Focus on Results

Recently, the following question was posed to me: "I work in strategy and business development within a major university. How can I change our mindset from a non-profit to a profit mentality?"

This was such a provocative question, that I thought I'd share my answer.

My first response is that this person should rephrase the goal!

I served on the Board of the Peter Drucker Foundation (now the Leader to Leader Institute) for twelve years. We have worked with thousand of leaders in non-profit organizations. Many would be annoyed by the very wording of the question.

The question implies that "profit mentality" is good -- while "non-profit mentality" is bad. Peter Drucker believed that many of the greatest leaders he had ever met (including Frances Hesselbein, former CEO of the Girl Scouts) came from the non-profit sector. The idea of changing one group of leaders to more closely resemble those in another sector will not sell very well. Several decades ago, I was a dean. From my experience with professors, I strongly believe that many faculty members would rebel at the very idea of having the strategy of their university copy the strategy of a for-profit institution.

Putting aside the wording of the goal, my guess is that the intent is to make the university more focused on results -- and less on process or activities. Drucker would applaud this desire to make this change happen.

Here are a few suggestions for those looking to make their institution more focused on results:

- Involve key leaders throughout the institution -- as well as their key stakeholders -- in clarifying the strategy. The more the strategy comes from them (not you), the more likely they are to be committed to making it work. Without their commitment to the strategy -- and its execution -- the institution won't get the results that it needs.

- Work with them to paint a picture of desired outcomes.

- Focus on results that are actually measurable -- not vague generalizations. Set clear timelines.

- Hold leaders accountable for achieving results -- and describe what this accountability will actually look like.

- Make peace with what you cannot change. Focus only on differences that can be made. Don't waste your political capital on debates that you cannot win.

- Read Peter Drucker's Managing the Nonprofit Organization for many more ideas.

 

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Comments

[Eli Davidson - Huffpost Blogger]

Dear Marshall,
Thank you so much for this superb post. I find that so many institutions are caught in the quicksand of process that they have lost sight of creating results. I have been working with educational institutions and finding that they believe that they are unequipped to make the changes necessary to create innovation.

I believe that creating results goes beyond profit or non-profit. The question is are results being accomplished or not.

Thanks again for a wonderful post,