which cattle had better pasture, better care, better water, and therefore would taste superior. They would say that they want that brand. Tip: Branding delivers the promise of a certain experience, therefore reducing purchase risk. Branding is a member experience • That they are willing to pay for. • That they want to repeat . • For which you’re the sole source , they can’t get it anywhere else. • That they’ll tell others about. If any of these elements are missing, it’s not a sustainable, scalable brand. Brand experience happens at every touchpoint a member

has with the organization’s environment, products, and people. KPIs for culture can include member satisfaction scores (yes, this is where this belongs), member alignment with stated target member goals, employee satisfaction scores, and personal satisfaction of the executive team. Ask yourself: On a scale of one to ten, how aligned is your daily culture with your stated culture? How AllThis Fits Together Identify the business pillars that you and your team need to improve with knowledge and skills. It can be as easy as reading a book, taking a course, or hiring a business coach or consultant to fill in the blanks, identify your blind spots, and develop KPIs to monitor, manage, and improve your business. When you routinely pay attention to the seven business pillars, you’ll have a sustainable and scalable non-profit organization. Mark S A Smith works with leaders to predictably grow their organization through upgraded executive skills and effective customer acquisition systems. He hosts the Executive Strategy Summit in Denver, June 8-9, 2018. If you want to up-level your business and executive acumen, plan to attend and leave with a Monday ready business plan for your organization. Connect with Mark at www.MarksOnLinkedIn.com . www.ExecutiveStrategySummit.com

Transformational Leadership Resource Center With these online resources, you can learn... • how to lead and build management expertise • the new rules of power and influence vs. command and control Visit synervisionleadership.org/online-leadership-programs to access these resources.

34 I Nonprofit Performance Magazine