September 6, 2012 | Tom Suddes
Constantly being ASKed to help with SEARCH FOR TALENT.
Our driver/mantra/battle cry of (JUST) ASK applies to your talent search as well.
As you look for the Ideal Profile, (and answer a great search question: If the job could talk)… Ask yourself, “What are the requirements around Attitude, Skill and Knowledge?”
In my world of 3′s and alliteration… this means you should be looking for the perfect combination of HEART… HANDS… HEAD.
Special Note: Buried in the hundreds of ‘nuggets’ in Stephen Covey’s 8th Habit, he uses these same 3 elements (Attitude/Skill/Knowledge) as his basis for HABIT. Synchronicity at its finest.
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September 5, 2012 | Tom Suddes
This ‘FUNNEL’ is a metaphor and visual representation of DO THE WORK. WRAP IT. SHIP IT. DELIVER IT.
I shared the following with our Suddes Group team today. In the spirit of authenticity and transparency, I thought our For Impact ‘tribe’ would appreciate the message. I think I’ve had this conversation hundreds of time in my life… with my company team, with client teams, and with friends (especially young, college-age superstars).
It’s pretty simple.
No one cares how much ‘stuff‘ goes into the top of the funnel – ideas, projects, plans, goals.
It’s all about what comes out the bottom!!!
Did you do the work? Did you produce? Did you ship? Did you deliver? Was there an actual result?
In our world, this ‘funnel stuff’ is a project, a campaign, a kick start solution, a client engagement, a top prospect commitment, a teammate’s request.
*Another metaphor. You can view this ‘funnel’ as your head (or your mind or your being)
‘STUFF IN’ – Who cares?
‘STUFF OUT’ – The world cares.
***Three great ways to understand this funnel:
2. POKE THE BOX. Seth Godin
3. DO THE WORK. Steven Pressfield
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September 4, 2012 | Tom Suddes
DO THE WORK. START BEFORE YOU’RE READY. OVERCOME RESISTANCE.
WRAP IT… SHIP IT… DELIVER IT.
Steven Pressfield is one of my absolute favorite authors and thinkers. My first copy of WAR OF ART is so full of notes, I can barely read his words!
DO THE WORK is his latest manifestation of what has driven him to overcome RESISTANCE… and complete eight best-selling novels, three non-fiction masterpieces and 34 screenplays!
If you trust my book recommendations at all, I beg you to order DO THE WORK or just download it on your Kindle/iPad. (Personally, I need the book so I can write all over it.)
Here are some ‘golden nuggets’ to whet your appetite and get you to read this, and then ACT!
- Start before you’re ready. SP says. “Don’t prepare. Begin.”
- Resistance is the enemy! SP says, “Resistance is invisible, insidious, inpersonal, infallable. It’s universal, never sleeps, and its aim is to kill!”
- *Great quote: “(Resistance) target is the epicenter of our being: our genius, our soul, the unique and priceless we were put on this earth to give and that no one else has but us.”
- Stay stupid. SP says, “Ignorance and arrogance are the artist’s and entrepreneur’s indispensable allies. Don’t think. ACT.”
- The 3X Structure. (I love this!) SP says, “Divide everything into 3 parts: beginning, middle and end. Act I. Act II. Act III.”
- *He goes into great detail on this. It’s really powerful!
- Fill in the gaps. SP says, “Once you’ve got the beginning, middle and end… ‘all’ you need to do is fill in the gaps.”
- Action-Reflection. He uses these words to summarize the entire ‘creative process’. ACT… then REFLECT. Act-Reflect. Act-Reflect. Act-Reflect. SP says, “Never ACT and REFLECT at the same time.”
- Finally, Resistance-Assistance. SP says, “The opposite of RESISTANCE is ASSISTANCE. A work in progress generates its own energy field(!) You, the artist or entrepreneur (or For Impact leader) are pouring love into the work; you are suffusing it with passion and intention and hope. This is serious juju. The universe responds to this. It has no choice.”
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August 31, 2012 | Tom Suddes
It’s a holiday weekend coming up…last hurrah for summer! Wanted to share something I’ve been giving out to all the Young Social Entrepreneurials I’ve been working with.
So many of these 25 Wishes are about ‘LIFE’ not ‘WORK’.
Seemed like a good ‘gift’ as you celebrate the Holiday Weekend-
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August 28, 2012 | Tom Suddes
Why Do We Define Ourselves in the ‘Negative’?
Why do we define ourselves in the ‘negative’? Dick Celeste, my mentor, mensch and senior adviser to The Suddes Group, said to us (again) when we were in Colorado last week, “You’re not making a big enough deal of this idea of no more not-for-profit.”
Anyone who has even barely touched the surface of our For Impact thinking knows that right under our controlling insight of IMPACT drives INCOME (not the other way around) is the idea that this is NOT about not-for-profit, 501c3, tax-exempt, charity, etc.
