By Margaret Thom, Membership Manager

How can we make this year better than the last? Considering that change is inevitable and we are co-creators of our change, how can we develop the disciplines needed to cultivate a “learning organization” that’s adept at adapting? 

I embrace the opportunity for reflection that comes with a new year. To consider these questions, with seeds planted in 2014, I’m led to systems thinking as one answer. 

Timely strategic thinking
In a post on strategic planning, Mark Fulop writes, “What is Needed Now? ... I am convinced that this is the single most important question that nonprofit leaders must be asking today. For me, the answer to the question, “what is needed now” is not strategic planning but strategic thinking that is supported by clear and strategic program plans.”(1)

Fulop goes on to identify three key areas for focused planning: 1) Core social impact strategies, 2) revenue strategies, and 3) operational & capacity strategies, as well as three secondary areas: 1) communications and marketing, 2) program evaluation, and 3) board development.

Leverage points for growth
Why is systems thinking useful to organizations? One reason - identifying leverage points for growth - is well articulated by Natalie Kivell in another post on systems thinking in organizations:

“Much of the work in our communities occurs by putting our heads down and running towards our goals with a laser focus. However, ... taking in the big picture can be necessary to find new ways to address issues. Once we take in the big picture and "see the system", it is possible to identify high leverage points for change. These leverage points are places, people, policies, and norms, that if changed would create a significant change with relatively little input.”(2)

Do we know the consequences of our actions? And our inactions? Can we see clearly where action is essential and where it is not? When do we not see clearly, but know to trust our gut? How can we work with others to develop and deepen a collective intelligence that can solve long-term problems?

Understanding relationships and assumptions
NPC’s friend and nonprofit consultant Frank Martinelli writes,

“The systems approach to management is a highly effective method for helping leaders understand the relationships that shape [the] environment in which their organizations operate.  It provides nonprofit leaders with a fresh understanding of relationships between our underlying assumptions, the actions we take based on these assumptions and the consequences of these actions - both intended and unintended.”(3)

Cultivating a learning culture
The five disciplines outlined by Peter Senge 25 years ago in his seminal book about systems thinking, The Fifth Discipline (Doubleday, 1990), are still relevant today: personal mastery, mental models, building shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking.(4) We can ask:

1. How are we “clarifying and deepening our personal vision, … focusing our energies, … developing patience, and … seeing reality objectively?”
   
2. How do we see and challenge our deeply ingrained assumptions?
   
3. How do we unearth “shared pictures of the future that foster genuine commitment and enrollment rather than compliance?”
   
4. How do we create opportunities where “members of a team suspend assumptions and enter into genuine thinking together,” to learn together as a team?
   
5. How do we integrate these disciplines?
   
   

Given the hectic pace of life, taking time to remember what we have learned and deepen the wisdom we have gained, both individually and collectively, is powerful.

The world is full of intelligent individuals working hard to make it a better place. We as nonprofit leaders and professionals are not only meeting immediate needs and solving long-term problems; we are also developing new capacities of thinking, seeing, and working together. What do we envision? How will we bring it to reality? 

We cannot do it alone. Let’s work together. Happy New Year!

References

1. Mark Fulop, "Nonprofit Strategic Thinking and Strategic Programming" 
2. Natalie Kivell, "Systems Thinking in Organizations" 
3. Frank Martinelli, "Systems Thinking" 
4. Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Doubleday, 1990, from Wikipedia   

Erica Breunlin is a reporter for BizTimes Milwaukee with a focus on nonprofits and education. Breunlin will partner with the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee on Jan. 28 to lead a workshop on ways nonprofits can connect with media outlets. See her preview of ways to connect specifically with BizTimes Milwaukee below.

Guest blog by Erica Breunlin

With the array of services and programs nonprofit organizations operate for individuals and families in need, BizTimes Milwaukee recognizes how critical the nonprofit sector is to the region’s vitality and economy. With this mindset, our business magazine values the nonprofit beat as highly as our other industry focal points. In addition to highlighting significant milestones in the nonprofit community, we are eager to explore relations between nonprofits and corporate advocates as well as examine the challenges today’s nonprofits face.

