Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Opinions expressed in this episode are personal. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this streaming platform.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Good day, everyone, and welcome to another edition of let's Be Diverse. I am your host, Andrew Stout. This episode is dedicated to all my loved ones who supported me through this journey. Those who have left us will always be in our hearts. Today our topic is leadership strategies for non profit organizations. My guest today is Lori Stanley. Welcome to the show, Lori. We are so pleased to have you on today.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: It's been a long awaited treat and I'm appreciative of the opportunity and happy to be here with you as well.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: It's a, it's a great Saturday. It's a great Saturday that we're taping it for sure. It's something that we've been looking forward to for a while. How are things with you, Lori? What's going on in your world? Tell us what's happening. Give us the tea, give us the deets, give it all.
[00:00:55] Speaker A: Ah, life is good. Life is rocking and rolling, of course, because it's the summer and the sun is out and enjoying local concerts, local festivals and embracing what our community has to offer. And I usually use the winter as the time to head away on vacation. So this is all about community and local adventures. When it's summertime here in Ontario, I.
[00:01:21] Speaker B: Love it and yes, absolutely, I think you're. We got to do that in the summertime. We gotta, especially in Canada, we have to enjoy the summer while we have it and then, and then the winter. Well, yes, we have to kind of figure out ways to, to stay warm and in the winter time. So when it's nice here, we have to take advantage for sure. Well, I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying your summer. I'm sure all the local concerts are great and, and the weather has been. I don't know when I hear in your part that weather has been fantastic. So we can't, can't go wrong with that. So before we begin, I always have a fun thought provoking question to get things going. Are you ready for yours today?
[00:02:05] Speaker A: Bring it on, bring it on.
[00:02:07] Speaker B: So your question today is why do they call a building a building when it is already built?
[00:02:16] Speaker A: Oh my gosh, Andrew.
Good one. That's deep. Well, you know, what comes to mind is a very logical answer in that we are not necessarily always logical and clear in their language. And so that's a prime example of a word that simply leads to confusion and doesn't necessarily fit and speaks to how unique we are as humans. And the different ways in which we could potentially label a social construct and speaks to communication and understanding. So that's kind of a really deep question. I like what you just did there. Well done. I'm not sure that that's the best direct answer, but those are my insights.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: It actually is a very good answer.
[00:03:10] Speaker A: Actually.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: It was, it was. I ask these questions, I always kind of look and you try to figure out what the guest is going to answer. And you were pretty thought provoking in there. So there, you know, sometimes I guess they'll just give me a quick answer like I don't know or they'll just say because it is or whatever. But you gave a really good answer there. So not knowing what it is, it's pretty. That was pretty good. I'm pretty impressed.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: I think it's an example of my.
[00:03:35] Speaker B: Analytical mind that that might be it. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, thanks so much for having fun with me, Laurie. I really appreciate your great answer. Why don't we get things going, get to the meat and bones of this and start off with you telling us a little about you, your story and your why.
[00:03:52] Speaker A: Sure. So let's start off with my why. Nonprofits, charities, social enterprises have multiple priorities, multiple stakeholders, multiple funders and multiple demands. They are full of great ideas, but it's hard to know where to start, what to pursue. And they often spend more time putting out fires, managing people and the day to day operations which can lead to not having the impact that they had hoped for or reacting rather than being proactive or struggling to make progress.
And so, in my own experience as a nonprofit executive, I vividly recall those days, the days of overwhelm, the days of pulling my hair out, the sleepless nights and questions like should I, shouldn't I? And what if I invest in this program and it doesn't deliver for what our clients need? Then I've wasted resources.
What will it look like in terms of my credibility?
And so once I actually got strategic in my roles, I saw the light and I felt less overwhelmed. I started saying no to things that just didn't align with what our organizational goals or purposes was. And I was able to make better decisions. I knew my why and I could readily explain it so that I could build alignment with other people who were part of that process.
