Latest / Nonprofit Launch Plan Podcast for Startup, Small, and Growing Nonprofits / A Vision Is Not a Roadmap: How Nonprofits Turn Big Dreams Into Action (Ep 57)
Transcript
- Matt Stockman (00:00) Some of the most inspiring conversations I've had with nonprofit leaders begin with them describing where they hope their organization will be 10 years from now. It's really exciting. But then I ask one more question. Okay, what are you going to do this quarter that gets you there? And that's usually where the conversation goes silent. A compelling vision is really important, but a vision by itself doesn't move an organization forward. It has to become a roadmap that shapes decisions you make every week, every month, and every year. If you've ever struggled to turn a big dream into practical next steps, then this conversation is for you. Welcome to the Nonprofit Launch Plan Podcast for startups, small and growing nonprofits. This podcast is here to help you build your nonprofit from the ground up. On a strong, sustainable foundation by providing clear frameworks and practical tools and the real world guidance that you can actually put into practice. your host, Matt Stockman, I'm a nonprofit growth coach. I'm really glad you're here. At nonprofit launch plan, we believe that every successful nonprofit has to be operating at peak performance. Across six key areas. Those six areas are leadership, fundraising, marketing, programs and services, operations, and finances. So on every episode of this podcast, we focus on one of those core areas to help you create lasting impact without unnecessary complexity. And before we dive into today's episode, which I'm excited for you to hear, if you like the kind of things that you're learning and picking up from listening to the podcast. There's more in my free weekly email. It's called the Nonprofit Launch Briefing. Every week I send out one meaningful email about something different than what you hear on the podcast. Strategies, tools, fundraising insight, guidance, practical things you need for startup, small, and growing nonprofits. So if you're serious about building a healthy nonprofit that makes real impact long term, I'd love to have you on the list. Shoot me a quick email with a simple sign me up in the subject line. My email is matt at nonprofitlaunchplan dot com. To get on the list, just sign me up in the subject line. And again, my email is Matt at nonprofitlaunchplan dot com. If you've spent any time around nonprofit leaders, you probably heard somebody say you have to have a compelling vision in your nonprofit. And that is 100% true. But here's the question I don't think gets asked often enough. Once you've written the vision statement, then what? How do you actually move from a 10 year dream way out in the future to something your team can begin working on Monday morning? That's exactly what we're talking about in today's episode. My guest on the podcast is Dick Whitworth. Dick has spent decades leading nonprofit organizations and Christian media ministries, and we've had the privilege of working together. full of great wisdom and insight. And I'm thrilled that he said yes to joining me today so that you get to hear from him. Dick has learned firsthand that having a vision just isn't enough. Organizations Don't drift towards their preferred future. They actually have to intentionally build a roadmap that connects today's decisions to tomorrow's destination. So, in our conversation, we're going to talk about why so many nonprofits get stuck in survival mode, how leaders can work backwards from a long-term vision, why quarterly planning matters, how to create some measurable milestones, and some of the leadership lessons that Dick says he's learned. The hard way. If you've ever looked at your organization's vision and thought, I know where we're trying to go, I just don't know how to get there. I think you're going to find this conversation incredibly practical. So thanks so much for being here. And let's dig into it. Here's my conversation with Dick Whitworth. Matt Stockman (04:06) When you look back across your leadership career, what have you noticed that separates organizations that are able to achieve sort of a long-term vision from those that seem to just continue to spin their wheels but never really make any actual progress. Talk about that a little bit. Dick Whitworth (04:22) Yeah. it's a great question. but it there's never a substitute for good leadership. Everything falls rises and falls on good leadership. ⁓ i if your leadership he or she knows where they're going, that's really that's really job number one. ⁓ And then really a focus on what you're trying to accomplish and and really staying laser focused on that aspect and then clarity of ⁓ of goals. ⁓ it it that sounds easy, but the leader has to make the the right decisions, the best decision decisions that he or she can make. And I'm not saying like General George Patton kind of involvement. I know some people this is kind of a day and age when leadership is Matt Stockman (04:58) Mm-hmm. Dick Whitworth (05:09) only thought in terms of the collective and I have always valued input. I've always had a leadership team. ⁓ but at the end of the day somebody has to make the call. And accessibility and clear direction and leadership ⁓ from the leader i is is is essential. And I also say this ⁓ what's celebrated gets done. It may not be a part of the mission or the vision, and this is where I think some nonprofits get off track, is the things that are actually celebrated aren't necessarily ⁓ what the mission statement is really all about. so it it really it rises and falls for me on good leaders. Matt Stockman (05:38) Hmm. Dick Whitworth (05:53) I've always been in media not for profits for the most part. I mean I've I've worked with other non profits ⁓ either in an advisory capacity or things like that. But we can talk about the mission of reaching the world for Christ, ⁓ but we only celebrate when it's a major gift or we only celebrate when ratings are high. ⁓ and somehow we haven't been clear enough on what the goal is. So the founder i is usually the one who decides what that is or what that looks like. And if it's different than the mission statement, ⁓ it's it's hard to come out of there with an elevator speech for your development people to sell when you know in reality we're s we're really after something else. And and I think that's that's a that's a hard thing to Quantify, but you know, I years ago I read the book by Rick Warren ⁓ before Purpose Driven Life. It was called Purpose Driven Church. And if you can I would say to any nonprofit leader, if you can get your hands on a copy, it's old. But I'm telling you, it was a monumental shift for me in and how I thought about what our organization was really all about. did we really try to accomplish what we said was our mission vision. I mean he really it was really impactful for me at the time. I think it's still very relevant, but it's called Purpose Driven Church and of course Rick Warren everybody knows. Matt Stockman (07:25) yeah. Great, great. Thank you for the suggestion. for nonprofits, everybody and if people listen to the podcast for any length of time whatsoever, they hear me continually just hammer on clarity and mission and clarity and vision. ⁓ which is great. But as I was telling you just a moment ago, I was having a conversation with a client ⁓ earlier earlier today that was they could recite the vision statement. The imagined future, 10 years, 20 years down the road or whatever, but they really had a hard time once they could recite it. If they got the asked the follow-up question, okay, that sounds great, but what does that mean practically? They really got stuck for words, which maybe makes me think that there's a difference between having a vision of this imagined future and then having a roadmap to get to it. Have you noticed that some organizations like really more in survival or just reactive mode and not really necessarily creating a pathway forward? Dick Whitworth (08:30) Yeah, I think we're in a season of that right now, honestly, Matt. I feel like ⁓ the different in you know, station leaders and individuals that I'm connected with, with few exceptions, ⁓ you had Paul Schmitz on a few weeks ago and talking about shower up and they're exploding in terms of opportunity and funding and things like that. But I think the vast majority of groups that I'm aware of are basically in survival mode, which makes it extra tough Matt Stockman (08:47) yeah. Yep. Dick Whitworth (09:00) and tempting to get off mission to get off focus. ⁓ you know, ⁓ before the days of guys like ⁓ tried the shotgun approach and anything that brought in a a dollar or brought in a letter or a comment, we felt like we were hitting the mark. And it wasn't wasn't really until we became laser focused. And and I still think that if Matt Stockman (09:18) Right. Dick Whitworth (09:24) you're if you're listening and you're struggling, go back to the basics. This is a football, as they say. what's job one? What are we really trying to accomplish? What if it's your faith based, which I assume probably many of your clients and and viewers are, ⁓ what has God actually called us to do to accomplish? And I I ⁓ I can only do so much unless God builds a house, we labor in vain. Matt Stockman (09:31) Mm, mm-hmm. Mm, mm-hmm. Dick Whitworth (09:54) And I've always felt like money follows ministry. So if I'm if I'm doing the right things, I'm doing the things that I know God has called me to do, at some point I have to leave the results up to Him. ⁓ now I still have to be a wise steward as a leader, I have to make tough calls, ⁓ I have to watch my spending, I may have to make ⁓ divisions Matt Stockman (10:08) Hm. Dick Whitworth (10:21) either more profitable or go away. I mean there's just things ⁓ that that cause us to tighten up, but this is a great opportunity to refocus and make sure that ⁓ your laser is on the right ⁓ on the right object. You're headed in the right direction. Matt Stockman (10:37) Well, how would you recommend somebody who has a a a vision for their organization 10 years from