Bigger World View, Smaller World

In early June my sabbatical travels took me to Harvard Business School for a four-day workshop on Performance Measures for Non-Profit Organizations. Before my arrival at Harvard, I tried to imagine what it might be like. I envisioned a grand institution full of exceptionally educated, well-established, likely privileged, individuals. How would I fare? I was somewhat intimated by the prospect of what and whom I might encounter on campus and in class. Turns out…there are regular people there, too. And they indeed made Harvard the grand place I imagined. These regular people are completely in their zone….so dedicated to improving the services they deliver that they traveled from around the world to learn how to do it better.

The class had 80 non-profit leaders; 35% of whom were from other countries. We discussed a dozen case studies of challenges and opportunities faced by nonprofit organizations. The variety of ideas and perspectives that came about were astonishing. I realized how valuable it is to step back and look at evaluation from a different point of view and from a place of different interest; to slow down and remove yourself from the typical seat you sit in and ask questions on behalf of others – better yet, ask more questions of others and stop trying to figure out a solution within your circle of familiarity. Ask someone very different from you what matters most to them or what they would consider “effective results” for your organization. The best gift you could receive is an answer you never saw coming. Getting just a glimpse of issues people across the globe are facing (some surprisingly familiar) made my world seem a little smaller, and a little less obscure.

I am happy to report that I learned the official scientific method of proving program effectiveness doesn’t exist. Its not scientific, it’s simple (not easy, simple). It’s visible. Which of the results you are tracking translate into knowing what actions to take? Put the charts down and ask a few of the simplest questions you can think of (better yet again, find out what someone else’s questions are). Does your data answer them? Is it actually informing your organization and influencing your strategy? Can someone who does not have your insight, footnotes, history, etc. read your data and interpret the story it’s telling? If not, your data might not be revealing the real story – or at least not the one that matters most to people other than you.

Anybody out there want to swap stories? I am back in the zone and would love to hear from you.

Many Blessings,
Amy