And it was when I was leading the Ontario office working for a globally based social enterprise. We needed to diversify. It was something I discovered quickly upon working with the company. And we were a for profit at the time. And we transitioned to being a nonprofit organization and so recognizing that we needed to diversify, what we started to do as a leadership team was to create new service revenues or service streams rather, which generated revenue for us or income rather.
We created a new business model. And consulting was one of those service streams that we started to provide.
And I saw the impact that consulting could have in helping other organizations. And with that company, it was for profit organizations, governments, local advocacy groups. I saw how they could deliver on their goals, how they could make tangible progress. And so that led me to do my own consulting where I'm at Lori Stanley Nonprofit Consulting. And I helped nonprofits focus on the right things at the right time to elevate their social impact and sustainability. And they shift from overwhelm and ambiguity to knowing what to pursue and being purposeful and intentional so they can make tangible progress, ensuring that they remain relevant, which is always one of their priorities and concerns, and allows them to feel confident and relieved knowing where they are going and how they're gonna.
[00:06:52] Speaker B: It's interesting to me when I love your story. It one thing that caught my attention when you were saying you're the overwhelm. And I imagine in many cases and in different businesses and different consulting, you're gonna see that there's other people that are going to be overwhelmed as well. I think people have gone through certain stages of overwhelm, but I feel that when it comes to this, a specific stage of overwhelm, we kind of understand a little bit better of what people could be going through. So when they are going through that, you kind of have a simple understanding. We never know fully what somebody is thinking, but we can definitely sympathize with them and we can definitely give some feedback and some help for that. So I love that you mentioned overwhelm a couple of times because I feel like a lot of businesses and leaders deal with that on a regular basis.
[00:07:52] Speaker A: Yeah. And through no fault of their own. It is as I started out, you know, those multiple demands, multiple priorities, multiple stakeholders. So a lot of what I do in my work is helping organizations focus. So in light of all these possibilities, you know, which ones we do a series of exercises or tools or analysis and whatnot. Which ones do we want to pursue? You know, what is it that we're trying to achieve? What problems are we trying to solve? And in light of that, again, what are we going to pursue? Where are we going to focus our attention? So focus, clarity, action.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: I love that. I love that. So again today we're going to be talking about strategies in non profit organizations. What is strategy in nonprofit organizations.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: I like the way you frame this question, because often what I hear is, what is strategic planning? And strategic planning and strategy are two different things. They're often confused, and they can be used interchangeably.
But sound strategy is at the heart of good nonprofit leadership. In its simplest terms, it's big picture thinking. It's fundamentally about making decisions, a series of choices that bring value to your clients, to your community, whatever your focus is, that bring value and set you apart and turn your purpose, which is why nonprofits exist, into impact.
So an analogy to kind of help demonstrate what it is. I'm saying if we wanted to build a home, you wouldn't just order your bricks and start laying them.
You actually would hire an architect. You'd create your blueprint, Then you'd get a biller to actually build the home. You'd get your building permits, you'd get your supplies before you ever put the shovel into ground. And all these different professionals are helping you fulfill that vision of what your dream home looks like. This is your strategy.
Then you figure out, how many bricks do we need, what kind of bricks, what kind of roof? Those are all the tactical components of your strategy.
And it's super important for nonprofits as it's a way to build your organizational credibility. Funders can see here's the path and be reminded of why it is that you exist. It's a touch point for building your relationships with stakeholders, a great way to build your case for support. It keeps you focused, it keeps you accountable because you turn your strategy into a plan. That's that different part that I said. And then you commit to certain actions and performance expectations. And that's the part that helps you take you from that overwhelmed being reactive, putting out fires, to being intentional and purposeful and spurring you into action.
[00:10:59] Speaker B: Said big picture thinking.
The thought right away came to me that when we're thinking of something, whether it's. And I might go a little bit off topic for a bit here, but when we're thinking about strategy or planning anything, we have to have. I asked you about your why. We have to have our why, and we have to have our purpose in order to get into our. Or to create the impact that we're trying to create. So if we're just doing something, for example, if we.
