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So welcome to the good community. We're nonprofit professionals, philanthropists, world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.
So let's get started. What's happening, Becky?
Happy, almost end of the year, Jon! How you doing as we like kind of, we're not in the fundraising space anymore. But man do we feel for our friends that are burning the candle at both ends trying to make it happen toward the Year in?
Yep, we do feel you. And we're right here with you. And we just want to create space today. Like as we kind of look around as the year starts to wind down, it's easy to get pulled into all the tactics, all the replies that need to happen. Let's be clear all the gifts and appointments and events and things that are on the calendar right now. So in the midst of that, we just wanted to create a space for a little bit of an exhale, a little bit of a chance to do a little bit of self reflection. And so I don't know where you're at physically in this moment. But this may be an episode you want to bookmark and create a little bit of time to hang with us, because we're going to walk today about how do we go into 2020 for feeling really powerful. So this is gonna be a little mini playbook. And you know, we're gonna have some alliteration to help you remember these steps. So Becky, let's start to unpack this, right.
Okay, shout out to our amazing Chief of Staff, Abby Fox, who built this incredible framework because she is so brilliant at frameworks. And today we're going to talk about the four V's to create meaningful goals for 2024. This is an actionable framework that we hope you can put into place, whether you're a team of one or you're in a large shop. So let's dive in to step number one. And we're going to be talking about vantage point. And we all know you can't chart a path to your destination without knowing where you came from. And so the first step in goal setting should be getting a clear, realistic picture of where you are. So let's start by just asking ourselves some questions or maybe even bringing your team in and asking these questions and walking through them as a group. The first one is, did you achieve what you had hoped to achieve this year? And I think there's a predilection for all of us to just go to the negative, like what didn't get done on my task list. And if you're Taipei, like me, and you like to mark through stuff, don't look at the stuff that's not marked through, look at all of the lines, be sure to like stop and celebrate what you have achieved this year. The second thing you want to do is identify specific successes and failures. Ask yourself what you learn from these, how are you going to build on them in the future? Failure is a wonderful thing. We've been talking about this so much on the podcast, because the ability to fall forward and fail forward is a thing that's going to help us grow, it's going to help us see the bigger picture. The third thing is check your vitals. And what we mean by that is we had an episode 325 with the incredible Shaun Lee, and he unpacked the six levers for organizational health. And he introduced us to this concept of organizational vitals you remember that, Jon? And how wise Shaun was?
Yeah, and I was just sending this episode to somebody in our community this week. I mean, it's one that just is real resonant. So definitely go back and listen to it.
Yeah, if you are someone that's really trying to get at the 10,000 foot view of who are we where are we going? I think that is an incredible episode, we'll link it up in the show notes. But one of the things that Shaun was talking about is what are your core indicators of team or organizational health and performance? There, they should be measured annually and in perpetuity? Because when we when the clock starts back over in January, which you know, clean slate, we're all starting over again. These are the things that we go back to first, how is the team doing? How's the health of our team? How's the health of our organization? How are we performing? What are we knocking out of the park? What needs a little bit more work? That's going to help us sort of reallocate our time and our focus for the year? And I think a great example of this is like looking at your fundraising plus your revenue targets maybe number of beneficiaries served, it could be retention rate, it could be how are we growing our audience online? How are we converting people into our monthly giving program, whatever is important to you, that should be mapped into how you're going to check the vitals of your organization. And the last thing I want to talk about as we're talking about at the vantage point is end with gratitude, this is not a foreign concept for us. It's just so important to end on this note because it's helps us cultivate this abundance mindset. No matter how your year went, no matter the ups and downs, whatever you were struggling with. Whether you achieved your goals or you fell short. You didn't do it alone. What people, what circumstances what partnerships and ideas fueled you? That's what we need to sit on the gratitude with. That's what we need to double click on. And in my mind, that's what we want to bring more of into our work in 2024, because that is abundance.
