Learning to Learn

When I bought my first road bike, I remember staring in awe and terror at the clippless pedals before I had even handed over payment. I learned to ride a bike more then a decade before but the notion of clipping my feet to my bike while riding seemed impossibly foreign.

My first day on the bike I rode a total of ZERO miles, instead I asked my husband to patiently stand in the driveway, holding the bike steady as I practiced clipping in and out. Day two, I took the bike to a school yard and practiced on the grass before I hit road. Once on the road every intersection had me panicked, an opportunity to full system failure.

The first summer I owed the bike I road the 150 mile, two challenge - MS Bike to the Breakwater. I entered the race fully confident in my skills handling the bike and going the distance, I was on my game. The first day I rode conservatively but intentionally, fueling up at each available support station and finished the day feeling great. Day two I woke up feeling better then I could have imagined. I jumped on my bike and rode with confidence, charging town lines (a little sprint game I play with my husband) and smiling brightly as we past family and friends at the day's half way point. The final support station is 14 miles from the finish line, we pulled in to grab a quick snack before the final push, I was beaming. Still in conversation with one of the volunteers I went to get back on my bike - I clicked my right foot in at the bottom of the peddle stroke, stood up and fell over. Yup just like that - WACK - I was on the ground.

Three years later, I ride without thinking about my clippless pedals. Clipping in and out are ingrained. I am not longer a new learner.

Getting to this point took trust, practice and time. It took falling over in front of my friends, strangers and at inconvenient times. It took a willingness to be vulnerable, insecure and accept that failure isn't the end of the road.


This American Life Host, Ira Glass produced a wonderful piece about the process of learning, a reflection on his development as a story teller and learning curve with radio.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
http://transom.org/?p=6978





This lesson came up today in a conversation about new learners and social media. It might seem like a strange connection to make but all of the same emotional components I experienced on my bike, follow us in our personal and professional pursuits. We can choose to name them, bring attention to them, laugh about them and work through them or we can choose to ignore them and allow them to stop us from learning. I will continue to opt for the former and work to help my clients do the same, even if it means falling flat on my butt sometimes.

The Five P's.

This week has been looming in my icalendar for some time - new client meetings, lots of drive, a weekend of event planning. Before the calendar rolled into October I was prepared for this one to be a beast.

When I see these weeks coming I take extra time to get as much done in advance as I can. This may sound crazy but that includes proactively cleaning the house, freezing dinners and scheduling in blocks of time to exercise. After many of these weeks managed by gross consumption of Red Bull, whatever food happened to be in the office and intermittent bouts of sobbing a bathroom, I've learned how to pace myself.

There is however one variable that I can't solve for - other people.

Last night my cell rang, long after any reasonable definition of "business hours", even if we are talking - I'm on the east coast and you are calling from California, forgetting while you are still in the office, I am in my pj's drinking a glass of Pinot.

I let the phone go to voicemail. This is a huge step for me but an essential one for keeping my sanity, preserving sleep and my marriage.

It was dark out as I got ready to leave the house this morning to sneak in a hike, with my friend Wendy, before I dove into work. In the car headed to the trail, I listened to the voicemail.

In short the message was a semi-frantic cry for help from a collaborator who's piece of the puzzle was a mess days before the project deadline. I spilled the story to Wendy sighting the inquires I made over the last few weeks to check on the status of this piece of the project and the obtuse answers I received.

Wendy stopped me mid-sentence and said, "This is your week, poor planning on their part is not an emergency for you." (One of my all time favorite quotes). "And maybe you should share the five P's with them."

I immediately thought back to Kindergarten trying to recall the five P's, all I could come up with was a single P and three R's.

"I give up. What five P's?"

Her husband's five P's (a former Marine so also the US Military's five P's)

Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

The situation is not quite right to share this advice with last night's caller but it is certainly worthwhile wisdom for your personal life, professional life and everything in between.

The Five P

Building Strong Boards

Ten Ways to Strengthen Board Performance[1]

1. Use a board profile assessment to strategically recruit board members
2. Form a board governance committee and actively seek new member
3. Develop and implement a meaningful board orientation program
4. Conduct regular trainings and offer board members access to educational opportunities
5. Annually review all governing documents
6. Form a finance committee to provide sound financial oversight
7. Be transparent in all board matters
8. Take responsibility for program outcomes
9. Make an “all hands on deck” commitment to fundraising
10. Implement regular member self-assessment and evaluation

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[1] Thanks for Leadership North Country Class of 2011 for sharing the first version on this list, it has been adapted slightly by Sasha Eisele & Associates and the source of the original list is unknown.