We post something on our website, we're putting our mission, vision and values on our website. We can't just put it there. We have to come up with something that's going to give purpose and that's going to give impact. And that's going to give a big picture so that people, when they read it, when they look at it, they're going to have a good idea of what direction you're going in. So I, I love when you said that because that just for me boils down to your, your passion. What are you looking to do? What are you trying to. What are you trying to accomplish?
[00:12:06] Speaker A: Yeah, you know exactly what you're talking about. That is it purpose is and vision. Mission is very much a part of strategy. And so I like to think of it as zooming in and zooming out. Like what altitude are you looking at your organization from? And we can be know, direct service, frontline, or we can be at that, again, big picture thinking where we're looking down the road, what does the future look like? And if that's the future that we want to achieve, what are the things that we need to do in order to get there?
[00:12:39] Speaker B: So, Laura, we know what the, what the strategy is in nonprofit. How do we write a strategic plan for a nonprofit organization?
[00:12:50] Speaker A: Great question. So the first thing is to do some pre planning, recognizing that strategic planning is both a document and a process. And simply put, it's the process by which an organization decides where it's going and how best to work together over a certain period of time that you define. So you take a snapshot of your current state, you identify that future state, and then I just said it earlier, you put your steps in place to get there. It's kind of like your North Star, and it's cyclical, and that's something that often gets lost. And historically, strategic planning was static, but those are the plans that ended up sitting on the shelf collecting dust. So strategy really is an iterative process, and it's a way to focus on the right things at the right time to ensure you use your resources well and make the impact that it is that you want. And there's so many different ways that you can do your strategic planning. And that's what I love about strategy. For me, it's like a piece of the puzzle and taking all of those pieces to make that full picture. And so when I work with nonprofits, no two planning process are the same. So in essence, what we're doing is creating a process to take the best available information and make decisions.
[00:14:23] Speaker B: Organizations that you work with, one plan, strategic plan that you've done for one organization is not going to be good for another organization. It's different for each each one, very.
[00:14:36] Speaker A: Much so, because a big part of it is looking at the Organization in context and environment. And what are the things that are happening around it that present as opportunities or risks and things that you want to leverage to inform your strategy. So it starts by getting ready. And so looking at even before you start to do your strategic planning is looking at the reasons why you're doing it. You know, often it's because a strategic plan is due. Maybe it's because you have a new leadership. There's been a lot of different changes happening. Maybe you're embarking down a significantly new path, Maybe you want to consider a different program. So you can do it at an organizational level, but you can also do it at a operational or programmatic level. That's where strategy is applicable in so many different ways. And so in looking at planning, do we have the capacity? Do we have this skill set? And capacity can be time, capacity can be resources.
And that's where a consultant can help and play a significant role to take a lot of the weight off your shoulders and facilitate and execute some of the work for you and discover insights that you might not necessarily be aware of. And so there's key questions before you dive into it, like who's leading the process? Sometimes it's the board. Sometimes I've seen organizations have a very diverse, use that word, knowing who you are. They have a very diverse committee. So it might be made of direct service workers and some board members and some of the leadership team. It really depends on what fits best with your nonprofit organization.
And so that pre planning is important. And then once you get into the strategic planning activity and process itself, I've seen many non profits just jump in and start doing some of that. And then people get frustrated because we're human and we have different expectations and ideas about what the process would look like.
So I like to spend a bit of time focusing on what people's expectations are. And so we get clear on roles, we get clear on responsibilities. And I ask a simple question like what does done look like? And it's beautiful in terms of discovering the diverse ideas and expectations that people have about the process and simple things like deciding who will be involved.
Again, because you want to tap into the diversity of your stakeholders, interested parties. So who will be involved? When and how will they be involved? Years ago, executives used to do it. They would cascade the plans down and then employees would struggle to understand their role or what it was out about and where they were going. And so this is why you really want to craft a solid stakeholder engagement plan. And I like to do strategic mapping, which is where we look at who has an influence in your organization and who has interest and impact and then again figuring out how you want to involve them.
