It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
All of our past posts have been placed HERE if you want to go back and read one.
I'd like to spend the next few weeks sharing some things I've learned over the past year and encouraging you to consider engaging with me as we prepare for a New Year! Each of these things has implications for both our personal lives as well as our professional lives. Here are the 4 conversations:
December 10th: RHYTHM: The Pace of Life
December 17th: IMPACT: Measuring the Results
December 24th: HEALTH: The Power of Your Body
December 31st: PRIORITIES: Learning to Say No
Let's continue....
#2) IMPACT: Measuring the Results
I had an interesting experience this past year when I was invited to attend a Venture Capitalist event, and I was able to listen to a number of business leaders pitch opportunities that were being offered to potential investors. I was intrigued with the simplicity of the presentations, but was then blown away by the "PROOF" that was shared when they got to numbers.
The investors were asking really clear questions about outcomes, about impact, about growth, about challenges, and I saw and heard each of these business leaders answer their questions with clear data and full knowledge and understanding. They were prepared for these questions.
I've been working in the non-profit world for so long, and I think I've just gotten lazy when it comes to measuring impact. I know there is significant impact and great results, but I don't take the time to capture it, communicate it and learn from it.
I've found that in my case, I don't do this because:
1) I'm too busy
2) I'm too lazy
3) I'm too overwhelmed by what to measure
4) I'm already focused on the next thing
I was challenged in listening to these venture capitalists to do better, so I've been on a quest to learn more about IMPACT, IMPACT INVESTING, and how to COMMUNICATE RESULTS.
Here are a couple of things I'm learning, and I want to challenge you to begin with these (from clearimpact.com). They have been most helpful!
First, there are 2 types of impact:
- Program Level Impact: This is impact our services have on the people who directly participate in our programs.
- Community Level Impact: This is impact that many different partners, working in collaboration, have on a specific population of people.
Many times we try to measure the "community" level impact, and ignore the individuals that are directly involved in our services. We need to do both, but I would encourage you to begin with measuring your programs specifically. These are things you control, things you create, and things you manage. It should be easier.
Second, there are 2 kinds of "evidence" we can gather to determine our individual and collective impact:
- Anecdotal Evidence: Some organizations tell stories about specific people who have benefited from a program or service.
- Quantitative Measurement: Using numerical data to measure weather things are getting better or worse.
We tend to use stories to illustrate impact because they are more emotional, they capture interest, and they're easy to share. The problem is that we're only sharing one aspect through one story. The numbers give us the big picture and tell us if we're actually making a difference. We can always find one great story to tell, but without actually measuring things we don't know if the overall focus is effective.
This sounds so scientific.
Let me illustrate impact from a leader I'm working with.
*I can share many stories about this leader and what they're doing. They're impacting peoples lives, they're providing help to people that are desperate for help, and they're doing good. Lot's of stories involving crazy activity, bold leadership and peoples praise.
*When I dig deeper, I can look at the health of that leader. I can look at their family. I can look at their inner circle of leadership and actually ask them how the leader is doing. I can measure activity against the plan, goals or the budget. I can follow in their wake and determine what difference was actually made in a community and if there's a lasting difference. So many things give me a better reading on what's going on.
The problem is, it's often more fun to just tell the crazy stories without looking at the real impact.
Join me in 2020 in taking some steps towards learning to measure impact.
This Is my life I'm talking about:
- My legacy
- My influence
- My purpose
- My dreams and desires
- My calling
I need to take more time planning, evaluating and communicating my impact. I don't want to waste more time, more money, more energy doing things that don't really make a difference.
Do you agree?
What's the hardest thing about MEASURING THE RESULTS for you?
"The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment." Tony Robbins
"You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." Jane Goodall
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14
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