That's so good. I'm feeling just like the gratitude just to the way you unpacked that. But I think that's not something you really want to miss, because it's such an opportunity to rally and get your team feeling really powerful about what they have accomplished this year. So Okay, step two, you know, the next V coming at you is vision. And if you hang around these parts, you know, we are all about vision. You might even know our vision, if you've hung around here very long, because we talk about it a lot. It's Impact Uprising, this idea of what is this destination that you're going to it's easy to get mired, definitely talking about all the tactics, all the metrics that we're tracking, to think about the day to day, but vision is when you dial in and say step back to say, Where are we going? What is the bigger thing that was at play? What is the world that we want to create? And where how are we trying to get there, we just dropped an episode with Joan Garry. And if you missed that one go back. It was such a riot.
It was a riot, but it was also so life changing, like the way that she looks at the world, it was so brilliant.
So she was episode 493. And she talked about the the importance of owning our vision, and being able to storytel it. I mean, this is where you start, if you are literally starting from nothing. At this moment, if you're feeling so burnt out, invite others to the vision of where you're going, because that's what's gonna get us all excited and re motivated. And we think about as leaders, we're responsible for orienting our teams and those around our movement with a shared vision of success. And you may be like our friends at New Story who have this crystal clear vision, and we've talked a lot of them on the team. They all know that success to them would look like ending global homelessness. Like yes, that is a big, hairy, audacious goal. But it is the vision that keeps them on track to orienting every one of their steps, so they can kind of look at it in context. So if you're still struggling to put words around it, this is the step where I would say, definitely get clear on it. And we gained a ton of wisdom recently from our friend, Brooke Richie-Babbage on episode 329. Brooke is a powerhouse of just getting leadership aligned to your Northstar, she encouraged us to have some brave questions that will help us refine our vision. And so I want to just share a few of those as you start to just create space to work through this. But one is, what is the change in the world that I'm pushing for? You know, it's so clear with that imperative, that New Story all rallies around, is that everything that they're doing is about ending global homelessness, which points us to that we have to address the systemic issues, we can't just work on the top level. So how do we you know, solve for that? The second question is, what is the world look like when I've solved this problem? And how does that just like really, like get to you? I know if you're, you're probably a feeler. If you listen to this podcast, because we dedicate a lot of time in our episodes, to the emotional experience of the work that we get to do, I would ask you, what is it about that future vision that man just like stirs your heart or keeps you up at night or breaks your heart? And that is the storyline that you want to invite others into? What is this thing that you're moving toward? And then personally, think about your own self? We're in a growth mindset community here, which means that we're all evolving. Are you clear on what the vision you want for your own personal life? Because we as humans are evolving. And I'm not talking about your organization here, which I love your organization. I'm glad you're pouring into even founders listening. I'm glad you're pouring into it, you are more than your mission, like what is your personal Northstar that you are working on the cheer cultivating and don't miss this opportunity. And so organizational vision is just going to gain traction when your staff and your believers can all identify and want to be part of the future that you were collectively seeking to create. And if they can see how their actions, their KPIs, their measurements, pour into that vision, they're going to become the rabid fans that won't let you fail in the new year. And so you have to have vision, we're at V number one, V number two, okay, B take us to number three.