[00:18:08] Speaker B: Earlier about building a home, I could see that you have been contacted by, you know, maybe some companies who have started to do their strategic plan in their non profit start doing things, not kind of fully having an under full understanding, doing it, getting involved and then contacting you and saying, hey Lori, we'd like to, you know, work with you, what have you. And then of course, I'm sure you're okay, well, you know, where you begin, where you know, where have you started, whatever. And then they've give you like a whole slew of things that they've done and it might be priority things that were not important right away, but they did a whole bunch of stuff off the cuff. And then you might have to come in and, and fix it, say, okay, well, you know, okay, well we went a little bit too far. But let's, you know, let's step back a little bit and let's, let's, let's fix everything. I'm sure that's something that you've come.
[00:19:10] Speaker A: Across and everything's fixable. You can bring a consultant in at any point. And some of those previous processes are very informative. So a lot of the work that we do is looking at organizations in their environment. So what I call a contextual analysis. So if there's things that an organization has already done, but then they get stuck, we can still use that research, we can still use some of the insights, some of their discoveries. So most people understand this part of strategic planning. When I say the word swot, like who hasn't heard of swat, right? Strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Pastel is another one. So this is where you look at internally and externally, what's happening, the landscape, your environment, and what are the implications of that. So pastel is what's happening politically, economically, socially, at a technological level, environmental and legal. And how might it impact your nonprofit organization?
I actually like to use SOAR for this more. So, so SOAR stands for strengths, opportunities, aspirations and results. And I like this because I find it's better for pulling out innovation. Right? Yeah, People, the ideas flow and people get excited. It builds energy and excitement around the plan. And so we spend time looking at trends, we look at research and we look at the stakeholder feedback and to say, what are the trends that are happening around us that are critically relevant to our plan again, internally and externally? And I've seen where people, to your earlier point, start this process or even do this, but struggle then to know how to really effectively link it to the strategy. So what does it mean, knowing this?
So that's where I like to do this simple exercise where you put the trend on the left, and then on the right, you say, so what for us in light of this trend, so what for us over the next three, five, ten years, whatever the time period is for your strategic planning.
And then another part of the planning process you mentioned earlier, people understand and know vision, purpose, mission. There's lots of different words for it. I tend to categorize it more as identity statements. I remember in my early years going, okay, what's visionary? What's mission? Is this the vision? Is this the mission? And I still see people doing it. So I choose more simple language. Purpose, impact is a lot easier for people to understand.
But what I do to help organizations pull this information out is focus on why your organization exists, for whom and why. And that may sound very simplistic, but I think it's what you said earlier.
This is actually a place where a lot of organizations struggle, that people have different perceptions on who they are, why they exist, for whom and what they do. And so when I ask questions like, what impact do we wish to make?
What would happen if you no longer existed? What would be lost? It's a great way to pull out what the organization is about and to work through the different ideas people have. And so if you imagine people see their purpose or their vision and their mission differently, then you've got this department or this employee going down this path and leadership going down this path, and you're fighting an uphill battle and people aren't rowing the boat together or making an impact.
And so in the process of planning, you can use. If you have an existing identity that is strong and you're invested in, you use it to inform your plan, or sometimes it gets informed by your plan. Like, I literally have participated in a process myself. I sit on a board, a charity board, and so it was wonderful to actually be a participant with another consultant in a planning process.
And they actually had us do. And I really like this idea, and we'll adopt it myself, the visioning or the identity at the end of the process. And in that circumstance, as the board, we actually changed. We literally changed our vision because of what we discovered through the planning process, because it wasn't fitting.
[00:24:11] Speaker B: I love what you said that. I was asked a couple of times this week from people who are, you know, for example, are looking to start a podcast, and I had said to them. My exact words were to them, Laurie, say that I think podcasting is, is growing. But I said to them all or both of them, that if you are looking to start a podcast, don't just do it. Don't just start it to start it.
