STOP. START. CONTINUE.

​STOP. START. CONTINUE.
I recently had the privilege of working with a client that was preparing for a Board retreat. While the retreat focused on some heftier goals related to the organization’s newly minted strategic plan as well as creating a culture of diversity and inclusion, another important goal was to allow for some time for the Board to reconnect with one another. The Board retreat is usually an annual event, held in-person, for half a day on a Saturday. This year, because so many of us are zoomed out, it was a virtual retreat for a few hours on a Saturday morning. The planning committee did an excellent job ensuring that the agenda was tight, the content was important and relevant so that the Board felt it was a good use of their time, and yet, it didn’t tap into too much weekend time.
Across the pandemic, we’ve all learned to become much more adept at using technology to stay connected in our work and in our personal lives (Even my 87-year-old parents have become pros at Facetime and Zoom!). While it’s been crucial to have these tools to work and connect, we now find that the world is beginning to open up again and we can begin to get back to business as usual. But what is business as usual anymore? How has the pandemic changed the way we look at things and showed us how to operate differently?
At the retreat, the Board spent some time getting reacquainted in smaller groups in several virtual breakout rooms. We started the conversation with…
During the pandemic - what have you STOPPED, STARTED and WILL CONTINUE doing?
 It was a really great conversation amongst the members and not only did they learn more about each other but there were many thought-provoking takeaways as well. In my opinion, this portion of the retreat was as important as the other meatier agenda items. It helped strengthen the cohesiveness of the Board and was a great reminder to each of them of who they are working alongside of to support such an important mission.
After this retreat, it also got me thinking…what do I want to START, STOP and CONTINUE doing in my personal life and in my work?  I found this exercise to be very helpful in holding up the mirror and taking a good hard look at what is working, what hasn’t been so successful and what new things do I need to learn, introduce or be open to?  I identified a few things…

1. START recording every touch point in the donor’s record right after the call/note/visit. It’s easy to get behind and better to just keep up on it and make it a part of the process every single time.
2. CONTINUE calls, personal notes and visits going strong. It’s easy to get distracted and get into the weeds – CONTINUE to keep this at the TOP of the priority list.

 

1. STOP doing things just because “we’ve always done it this way.” The world has changed over the last year and we need to continue to look at new ways to best engage and steward our donors. This STOP has helped me learn about and discover a lot of new things – from technology to the way in which we tell our not for profit’s stories.

 
Join me in this activity! I promise you will find it useful for both your work and personal journeys. So, I ask you…what do you want to STOP, START and CONTINUE?