I mean, step number three V number three is values. And I want to thank you, Jon for armwrestling. me so I could take values, but you are Mr. Vision. And this is no surprise for any longtime listener because the values that you own as an individual, the values that you prescribe, as an organization, they are a reflection of what's important to you. And we think that it is the bedrock it is the base of everything that comes from your organization, the integrity, the storytelling, the way people feel when they engage with their mission, you are connected in those values, because no matter what we're doing, whether we're fundraising or we're marketing, or we're doing operational operations on the back end, it all comes back to values. So if we're going back and I'm being a little existential here, you know v1 vantage point It's going to inform where you are. The second one vision is going to inform where you're going. And values are going to inform how you're going to get there. And that's why they're so important to goal setting, they provide clarity about what path we should take, and they remind people while why they're with us, and why they continue to support us, so I want to give a little bit of an example on this, and I'm gonna pick on us, Jon, but I'm gonna go back to one of our values. Number seven, or seven value of We Are For Good is disrupt, grow, adapt, repeat. And the way that I would put this into goal setting is like for 2024, I think this is a value that we're going to hang our shingle on and put some intense focus for we're for good this year. And what does that look like? It means that we're going to remind our people that this is our value. And when it shows up, we're going to highlight it, we're going to say we're doing x, we're going to be doing some new things in the community, we're going to be doing some new things with content. And we want our audience to know about it. And not only do we want them know about it, we want them to come along, because people who come into the We Are For Good community want to disrupt, grow, adapt, repeat, and so we're reminding them why they're in our house. And so every time we push content out there that's, you know, aligns with this value, we're going to lift it every single time somebody sort of lives this value, we're going to call it out. And all of a sudden, that becomes a drumbeat to who we are. And I think just putting some focus back on your values connecting that to goal setting is really going to be something that's going to take your communication and your culture to the next level. But this may be a little confusing for us to guess what we got you a little freebie. So if you're struggling to identify your values, we've got a resource for you, we've created a values template, you can find the link in the episode's description, or in the show notes. And I also just want to give like a little bit of a warm hug to everybody who's like, I don't know my organizational values. And I would say, Okay, start with your values. What's important to you? Why did you come to this organization? What led you here? What led you to believe that this work was so important that you wanted to put your professional career, your time, your energy and your heart into it? Start there. From there, we want you to set SMART goals. Smart is the acronym I'm sure many of you are familiar with it. Because once you have those values identified, and you want to integrate them into your goal setting, you are going to make them smart, which means you're going to make them specific, you're going to make a measurable, you're going to make them achievable, relevant, and time bound that align with how you want to do your business.
So good. And I mean, all these things are like kind of best laid plans, you know, I think we can sit Yeah, we can think about and have this beautiful plan walking into 2024. But Becky, we were talking to a friend right a couple of weeks ago. And she was like, you know, my husband, I just decided, well, let's try again in 2024. So it was so relatable, you know, like so it feels like things have passed, okay, I managed to wait for a reset. Here's the thing, like the reset, it can come at any moment. So think it just reminds me that it's so important to not miss step four, which is this idea of versatility. So I mean, we all know that we're going to have potential obstacles and challenges they're going to arise, they're probably going to arise on day one of the new year, you know, we just should expect this. But planning is going to help us have more resilience. And if there's one thing that we try to combat around here, it is that scarcity, mindset. And friends, this is not a one and done thing, because I still have to cultivate out the scarcity mindset that plague my own self, you know, and so definitely, even in our own organization here with We Are For Good. Because when we get in a scarcity place, we all of a sudden feel trapped, and there's no worse feeling than feeling trapped and out of options. So what we want to talk about in step four is just how do we cultivate this versatility index. So you can have this ready resource, one that can really guide you to remind you that, okay, I need to have an open hand here. Yes, we know where we're going. We know what our values are, but open handed to how it's going to pan out. So the first question is, what resources do you already have that can be leveraged? And we're probably need to think outside of the box and is a great like team exercise. And that we can feel stifled a lot of times we're looking at a blank sheet of paper. It's when we love this exercise we call name storming. When you feel like you don't have a person to you know, capture their story will encourage you to just take a few seconds and think through the different categories of people in your world. Maybe it's board members, maybe it's volunteers, maybe it's monthly givers start to fill this page with all these groups of people. And all of a sudden after just like a minute of brainstorming, you're gonna have a whole page of people that you potentially could connect with. It's the same idea of like, what are the resources that you have in people in maybe things and maybe partnerships that you have, so you're not alone? And then secondly, we want to really start within. What unique skills? What unique talents does your team possess? And then what are those, you know, additional talents that we can cultivate in the new year? If you're a growth mindset leader listening to this podcast, I mean, heck, you queued up a podcast in the middle of your day, right? I think you're a growth minded individual.
Bravo. At year-end!
Absolutely.
You are so our people.