Start it with because you're passionate or you have a. Something that you want to talk about or that you want to put into the universe that people could listen to. If you're just starting it, just to say, well, everybody else is doing one, so I'm going to do one. It's not the correct thing. So I'm going to say the same thing for nonprofits. If you're starting a nonprofit, you have to have a passion for it, and you have to have a desire and a love and a. A purpose for the reasons why you're doing it.
[00:25:11] Speaker A: And that's a great point. And it's a parallel to strategic planning and that those earlier comments I made about why are you doing this plan? Sometimes people do them because it's something you're supposed to do or it's expected.
And so if you're not clear in understanding the value that it can bring to you, then it's probably not going to be the most effective or beneficial process for you, because it really is about setting priorities. That's another part of the strategic planning process.
This is where you take all of those things that I said earlier about your stakeholder feedback, your context and your identity.
And so you say, given what it is that's happening now, who we are, what we do, this is what we must pay attention to and become known for over the next so many years. So that really speaks to that point that you were saying that it really is about getting methodical.
So one of the other things I like to do is something that's called competitive advantage. And I know that sometimes that's a dirty word in the nonprofit. You know, competitive is more for. For profit, but it's actually not. It's healthy. It's not, you know, the negative connotation that maybe people tend to think of.
It's about identifying your uniqueness. And nonprofits are famous for being humble, but it's really about identifying what is it that sets you apart and what is it you want, you. What makes you stand out.
And it's important because when you look at yourself as part of the planning process, as a nonprofit or social enterprise or charity, in your community or in your sector, are there gaps that maybe you could be delivering a service or a program on, are there overlap where maybe another nonprofit is delivering in a different way and having more impact. What would happen if you let go of that and focus your attention in said other areas?
It's a way to highlight what it is that you do best, reduce duplication.
And at the same time, it's a way for you to attract resources. So when you're able to say, this is where we excel, this is what we do, this is where what. What we're about, again, you have that case for support. But I've literally seen this with an organization I'm looking at working with right now, where they have people coming to them. Like university came to them and said, hey, and we're talking lots of money. Because their unique approach stood out so clear. And it was truly very unique that people wanted to get on board. A university wanted to be part of that work and said, we're going to fund you with this amount of money to do this part of your work. So that's the value in understanding your competitive edge.
And so go ahead. Sorry.
[00:28:29] Speaker B: Oh, no, I was just. I was just listening to you. Keep. Keep going.
[00:28:33] Speaker A: Okay.
So once you take all of that previous information and start to look at your competitive edge, you now want to start to look at what are the themes that have unfolded and the categories of work that you want to put your attention to. Some people call them strategic pillars, themes, or impact statements.
And there can be many priorities, and this is not about doing all of them. The essence of strategy is actually, I mentioned earlier, making decisions and choices. And it's much. It's as much about what we will do. These are the activities, the areas we're going to focus on, the priorities as it is about. These are the things that we're not going to do to make room and don't fit or whatever the reasons. But in doing your strategic planning, it's important to have three or four priorities. Beyond that, it just becomes unmanageable and overwhelming.
So if these are the priorities, these are the goals. Here's where our focus is. And a simple question I like to ask is, what are we going after? If these are the priorities, what are we going after?
And so we set the goals and we theme out the elements, the activities or the tasks that are needed to achieve them. Everybody's heard of smart, right? Specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, time, targeted. And then we decide on how the performance is going to be measured.
And it seems like an easy question to answer, but it's not because of that diversity that I mentioned earlier. I think I should get points for the number of times I mentioned diversity, it's not easy to figure out what will be measured. So a great question is, what does success look like?
You know, a miracle happens and the things that you're trying to achieve have happened. What does it look like? And so this is a great way for us to filter down on what the measures or metrics or performance indicators might be.
