What’s Your Perspective?
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Over the holidays, my family was quite sick with the flu. Ugh. We typically spend our holidays on the go, visiting friends, going to local events, and going to the mountains to enjoy the snow. But we spent most of this holiday break in bed or on the couch watching TV. Ugh.
As we prepared to return to work and school we discussed our recent situation. While my husband and I looked at this
holiday as a bit of a disappointment (because we didn’t get to do all the things we had planned), my kids viewed things from another perspective. They thought it was one of the best holidays we’ve ever had! They enjoyed the quiet time around the house, cuddling on the couch, and having time at home to enjoy their new toys and books.
This reminded me of a conversation I once had with a coworker at a previous nonprofit. She thought we’d had a great fundraising year, and was excited about our accomplishments and growth. In her position, she was more focused on volunteers and financial support coming into the organization (incoming money). My role focused more on expenses, budgets, and program ROI (outgoing money), so I was a bit puzzled by her attitude and perspective.
What you evaluate and value shapes your perspective.
As an organization, do you make time to review your data together, as a team? Do you make time to compare perspectives between various departments and roles? What information do you share with your board members, funders, and supporters? How do you determine which data and perspectives to share?
As you plan 2018, think through some of these questions as an organization. Then write out some policies and procedures for data analysis. If everyone references different reports created for different means, you’ll have a harder time creating focused goals for your organization.
As a cohesive unit (team), determine the reports and metrics that you will view and share. Ensure that the reports are created in a consistent manner so you can spend time comparing perspectives on the data—versus trying to figure out which data point is correct.
As you plan your goals and reports, let Blackbaud University help you create the reports you really need. To learn about reports, be sure to sign up for the courses eTapestry: Fundamentals—Queries, Reports, and Communications and eTapestry: Effective and Efficient Reports.
And remember, perspective is everything. Sometimes you just need to ask your friends, family, and coworkers for another perspective to see things clearly.
Wishing you a happy, productive, and healthy 2018. And remember to keep things in perspective!
As we prepared to return to work and school we discussed our recent situation. While my husband and I looked at this
holiday as a bit of a disappointment (because we didn’t get to do all the things we had planned), my kids viewed things from another perspective. They thought it was one of the best holidays we’ve ever had! They enjoyed the quiet time around the house, cuddling on the couch, and having time at home to enjoy their new toys and books. This reminded me of a conversation I once had with a coworker at a previous nonprofit. She thought we’d had a great fundraising year, and was excited about our accomplishments and growth. In her position, she was more focused on volunteers and financial support coming into the organization (incoming money). My role focused more on expenses, budgets, and program ROI (outgoing money), so I was a bit puzzled by her attitude and perspective.
What you evaluate and value shapes your perspective.
As an organization, do you make time to review your data together, as a team? Do you make time to compare perspectives between various departments and roles? What information do you share with your board members, funders, and supporters? How do you determine which data and perspectives to share?
As you plan 2018, think through some of these questions as an organization. Then write out some policies and procedures for data analysis. If everyone references different reports created for different means, you’ll have a harder time creating focused goals for your organization.
As a cohesive unit (team), determine the reports and metrics that you will view and share. Ensure that the reports are created in a consistent manner so you can spend time comparing perspectives on the data—versus trying to figure out which data point is correct.
As you plan your goals and reports, let Blackbaud University help you create the reports you really need. To learn about reports, be sure to sign up for the courses eTapestry: Fundamentals—Queries, Reports, and Communications and eTapestry: Effective and Efficient Reports.
And remember, perspective is everything. Sometimes you just need to ask your friends, family, and coworkers for another perspective to see things clearly.
Wishing you a happy, productive, and healthy 2018. And remember to keep things in perspective!
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03/08/2018 3:57pm EST
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