now? how how would you recommend that they sort of examine it and break it down into milestones or stepping stones that maybe they can even begin to do in year one that will eventually get them to Year 10, because I think a lot of nonprofits, to your point of sort of being in survival mode to a certain degree or just reactive mode, it's just like we're just trying to make decisions to solve whatever problems we have for the end of this week and then we repeat it next week and we look back a year from now and go, Well, we're a year technically on the calendar closer to the vision, but we're not actually any closer to the vision. Dick Whitworth (11:26) Yeah. it's a challenge. When you're drowning, you're literally in you're in you're in fight mode. You're just literally doing anything you can do to stay alive. And but I do think there's real value in stepping away, ⁓ whether it's quarterly or every six months or once a year with your leadership team and and asking some bigger questions to to kind of pull your head out of the day-to-day operations and really think about Matt Stockman (11:33) Mm-hmm. Dick Whitworth (11:54) ⁓ what could this look like five years from now, ten years from now? ⁓ if money were no object or no ⁓ no obstacle, what would we what would we like to see this ministry accomplish or this 501c3 accomplish? And then then you just have to work backwards. To get there in ten years, what do we have to do in five? What do we have to do in three and one? ⁓ you know I'm a big advocate of Geno Wickman's traction. Matt Stockman (12:23) Mm. Dick Whitworth (12:23) the EOS, ⁓ the entrepreneurial operating system. Again, it's one of those books that was kind of an aha moment that took the best of good to great of a number of other great business books and kind of put it all together in terms of a ⁓ an actual strategy or next step approach. But I do think you have to take your one year goal and and set your your objectives whether they're financial or new name acquisition or different types of outreach or events depending on what you're trying to accomplish and then start looking forward what can that look like in two years, in three years, and from a budget standpoint, actually begin planning to ⁓ you know, when you get that big gift that comes in unexpectedly, you can earmark that for some of the things that you've set aside for whether it's advertising, Or actually equipment replacement. in my beginning days as as a station manager and then a station leader, I just wanted to get to the December 31 finish line in the black. And and what I failed to account for in my early years, by the way, the only credibility I have on this podcast today is I've made every mistake there is to make. So if you can look Matt Stockman (13:32) Mm-hmm. And he's he's lived to tell. So Dick Whitworth (13:45) So if you've learned anything, you know, it's it's been through hard nuts. But I what I figured out after a number of years was that I wasn't setting aside money for, you know, transmitter replacement. So we'd have to do a big fun drive for a transmitter or a tower needed attention. And ⁓ you can do that with good planning, and those are the kinds of things you need to really build. But ⁓ you know, starting with Matt Stockman (13:51) Yeah. Dick Whitworth (14:12) Just having a strong idea of what you're trying to accomplish and then building a budget. If you don't have a budget, that's really a great place to start in ⁓ you know, what's it going to take to get me from here to there? Matt Stockman (14:20) Yeah. y and you mentioned ⁓ you talked about Geno Wickman's book ⁓ traction and the EOS model. one of the things that I think is a t an important takeaway from that from that book and from that model is scheduling out times throughout the course of the year for EOS, they do it every quarter, ⁓ where you Step away, you're meeting outside of the confines of the building, you're away from all the distractions and so on and so forth. And you're you are really looking critically at the current place you are and how it relates to where you want to be one year from now and then five years from now and then ten years from now. So you're constantly or consent, not constantly, but consistently. Meeting and talking and double checking that you are actually on the right path. Because if your vision statement lives on a wall someplace and it's an idea, but you're not actually intentionally sort of plotting out and double checking to make sure that you're still on track, you'll never get there. Dick Whitworth (15:40) No, it's true. ⁓ Gino advocates strongly and I agree that that a scorecard needs to be developed for every ⁓ department. And so ⁓ for me it's like what puts points on the scoreboard? And so there were two kinds of ways to look at what the scorecard was made of. It was if you were on an island and you were ⁓ blessed to not have email or except one one time a week, what's the one thing you want to hear to know you're still on track as a ministry? Is it is it widgets sold? Is it new names acquired? Is it dollars and cents? What's and so