Commongood Careers

Commongood CEO gets the fire started

At the recent 2010 Gathering of Leaders, an annual event bringing together social entrepreneurs from around the country, our fearless leader James Weinberg had the privilege of delivering a “fire starter,” or short speech intended to inspire and engage the entire audience on a given topic. After some arm twisting, James has pemitted us to reprint his remarks on our blog, as follows:

Let’s imagine that I have a magic wand. What I am going to do with my magic wand is go into your organization’s bank accounts…. and zero out the cash balance….  Then, I am going to go to your office and I am going to wipe out all the program data, all the technology, your strategic plan, your branded materials, and, in fact, the whole office itself….  And finally, I am going to pick up all of your staff, and all of your board members, and all of your volunteers and place them in a field together.  And I am going to ask that group, with you as its leader, to have the biggest impact on your mission possible.  I’d be willing to bet that all of you could get some pretty damn impressive results using just those people and nothing else.

So, here’s a different scenario.  I take out my wand again but, this time, I wipe out all those people.  Don’t worry.  They’re OK.  I sent them to the Cayman Islands on vacation… and I sent you with them… all expenses paid.  Now, let me ask you: Back at home, how much good is all the money, and technology, and infrastructure that is left behind going to get done on its own in service to your mission?

I’m sure by now, you all get my point.  In our sector, it’s the people, first and foremost, that dictate our ability to do good in the world. 

But why am I bothering to point out things that I know, that you know, already?  I’m standing up here in the hope of communicating one single and simple message… which is that it’s about putting people-FIRST.

I know from working with many of you that human capital is among your top five organizational priorities, which is GREAT.  The problem for many of us, however, is that it is number 3 or 4, rather than number 1.  And there is a world of difference between being a people-first organization and a people-fourth organization.

Now I know that no-one wants to think of themselves as being a “people-fourth” organization.  But the truth is, “putting people first” makes total sense and is something that we can commit to…. until we look down at our blackberries or iPhones and remember 3-4 more urgent, but ultimately less important things that need to be addressed ASAP and talent development will just have to wait.  So, one day, when we have a little more time and a little more money, we’ll make some investments to really get our organizations up to speed along those lines.  But… that day never really comes… or it comes too late to capture the opportunity of the moment.

The best leaders among us today, however, have proven that if we truly think and act on a people-FIRST basis, we can make the most out of this pivotal time in the evolution of our movement.  With a people-FIRST mindset, we can dramatically:

• Increase our revenue streams
• Improve our programs results
• Scale our operations and
• Change the lives of millions of people… in a way, and to a degree that simply is not possible without this mindset.

And it is NOT JUST about getting the right people on the bus, which is important.  It’s also about how we on-board, compensate, evaluate, manage, develop, and retain our people. 

So, this afternoon, I want to ask you to make a commitment.  Whether you are a social entrepreneur, a funder, a government employee, or a thought leader in the sector….  I want to ask you to really explore what it would look like to make human capital your organization’s number one priority.  Think about how you would go about doing it.  What would change?  And what benefits you could expect to see from that shift.

So, let’s go back to imagining.  I can imagine a social innovation movement that that puts people-first across the board.  I can imagine a sector that is better, stronger, smarter, more efficient, more effective, grows more rapidly, and brings increasingly high levels of social change to a world that needs it.

Imagine all of your staff and volunteer positions filled with cracker-jack, rock-star talent, and with those people being managed and developed in a tightly aligned organizational culture that allows them to achieve their fullest potential.

Or, imagine that they might as well be sitting in the Cayman’s.

Imagine it.