Nonprofit-Performance-360-Vol-3-No-1-Berger

Dan Clark

Reaching Beyond Success

O ne of the highlights of my professional speaking career was as the keynote speaker at the United Nations World NGO Conference in Hamburg, Germany. With well over a hundred countries represented, I needed to deliver a message that would ring loud and clear in every language and every culture. Based on my firm conviction that the same God who made me, made you too, in every color, country and socioeconomic condition, and believing that we should stop talking about cultural diversity and start focusing on cultural commonality, formulating my universal message for my United Nations speech became clear. I realized then that this message should be part of every speech because it addresses the fundamental governing law of the universe - service - that truly applies to everybody, in every aspect of our lives and job description. Later, I conducted a leadership/personal development retreat for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. I talked to them about how fortunate they were to be the best-known cheerleaders on the planet. So what were they going to do with this highly visible platform to make a difference, not just a living? I reminded them that they had an opportunity to turn their success into significance by volunteering in the community, raising awareness about critical issues, visiting hospitalized children, and being role models everywhere they went. To inspire them and illustrate the impact all of us can have when we focus on service before self, I share the three examples I delivered in my NGO Congress speech.

and maintaining high morale, deepening relationships between employers and employees. Cone/Roper released a five-year study revealing the power of cause marketing: a. Corporate responsibility and citizen- ship remain highly valued by Ameri- cans. Incorporating business practices in support of a cause helps demonstrate a company’s commitment and enhanc- es its credibility. b. Eight in ten Americans have a more positive image of companies that support a cause they care about. c. Nearly two-thirds of Americans agree that cause programs should be a standard business practice. d. More than 60 percent of consumers will switch retailers if they support the cause the consumer supports. e. Nine in ten workers feel a greater sense of pride and stronger sense of loyalty to companies with cause programs, translating into enhanced customer service and positive word of mouth. f. More than half of employees wish their employers would do more to support social causes. g. Eighty-seven percent of employees of companies with cause programs wish their companies would measure success in social as well as financial terms. 3. Love is not the answer; it’s the assignment! However, once you demonstrate your love to your most significant others, the highest law of loving is to feel genuinely needed.

1. For 75 years, Alcoholics Anonymous has taught the secret to mental and physical health, wealth, enduring happiness, and achieving the level beyond success. It’s found in the 12-Step Program, which has helped millions free themselves from addictions, get on the road to recovery, and stay on the journey of significance. Beginning with Step 1, admitting you have a problem, participants embrace one step at a time until they’ve experienced the healing power in each step. However, everyone who is involved in AA knows that even if they learn and follow the first eleven steps, unless they fully embrace the twelfth step, they will start drinking again.The only way to beat their addiction and truly heal from this disease is through Step 12: help another addict overcome addiction, and volunteer in the community. Bottom line: To recover from any hard thing, broken dream, loss of a loved one, or addiction, realize that what goes around comes around and that, through service, both the giver’s and receiver’s lives are transformed for good. 2. Organizations are measured by their large purpose, through cause marketing. Cause marketing is the proven formula for attracting and retaining quality employees

34 I Nonprofit Performance Magazine