The Conversation

More and more I find that we tend to get so caught up in the technology that we lose the purpose of our dialogue. I find a number of issues at work that get in our way.

The first is the need to get the communication out the door - so many shops don't have a plan. This is easily corrected of course but requires the dedication to put a plan together. It needn't even be strategic to start - a simple operations plan will at least help to end the scramble from one project to the next.

The second, and more challenging many places is the "silo" effect that is created by having different folks responsible for different parts of the solicitation process. The phone guy has it in his best interest for folks to give through the phone, the mail lady most wants folks to give through the mail the leadership giving folks via personal ask and the email guru needs them to give via the web.

In the ideal world, that is counterbalanced by the overall team effort to get to a goal. The reality is that often doesn't happen the way it should with the result being a very disjointed conversation for the donor.

Take a look at your communications - do they read as a conversation? Each should hit upon a different point and part of the dialogue but they should connect to and through one another. If they do then you are all set. If they don't, where and why does it break down and how can you connect the dots to make the conversation work for you?