And then a significant important point of, or part rather of strategic planning is your implementation plan. And so when I mentioned that there are multitude of ways of doing strategic planning, some processes include ending right here before you go into implementation. And I struggle with that for me in my work, because I know and I've seen where nonprofits, other organizations, social enterprise charities, and actually a board that I've sat on struggle with the implementation. We have a beautiful plan, but now what?
So I spend a significant amount of time helping organizations with their implementation plan.
And so implementation planning is about how you'll deliver on the plan. You define who is doing what by when.
And it doesn't stop there.
We need an execution plan. That's something different. Sometimes the words are used interchangeably. But an execution plan is what takes your strategic intentions and turns them into actions and results.
So this helps your plan stick and what I love about this part and do it in my own personal life. One of my favorite books, Atomic Habits, I don't know if you've heard of it, it's a popular one. James Clear.
We create habits. So if you want your implement, if you want your plan to stick, we need to create some habits. And so I like to do what we call habit stacking. So a simple example of this is you look at how you embed things into existing systems and practices.
So I have some things sitting at my door today. When we finish this conversation, I have to fly quickly to another appointment. I have things sitting in front of my door so I don't forget them. I put my vitamins in a certain place in my bathroom where I brush my teeth in the morning. So I remember to take my vitamins when I want to do an early morning run. My running shoes are beside my bed. So simple things like that. And one of the tools I do is we. One of the tools I use is we take a chart that asks what are the habits we need to create?
What are the existing habits and how do we tweak them as a way to integrate.
And another important part of that implementation planning is looking at what your capacity is. And some might people might think you should look at your capacity to do Certain things at the beginning. But the reason why I don't do that there is because you end up then saying no to things right off the bat because you're like, wow, we only have this much capacity, we only have these many resources, so we're not going to do this. But capacity analysis at the end, when you've created your strategy, your direction is really about saying what time, what skillset, what money, what is needed in order for us to deliver on this strategy. So you might potentially end up letting go of something because you don't have the resources. Maybe you end up scaling it back and doing part of it. But the really big benefit of this part is that you, I've seen where you actually more so end up saying, we're really invested in this, we have the resources. Or we're really invested in this, so we need to find some more resources in order to be able to do this. And then you need a monitoring plan. And this is how you assess and make sure that things are staying on track.
You know that your strategy is working. And this is one of the other unique offers that I like to bring.
Because you create that feedback loop and you're monitoring it, you can adjust your plan in real time. Again, strategic plans are not static, they're iterative. And you need to change and adjust to new realities that are happening in your environment at the same time. One of the things I really think is valuable in a strategic planning process, a big part of it is decision making. And what nonprofit organization, charity, doesn't struggle with decision making?
So we do a strategy screen. And a strategy screen is a powerful decision making tool and it helps you to choose criteria for making your decisions. In particular, how you stick to your strategy. We don't want Scope Creep to take in. You know, we're famous as non profits. Have been there myself where you get shiny new object or money or programming and it's like, let's follow this initiative, let's go there. If you have a strategy screen, you identify the criteria by which you'll measure and make decisions. So some important ones that are typically included are, is this program, is this project, is this initiative consistent with our mission? Right. Will it yield a substantial sustainable result versus a fleeting one? Will it enforce, reinforce our competitive advantage?
And the criteria is different for each organization. You create it yourself based upon what you value and what measure matters to you. So those are a number of important and vital components of strategic planning. And the reasons why I get excited about it because it's like again, that puzzle that I Love to solve and help people bring together. And ultimately it is about helping organizations make their impact.
[00:36:41] Speaker B: I could tell that there's passion in your voice when you're talking about that. So I just, I just love that. You mentioned struggles.
What are the big, what are some of the biggest struggles for leaders in a non profit? You might have mentioned a few, but in your experience, what are some of the biggest struggles?
[00:37:01] Speaker A: Always keeping the doors open, always sustainable funding.