you build your scorecard out and you check it weekly, you review it monthly, and then on that quarter you literally meet with all your different departments and you go through it ⁓ objectively. Here was our goal, here's what we did, ⁓ Matt Stockman (16:12) Gotcha. Yep. Dick Whitworth (16:37) What did we did we not plan accordingly? Did we exceed our goals? Can we do better? And it really gives you an opportunity to take it out of the subjective realm where someone can look, you know, where someone says you did a great job, but what do you mean? How what does that really look like? What what are some concrete ⁓ specific, achievable, measurable Matt Stockman (16:48) Mm-hmm. Right. Dick Whitworth (17:02) steps we've taken towards the one year goals. So quarter by quarter we review that. And then when the end of the year comes along, we can celebrate, we can recalibrate, and we can again set goals for the coming year. And so that that's really the genius of it. It keeps the it keeps the one year goal in front of us every quarter. We're making steps to the finish line. And then we also review the three year and the five year and the 10 year Matt Stockman (17:29) In your recommendation, how much of that information gets pushed out towards donors or partners, people outside the organization versus how much of it is this is an internal conversation that is great for our planning and for strategic design and everything like that inside the organization versus we share this with donors and we share this with people on the outside of the organization. Dick Whitworth (18:00) I've always felt like ⁓ information like that is like ⁓ it's like cash. It's ⁓ it's ⁓ it it really is to your advantage as a leader. Not everybody agrees with me in this, but I think the more information that is out to the team, to the general public, the better they can make decisions and and be aware of where we're really at, whether we need prayer, whether we need financial support. I'd really rather not have people surprised, you know, we're celebrating all these wins and then all of a sudden we come to the end of the fiscal year and we're way in the red and no one knows about it, and we pretend it's a big shock. It should never be a shock. ⁓ I had an issue one time with the radio station ⁓ that we had invested a lot of money in. We anticipated that it would take off, it didn't. ⁓ and I've wrestled with the idea of sharing or not sharing this information. And there were several that agreed that let's not share it, let's just pretend that we're still doing well. Well, eventually the the piper had to be paid. And and ⁓ while we wound up being able to retain the station, we had to lose a lot of staff. It it was one of those lessons I learned. Matt Stockman (19:09) Uh-huh. Dick Whitworth (19:21) that I would rather be forewarned so that I'm fore prepared, forearmed. And ⁓ and so I use information like that. Now there's obviously personnel information that's not public consumption, that kind of things, any kinds of issues internally. There is a need to know on certain levels. But general financial information, ⁓ progress information, the more information that is out there, the donor's smart. We we Matt Stockman (19:27) Mm-hmm. Dick Whitworth (19:50) sometimes feel like ⁓ we can bamboozle so to speak ⁓ donors into just painting all these rosy kind they if they believe in us, they wanna know the truth. They wanna know w where are you struggling? Can I pray for you? ⁓ how can I help you? A lot of times we don't ask because we're afraid it makes us look weak or small. No, we we need help. We we need everyone's help. And so ⁓ Hiding kinds of things like that to me usually has ⁓ it bites you in the in the end when you would have been better to be forthright up. Matt Stockman (20:30) what do you feel like for organizations that are maybe growing quickly and are really after a long term vision and are making steps toward it? What tends to break first when an organization kind of grows faster than the systems or the staff or the infrastructure can support? Where's the place where it's most likely to sort of get bumpy? Dick Whitworth (20:55) it's it's personnel. We w you know, we Again, I've made every possible mistake in this realm. ⁓ but we burn out people and that's unfortunate. ⁓ we talk about people being our best resources and yet unfortunately we expend them by either underpaying them or overworking them in that regard. ⁓ and and so that's a challenge. I think the second level is communication and coordination of your of your income. Having a good structure from From a budget perspective, being able to manage your dollars and cents. ⁓ I think it would be wise to do less and to be more effective in the work that you're doing than try to grow beyond your capabilities. And that's easier said than done because the appetite created really by God in all of us is to grow. We want things to grow. I think you know that's a God-given ⁓ gift. It's not just a Western culture. Matt Stockman (21:58) Right. Dick Whitworth (21:58) ⁓ challenge. ⁓ so it takes real restraint and ⁓ self-awareness to be able to look into the mirror and say, you know what? I need to be at my son's baseball game tonight. I'm going home. ⁓ Sally, you need a few days off. You've been putting in a lot of hours, you need to take some time. You know what? If God doesn't have this, I certainly don't. And Matt Stockman (22:23) Sure. Right. Dick Whitworth (22:25) And I do think it really breaks down in that leaders wear themselves out or burn out or we burn out others. And I think that's again, I think that's one of the things I've learned through the years. I've I've said those words, but I've in as I've gotten older, hopefully wiser, that ⁓ that they really are my best guest. Staff really is ⁓ essential to anything that we're doing and accomplishing. And so we have to live just because we can doesn't mean we ought to. Matt Stockman (22:54) a lesson about long term or long range planning that maybe you learn the hard way? Dick Whitworth (23:00) Well well I do think it it does have ⁓ it it does have ⁓ in the area of financial management. ⁓ someone coming alongside and helping you lay out the the budget and how to plan for the future. ⁓ it it really is essential that the dollars and cents determine where we can go and how they can be best spent and ⁓ it really this is an area where if I had certain time periods to do over again I would have asked for ⁓ more help in this area. ⁓ because again, ⁓ like many not for profits, we started with a little and it began to grow and it was exciting and we just really weren't we weren't ⁓ We didn't want to say no to anything. We we figured every open door was God's ⁓ gift to us. That's not always true. ⁓ I I think the other thing that helps as much or more than anything is that the leader needs to he needs to walk the talk, he needs to live the life. ⁓ Jane and I, my wife and I have always supported the ministries that we believe in. We've always made sacrificial gifts and giving. Matt Stockman (23:49) Right. Yeah. Dick Whitworth (24:17) And because I don't want to ask you to do something, Matt, that I'm not doing. I I would take out the garbage, I would ⁓ you know, help clean up, I would do the dishes, I would these were when things were smaller and and times were ⁓ different, but I wanted to make sure that as much and as often as possible people saw me ⁓ in the trenches doing what I could ⁓ to ensure that this ministry had the integrity that it said. It did. ⁓ I do find that a lot of times fundraisers are asking for money and they themselves are not giving givers. ⁓ whenever I did a fundraising event for someone else, ⁓ I made sure I gave to that ministry just so I could ask potential donors to join the team. I've if I didn't believe in them enough to support them, why would you why would you believe me? And so I think for long term growth, I think those are the kinds Some of the examples that leadership needs to provide for the team that hey, I'm in this. I'm I'm committed. I'm not expecting you to do exactly what I do, but I want you to know that it's not just words for me. I'm I'm I'm not a hireling, I'm I'm invested. Matt Stockman (25:30) Mm, mm-hmm. what would you say to a non profit leader who might be listening today who's who has got clear vision but is looking at ten years from now and excited about where they're headed, but there's such this l large gap between what they're doing today and what they're doing in ten years from now. how would you encourage them or what would you tell them to sort of of put the overwhelmed to bed? Dick Whitworth (26:02) ⁓ again if you're faith-based, pray. I I know it sounds trite and and ⁓ but it's ⁓ pray for the next right step to open. The door would be clearly ⁓ available to you and wise. ⁓ I can tell you I've done I've failed at that and I've succeeded at that at times. And it's historically ⁓ it's the right place to start. And then invite people in where you need information. If you have a board, ⁓ Unfortunately, my experience has been not necessarily the tenor today, but my experience was always most of my vo boards were advisory, ⁓ and they really didn't do the work of real board work. They didn't get in with me to do the job. ⁓ and there are reasons for that that are fair and and we don't have time to get into it. But the point was ⁓ they Matt Stockman (26:46) Okay. Dick Whitworth (26:56) Fulfilled a role that we needed to fulfill as a 501c3 organization, but didn't really dig in. Find people to dig in with you, to pray with you, to give you financial advice, to give you legal advice, ⁓ to help carry the load as much as possible. ⁓ you know, Aaron and her lifted Moses' arms, and ⁓ as long as he was arms were being held up. The battle was being won. And there is a ⁓ a sense in which that can happen for us. If you know people who pray, invite them to pray with you. ⁓ but but to really in to to be encouraged, I think you have to make yourself vulnerable. And that's not easy for many of us. It's ⁓ hard to pretend or to acknowledge how weak we really are and how helpless we are with apart from God's help and other. Matt Stockman (27:54) last