The Power of Cross-Training

I run because I love the feeling of racing through the woods, bounding over rocks, roots and through the mud. I run because I need that time to clear my head of everything and let all slow creep back in.

Racing for me is just an extension of running, biking and swimming - a reason to focus my training to allow myself the time for exercise induced euphoria - a totally different feeling then what I get from rock climbing or surfing.

This morning I hit the trails before the heat of the day and ran in the woods under the cover of thick leaves, it was perfect. I thought about...

Hill sprints, long endurance runs, race pace runs, flat sprints...
All tools that when packaged to together create a sum great the parts.

This afternoon in my office, I thought about the tools that I use to support my clients and their marketing and development needs. Here is a list of five great tools that will give you a sum greater then their parts - happy training.

Some are free, others have a free trail period and then charge a fee for use.

Go to Meeting - Web conferencing, online demos and work group collaboration

Doodle - Meeting scheduling made easy

Crowdrise - Online fundraising and charity research made fun and easy

GroupSite - Social networking meets group collaboration

Guidestar - Find information on foundations and nonprofits around the country

The Potential of June and Social Media

Even years after the meaning of summer morphed from childhood wanderlust to the realities of adulthood June still holds visceral magic for me. There is something about the potential of summer – everything it could be, the adventures still to come, the uncertainity, the flavors, sites and sounds that mesmerizes.

This June I am developing on online platform where social networking and community collaboration interface for a group of change agents working toward a more prosperous future for their county in rural New Hampshire. The site will be built out from GroupSite and run for a trail 6-month period to test viability.

The energy behind this site is tremendous and tempered by the fact that participants just came off a three day symposium together- high on ideas, social capital building. This project is just like June – filled with potential, possibility and the unknown.

I look forward to challenge of measuring success in this virtual world, supporting individuals who engage social media for the first time, mining the knowledge and experience of early adopters and providing tools to create greater connectivity and opportunity in rural America.

What Donors Can Learn from Central Asia Institute's Recent Challenges

I had worked in nonprofit development for three year and helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, when a perspective donor answered my ask with a request to see a litany of financial documents. At first I was shocked, defensive even, though I had nothing to hide. I covered my surprise quickly and promised to deliver the documents.

Years later that moment stands out above all of the solicitations which were honored in the moment and without question. This donor simply asked what any investor would ask, to ensure his/her funds were being directed to a transparent, accountable and genuine place.

In the face of the accusations against Greg Mortenson and The Central Asia institute, I keep coming back to wrestle with multiple layers of institutional failure leading up to this point.

Jon Krakuer is taking on the credibility of Mortenson's books. I'll be honest, I am not terribly interested in this piece of the story. CIA and Mortenson do great work in education and bridging cultural divides, period. If pieces of the stories are condensed, stretched or omitted so be it.

Fellow nonprofit consultant and friend, Janet Bergman, addressed the organization's clear and blatant disregard for basic best practices, adhered to by organizations large and small across the country, in her recent blog post.

I want to empower and challenge the philanthropic audience, no matter what size gift you are making, ask questions, second but arguably equal to the board of directors, you are the people who keep these organizations alive.

Knowing what to ask for may be half the battle....

The financial statements for every nonprofit organization are public record.
Be skeptical if you ask to see information and are not provided with it.
Here are a list of ways your can sure your charitable gifts are ending up where you expect.

1) Check on the organization's public financial records

GuideStar's Mission: To revolutionize philanthropy by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving.

2) Request a copy of the current board of directors

Industry standard suggestions a minimum of five board voting board members

3) Ask for additional financial materials

Operating and program budgets, as well as current financial statements will not always be available online but you have a right to ask for them. It is standard practice to include these documents with grants proposals., so it should be no trouble for any organization to provide them to you.

4) Ask for a detailed report on how your gift was spent


5) Use your intuition

If something about the organization strikes you as off, ask about it. Organization's with nothing to hide will have an explanation and might even be happy you asked.

Option two if something seems amiss, call the attorney general's office in the state where the organization operates.
Ask for the office of charitable trusts. You can ask your questions or file a concern with their office.