These days I see a lot more questions around the business model. And so when I say business model, you know, that's we do what for whom, this is how we're funded, these are the services we offer. So nonprofits are needing to get a lot more creative these days. So they're looking at different ways of funding, fee for service, social enterprise.
And then nonprofits are always focused on doing more for more government relations and building community awareness.
And it speaks to why developing a strategy is so vital. Because it helps you focus on what it is that you need to do in order to remain relevant or sustainable. And because nonprofits face the challenge of the day to day operations being so demanding, leaders get pulled into the crisis or putting out fires. I remember that. I remember just this was my plan for the day and then I spent the day dealing with whatever came through the door. And so you want to be strategic and do big picture thinking, but there's so much on your plate that you struggle to find time to be able to do that.
And so nonprofits are getting innovative. I was just at our local grocer the other day. And so we have a local, benevolent, I can't say the word, a local organization that does a number of different things for the community. And one of them is providing food. They have a food bank. And I was at a local grocer and they had signs on particular household products that said this is a donatable item. Or something along the lines of this is something that we need, that people in your community need. And they were strategically placed and not a ton of them, but it worked. I found myself buying things that if I had not seen that little sticky saying, you know, we need dishwasher soap, we need laundry detergent, I wouldn't have bought it. So it's a simple example of innovation.
Knowing that donors are in fact giving less things like finding and keeping employees has become more complex.
So, you know, some of the work that I've done is really around the fact I often say you do have a gold mine sitting before you, of course, how we fund fairly and equitably. Our employees is important. But employees are also looking for things like autonomy.
Employees are looking for the opportunity to be innovative, to feel valued, to join an organization that has values around our earth, around social commitments that align with their values. And so that's why I say you have a gold mine that doesn't cost you a ton of money. Having a diverse work environment that is invested in equity, inclusion, accessibility and honors, the entity of who people are is a brilliant way to attract people and keep people. And at the same time, there's really solid research about how it's good for business, how it's good for delivering on your impact.
And nonprofits are full of amazing assets. And sometimes they don't notice their assets. And that's another value that a consultant brings. I spend time doing asset mapping, which is where we do dig into what they have, and it might be a discovery. The obvious things are, you know, a great program, maybe a great program that's delivered in a unique way in a unique region. But it can be things like maybe you have an amazing network that somebody else, another organization doesn't have.
And it can be about sharing and exchanging with another organization that has an asset that you lack. So maybe you have an employee. And this is one of the things that when I was at that globally based social enterprise, this is how we did our consulting. So we had an employee who loved doing policies and procedures.
Many organizations hate policies and procedures. We were able to offer that as a service.
Then we had a talented group of trainers. And so we were able to do a lot of training for other organizations. I love doing strategy, I love doing business planning. So we were able to help some new entities create business plans and certainly deliver on their strategy.
So you could develop a train the trainer model.
And some other really good examples are maybe you are really strong at donor relations.
Maybe you have a grant writer and another organization doesn't. Maybe you simply have somebody who's really good at doing grant writing. Those are assets that you can use and share with other organizations again, to gain something that can help your organization as well. I'm all about collaborating.
[00:43:02] Speaker B: I love all that. I love everything that you said. They're innovative, being creative. I just love all of that. And I think it's super important that everybody in any organization does. Super, super important. So how do you think your hometown or city you grew up in molded you into the individual that you are today? Because for me, you're a phenomenal individual. So I want to. I'm anxious to hear your answer on this one.
[00:43:27] Speaker A: Ah, it's a good one. And thank you for those kind words.
It impacted me immensely. I grew up in a small rural town in Ontario, and we were a community. And as a community, we looked after each other.
And my parents were very actively involved in the community. So they modeled that at a very young age for me. My father was the neighborhood go to guy. I can't tell you the amount of people we had at our house. It was like a revolving door and to a fault. He was the kind of guy that would give you the T shirt off his back, except it'd be a dirty white, cheap T shirt full of holes. But he'd still give it to you if you needed it, right? He was a volunteer firefighter.