You know, as we go into the year, and we're talking about cultivating your own vision, what is your team? Where's the areas of growth that they want to grow in? What are the areas that you want to grow in, and if you're a growth mindset leader, you're absolutely going to want to invest and create space for them. So if you have a small team, you could talk through these one on one or if you have a larger team, maybe it's like a big StrengthsFinder exercise or Enneagram, to get a bigger picture of what are the unique strengths? What are the unique angles that each of the team members bring to the table? Or, you know, we had that awesome episode with Dave Raley just a few weeks ago about working genius, there's all these different types of tools that you can start to look at each other with a different lens of like, Man, this is so cool, this team that we have together, we all do view things from different ways we bring different things to the table. How do we leverage that because it creates this versatility that maybe we didn't even know exists, and it's going to allow people to again, see how they personally connect to the vision that you're trying to accomplish. And it's just this great way to not only just prioritize self growth, but to create more belonging and, you know, just energy among your team. And then secondly, it's not just looking inward, it's also looking outward. What are those support systems that you have in place? How can we leverage those to overcome obstacles. This is where partnerships, you know, the bigger additional funding sources or even looking big, playing big with a tri sector solution that could come into play, start to talk about those things and manifest and we're not saying manifest in a woowoo way, we're saying, start to speak into the things that just make sense that would bring people together to do what you're trying to actually do in the world. And we got to lock arms to be able to do that. And so you know, we can't always just change our environment, but we can always adapt business, as usual, doesn't exist anymore, you heard us say this, you're gonna hear it a lot in 2024, it's over business, as usual, doesn't exist. So it's time to evolve through adaptation. Okay, so keep this index handy as you enter the new year. And knowing that, we're going to pivot, we're gonna take detours along the way. And the way that we can lean in to being versatile together as a team is going to be the path. So that kind of rounds out our four v framework to get you ready for 2020 for goal setting. But remember, friends, you're in the We Are For Good Community, you are not alone in this, we're doing it alongside you. And we'd love to just help equip you all year long. And certainly find new friends in the we're for good community too.
Yeah, and if this just resonates with you, or if you're looking for professional development, because Jon, you mentioned prioritizing self growth, which was literally our number one trend for this year is the world is changing so much. And we have got to build in time to change and adapt, Oh, there I go, I'm going to call it out to disrupt, repeat all and grow, we need to do those things. So if you're looking for that professional development, that's an elevation that meets the moment inspires you to be your best, like, consider joining us in We Are For Good PRO, y'all. We've discounted an annual membership to pro for just $297 through the start of the year, that's less than $30 a month. You know, we do not sell often on this podcast, but we believe so deeply in upskilling our community to meet this moment. So head over to weareforgood.com/pro to store score that discount and hey, if you if money is tight right now, go over to our pricing page, hit that scholarship button, we want to make sure that somebody is going to cover your professional development for this year, because we want you in this classroom.
Yeah, and I'll say, you know, as we've reflected Pro has now been out in the wild for almost two years, I would say this is capacity building, but it's done in community. So that is a buzzword in this space. But it is a place that we believe in the power of growth mindset. And that the basics are right inside of Pro to where you can come just as you are today. Like if you don't know a lot, you can come in and learn so much, but you get to do it. Among the We Are For Good community, which is like the most heartwarming, the most full hearted, the most open handed people that we have met in our journey. So we'd love to have you join us at weareforgood.com/pro.
Guys, come over come hang with us. We talked about those values, you're gonna find people in there who align with your values. And Jon, can I end with a one good thing
Of course
for this episode because I've been racking my brain of how to find a V word to encapsulate what to say. And the closest I can come to is virtue. And I want you to build a virtue in for yourself of rest. Because this is a lot of work. Being a nonprofit, being on the front lines of these issues is a lot of work. And in a time such as this. It can be daunting, and when your vision casting and your goal setting and you're really trying to get a fresh start, I just want to encourage you to live the virtue of rest, take breaks, reflect, reflect back on what you've done, sit in that for a minute, be so damn proud of yourself for what you've been able to accomplish this year. And then look forward, cascade forward and think about how rest can help rejuvenate you and get you ready for 2024. We want a rested friend in you, and the nonprofit sector, the impact sector, wherever you work, whatever your cause is, that really is a heartbeat to you. It needs you to be in that rest as well. Thanks for letting me get on my resting soapbox, Jon.
I mean, what a perfect way to round this out. Hope you know we're in this together, you've got this friends.
Rooting for you.
Thanks so much for being here, friends, and you probably hear it in our voices. But we love connecting you with the most innovative people to help you achieve more for your mission than ever before.
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