question. I always try to make things as practical as possible, if you could give three action steps to somebody who's listening, ⁓ who's sort of at the beginning of this journey and has set a vision for the future and they want to start to move closer to it, what would those things be? Dick Whitworth (28:12) well I I do think it's just clarifying your vision, making it as simple as possible. ⁓ so literally you can articulate it in an elevator from the first floor to the fifth floor, you can communicate in just a matter of a few minutes so that you're crystal clear. Because the the more clear, the more focused you are on what you're trying to accomplish, the easier it is to invite others to be involved. Matt Stockman (28:25) Mm-hmm. Dick Whitworth (28:40) And I think that's step number two. You just start start finding out what people are excited about. ⁓ you'll be you'll be pleased to discover that there are people that God will send your way that have the same or similar vision and they're finally glad to hear someone is stepping up to address that issue. ⁓ there's plenty of need in the world and we're always looking for people to step forward. And we like there's many of us that like to follow, that like to get in. ⁓ behind others and make their dream and vision a reality. So be clear on what you want to accomplish. Invite others to join you and ⁓ you know just let God do his word. Let let God lead you in the next step. Sounds easy but it isn't. It's ⁓ it's challenging. But I think it'll help you just to continually ⁓ as you're grinding it out just making sure that you're headed in the singular direction that you start with. It'll grow, it'll expand. ⁓ despise not the day of small beginnings, the King James talks about. And there is a place to ⁓ to plant seeds, and seeds take time, and patience is not a virtue that many of us have, but it is what you learn, and just ⁓ just be patient with the Matt Stockman (30:07) Now, before we wrap up for the day, let me leave you with a few of the ideas that really stood out to me from this conversation with my guest Dick Wetworth. First, a vision statement is only valuable if it influences today's decisions. It's one thing to describe where you hope your organization will be 10 years from now, but it's another thing entirely to build a roadmap that helps your team know what needs to happen this quarter to move in that direction. Second, don't allow survival mode to become your permanent operating mode. Every nonprofit goes through seasons where putting out fires feels like the only thing you have time for. But if you never actually step back and really evaluate where you're headed, you'll eventually realize you've been busy, but not actually making any progress. Third thing, I appreciate a dick's reminder that clarity creates momentum. The clearer your vision is, the easier it becomes for your staff, your volunteers, board members, and donors to understand what they're joining in with. And people don't rally around complex things. They rally around clear and simple things. And then finally, don't underestimate the value of rhythm. Whether it's a quarterly planning meeting or scorecard, annual goal reviews, or simply creating intentional space to think instead of react, organizations rarely arrive at a long-term vision by accident. They get their one intentional decision at a time. So if I could leave you with this one big challenge for the week, it would be this: pull out your organization's vision statement, then ask yourself one simple question. What are we doing in the next 90 days that moves us measurably closer to this future? And if that question is tough to answer, then I think you've probably identified your next leadership project. Thanks for listening to the Nonprofit Launch Plan Podcast. Remember, if you like what you're learning in the podcast, I've got more of it in your inbox each week that I can send you. Sign up for my free weekly email, the Nonprofit Launch Briefing. Each week I send you one meaningful email with something you should be considering or thinking about or working on as a nonprofit leader. And it's always different than what you hear on the podcast. Never the same stuff designed to help you lead smarter and grow stronger. And really get behind an organization that makes real impact for the long term. If that sounds like something you're serious about, I'd love to have you on the list. Shoot me a quick email with a simple sign me up in the subject line, and I'll take care of the rest. I'll make sure you get it every week. Matt at nonprofitlaunchplan.com. Again, sign me up in the subject line, and the email goes to Matt and nonprofitlaunchplan.com. That's it for this episode of the Nonprofit Launch Plan Podcast for startups, small and growing nonprofits. If you found the podcast helpful in any way, please consider sharing it with another nonprofit leader who is getting started and might need the clarity and the help. Until next time, keep building wisely, keep making a difference. And thanks so much for watching and listening. Have a great day.