Changing Your NP’s Operational Core
Daily habits and patterns have always intrigued me, especially how hard it is to change the ones I don’t like.
I’ve read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and Atomic Habits by James Clear. And recently I reviewed Atomic Habits again via audiobook after listening to the episode of If Books Could Kill (IBCK) that dissected the book’s content.
I have to agree with IBCK—the anecdotes and studies in the book make for interesting reading, even if the application is being stretched. Still, many readers cheer the book and its impact on their daily lives.
Here’s what I appreciate about Atomic Habits:
It affirms the reality that CHANGE IS HARD. But it’s not impossible.
The way we think and operate is natural to us (maybe not helpful or best, but easy). If we want to think and operate differently, we need change at our operational core. We need a new system, a framework to sustain the growth we want.
For me, change is easiest when I turn to someone who has the operational system and framework I want to adopt. I need to watch them operate, adopt their thinking, and practice their patterns until my core shifts. I need a new system to work out of.
It happens the same way for the NP teams I work with: We partner together so I can help them change how they operate at the core.
As my clients adopt new ways of thinking about donor engagement and change their patterns of donor outreach, their core shifts. All that takes time, which is why I work with orgs for months at a time. Learning how to work from a new system takes time.
Change really is hard! But the alternative is doing the same thing, getting the same results. And we are capable of doing hard things, especially when we don’t have to do it alone.
What habits would you like to develop in 2025?
Ready for more?
Here are two ways I can help you make your mission irresistible to donors:
1. Connect with me or follow me on LinkedIn.
That’s the first place I explore donor strategy ideas like these. Be sure to join the convo!
2. Work with me.
I guide nonprofit teams to fund their mission with effective, frenzy-free donor engagement strategies. ✴️ Donors fund irresistible missions… is yours?
Schedule your 15-minute Change Chat here and share about your nonprofit and how you’d like to improve your donor strategy.