Story ideas submitted by nonprofit organizations, through press releases, phone calls, emails and social media, form the backbone of our coverage. And as a reporter on this beat, I am always looking to connect with nonprofit organizations to learn more about their missions and their intersections with southeastern Wisconsin’s businesses. I welcome any nonprofits with story ideas to contact me at [email protected] or at 414-336-7121.

A little bit more about BizTimes

BizTimes Milwaukee is a Milwaukee-based magazine dedicated to covering business news as it unfolds in southeastern Wisconsin. The magazine publishes in print every other week (on Mondays) and updates news daily on www.biztimes.com. With a circulation of 13,000+, the publication primarily caters to business executives at the C-Suite level. BizTimes Milwaukee breaks its coverage down into banking and finance, manufacturing, real estate, health care, human resources, technology, arts and entertainment, and nonprofits.

Opportunities for nonprofit coverage

1.      The Nonprofit Weekly: This online newsletter is published every Friday morning and focuses on newsworthy developments shaping the region’s nonprofit sector. All our stories on nonprofits have some tie or relevance to the business community. While human interest stories can make fascinating reads, we tend to stick to hard news items that connect to the business community in some capacity. 

2.      The Nonprofit Directory: BizTimes’ online Nonprofit Directory is a collection of profiles of area nonprofits. The directory serves as a resource for area businesses interested in learning what organizations exist in Milwaukee’s nonprofit sector and ways they can contribute to a particular organization’s mission. Each profile of each nonprofit in the directory features the nonprofit’s mission, focus areas, executive leadership, board of directors, key donors, ways the business community can be involved, key fundraising events, etc. The directory is free to join.

3.      The Nonprofit Spotlight: This spotlight runs in each print issue of BizTimes Milwaukee and features the profile of a nonprofit organization listed in BizTimes’ online Nonprofit Directory. The spotlight introduces the organization to our print readers and gives them a good snapshot of the organization’s mission and objectives. The spotlight is also free for nonprofits. 

4.      Nonprofit News: This section runs in each print publication of BizTimes Milwaukee and features one story that is critical to the nonprofit sector. Examples of stories in this section include the launch of a nonprofit volunteer app and the completion of a community giving campaign.

5.      Special Report on “The Business of Nonprofits”: In each print issue of BizTimes Milwaukee, we publish stories centered on special report topics, such as “Wealth Management” and “Innovation & Technology.” In some past issues, our special report has been “The Business of Nonprofits.” Stories under this special report might cover the work of a particular nonprofit organization, a trend experienced among area nonprofits, or best practices for nonprofit operations.

6.      Milwaukee Biz Blogs: At least twice a week, BizTimes runs blog posts on our website (www.biztimes.com). These blogs, often submitted by area business professionals and executives, give a platform to individuals looking to voice a concern to the business community, call the community to action, address controversies, celebrate business progress, offer expertise on complex issues, etc. Biz Blogs cover a range of topics pertinent to the business community. 

7.      Around Town Galleries: These photo galleries capture area events, from social and networking events to panel events and seminars to fundraisers and benefits. BizTimes reporters shoot many of these galleries, but our editorial team also welcomes photo submissions. In addition to running Around Town Galleries on our website, we run a gallery in each of our print issues.

8.      The Giving Guide: This supplementary publication, published each November, provides southeastern Wisconsin’s business community a vehicle to connect with area nonprofit organizations for philanthropic involvement. On the advertising side, the Giving Guide features the missions, volunteer opportunities and giving opportunities of more than 30 regional nonprofits offering a range of services and resources to residents in need. On the editorial side, the publication includes a section called “Profiles in Philanthropy,” which highlights impactful relationships between local businesses and nonprofits. BizTimes’ Giving Guide can be viewed at www.biztimes.com/giving.

BizTimes Media’s new BizTimes Nonprofit Excellence Awards: These awards recognize both the philanthropic contributions of corporate citizens in the region and the impactful work of area nonprofit organizations. Visit www.biztimes.com/npawards for more information.