We are the only industry/sector who defines itself in the NEGATIVE!
And, on top of that, there are a ton of companies in the ‘real world’ who aren’t in the not-for-profit space… yet are definitely not-for-profit! (Having started 19 businesses in the last 40 years, I can attest that many (most?) of those should have been incorporated as a 501c3!)
In fact, 50 of the Fortune 500 largest companies in the United States are NOT-FOR-PROFIT! That’s 10% of the Fortune 500 companies that showed a loss last year!
I know you get the point. Screw for-profit, not-for-profit, NGO, and all the other really outdated words that are used to define our space… our calling… our commitment to change the world.
It’s all about being a FOR IMPACT ORGANIZATION.
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August 23, 2012 | Tom Suddes
Shark Week: Vision 2015 – 1,000-Day Funding Plan
Here is a great (I believe) alternative to a (Traditional) Campaign… that you can execute on right now .
Re-read No More Traditional Campaigns (especially on Feasibility, Studies, Committees, etc.) and the 10 Lessons… and then start immediately on a Funding Initiative to get to the Goal… which is to FUND THE VISION and RAISE NET, NET, NET MONEY for Priorities, Projects, Programs, People and Places.
The attached Vision 2015: 1,000-Day Funding Plan gives you a simple (Occam’s Razor on steroids) way to get going now! (Or at least by 1 October 2012; beginning of Q4 2012.)
1,000 DAYS. Puts you in the middle (end of Q1) of 2015!
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August 22, 2012 | Tom Suddes
Shark Week: Today | Tomorrow | Forever Model
The Today | Tomorrow | Forever Model is a great proven alternative to the Traditional Campaign Model. It’s holistic. It’s a great framework for The Ask. It’s a ‘pyramid’ that when turned upside down provides a ‘funnel’ approach.
The visual is pretty self-explanatory… and it’s surrounded by some really good ‘nuggets’.
Spend whatever time you can processing the TTF Model… and I will talk more about it on the teleseminar call on Friday.
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August 21, 2012 | Tom Suddes
Shark Week: 10 Big Lessons to Fund Your Vision (From Over 500 Campaigns)
“There are no failures… just lessons.” (3rd Century Motivational Speaker)
“SUCCESS is usually a result of GOOD JUDGEMENT.
GOOD JUDGMENT is usually a result of EXPERIENCE.
EXPERIENCE is usually a result of BAD JUDGEMENT.”
(Will Rogers)
As I tell a lot of audiences, if Will Rogers is right, then I may be the most SUCCESSFUL person you know! I would certainly qualify as one of the most scarred, experienced sales/fundraising veterans still breathing. Almost 40 years in the ‘business’. 500 Campaigns. Way more than 6,000 Presentations. All of which have provided me with a ton of ‘failures‘ and ‘lessons‘.
Here are a 10 really, really BIG lessons that can help you Fund Your Vision.
Whatever you do, use the lesson. It’s not necessarily about the words or the stories.
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August 20, 2012 | Tom Suddes
Shark Week: No More ‘Traditional’ Campaigns
I wanted to start this week by grabbing your attention…
- No More Traditional Campaigns
No More Feasibility Studies
No More Case Statements
No More 5-Year Strategic Plans
No More 5-Year Cycles
No More Building/Capital Campaigns
No More Silent Phases/Kickoffs/Public Phases
No More Campaign Committees
No More Campaign Organizational Structures
No More Volunteers (Peer-to-Peer Solicitation)
No More Campaign Brochures
No More Campaign Functions
No More Campaign Videos
No More Lame ‘Pseudo’ Campaigns
No More Transactions
No More Cultivation and Stewardship
When I say NO MORE ‘TRADITIONAL’ CAMPAIGNS, I’m encouraging you to stop the insanity of the traditional outdated, complicated and costly model… and look at alternative solutions.
Download the No More Traditional Campaign for thought/detail on all of the above.
Friday, August 24, 2012 Teleseminar at 1:00 p.m. EST
60 Minutes of the ‘Old Guy’ riffing on Campaigns, Lessons, the Model and more: Don’t miss it.
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August 20, 2012 | Tom Suddes
Today: No More ‘Traditional’ Campaigns
Tuesday: 10 Big Lessons to Fund Your Vision (from over 500 Campaigns)
Wednesday: A New Model: Today | Tomorrow | Forever
Thursday: Vision 2015: A 1,000-Day Funding Plan
Friday, August 24, 2012: Teleseminar at 1:00 p.m. EST
60 Minutes of the ‘Old Guy’ riffing on Campaigns, Lessons, the Model and more: Don’t miss it.
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About For Impact
For Impact is...
Our Point of View, Our Message, and Our Commitment.We Lead, Facilitate, Train and Coach...Based on 40+ years in this 3rd Sector, 30 years in business, $1 Billion Raised, and $1 Billion Trained and Coached.