I have vivid memories like the time the local mill burnt down and the firefighters were fighting that blaze for hours. It was late into the evening at that point. My sister and I had already gone to bed and my mom came and she woke us up and she said, let's go, we're making food.
I'm almost tearing up. We're making food to deliver to the firefighters. Amazing.
And I can still see the marks of my family in my community. My father helped build the local pool. That's where I spent my entire summer. My mom often jokes about not having to hire a babysitter because I would go swim at the pool from 1 to 5, come home from dinner and swim 7 till 9. The community was small enough that when she heard the whistle that signaled get out of the pool, she knew I should be home within five minutes. And if I wasn't, she needed to worry. That was back when life was a little bit more full of freedom. You know, all the good stories we have about the days when we it was more safe and comfortable to just allow children to do their things without supervision at an early age. I was part of some local communities and did a lot of fundraising. And when I say I can see our mark. We fundraised to create a local tennis court. And I was back home several years ago and they had updated it and renovated it. So I did that when I was 16. It's still there today.
My mom was part of the Women's Institute. She worked at public health, so her office was a hub. She knew everybody. She got to see every new baby that was born. So community was a significant family value that was modeled by my family and it's what led me to working with non profits because they are community.
[00:46:18] Speaker B: Your story sounds very similar to mine. That was my summer as well at the community pool. I Would show up at the pool when it opened up at 1:00 and I would leave there at 5 because it was adult swim. From 5 to 6:30, I go home, have supper. My parents couldn't keep me in the house long enough because I was wolfing down my food because I had to get back to the pool for night swim at 7:00-9. And then we would. I come home, change and a bunch of us would be outside playing tag or whatever game and I.
It's vivid memories for me because it was a time that was very safe. I had about 20, 25 moms because everybody's mother was my mother. And you know, you're, you know, my parents could call so and so's house A is, is Andrew there or is he close by? Can you tell them to, you know, it's getting dark. Can you tell them to head home? Or they would be the one to say, you know, I don't know if you should be doing that because you know, you're, you know, I don't, you know, I don't think that your parents would be, you know, happy with you doing that. So you couldn't really. Not that you tried to do anything, but you couldn't get away with anything because you had so many parents around, not just yours, but everyone was kind of watching over you and watching what you were doing. So you really didn't do anything because A, it was just because the way you were brought up, but also B, your parents, you had so many parents looking around and watching what was going on that you didn't know. You know, you, you always knew the right way and not the wrong way. So I, I love your story and thank you for, for sharing that with me. Any final thoughts today?
[00:48:05] Speaker A: It was a good life. That's my final thought. I just, I really connected with what you just said and can relate, I think, you know, in wrapping up what I would say is I'm here.
Here to help. Here to be a resource to any charity, social enterprise, nonprofit that may have an interest. It starts with simply having a conversation and looking at what it is that you might need and discovering if there's a fit.
There are no obligations around it. You can discover more about me. I hang out on LinkedIn. It's like the vein of my existence. I'm there routinely and it's Lori Stanley L O R I non profit consulting. I have a website as well and it's nonprofit consulting. And both spaces are a place to just garner some great tools, some tips, some resources I have on my website booklet on planning for your strategic plan that you can download be part of an email list where again I send out some insights. So all made to help ease the load that nonprofits and other organizations face.
[00:49:28] Speaker B: Laura, I want to take time to thank you for coming on today.
Your description of everything today was, was phenomenal. I can definitely see you as somebody that's stand that stands out in what you do and I could definitely see why people would resonate and why people would want to work with you. You're very easy going and, and there's that comfortable ability with with you to so I would see lots of organizations gravitating and wanting to work with you. So thank you so much for your time today. It was a pleasure to have this conversation with you.
[00:50:06] Speaker A: Well, it takes two so I appreciate the space that you've created in order for this to be comfortable for me. Thank you.
[00:50:12] Speaker B: You're very welcome. On behalf of myself and my guest Lori, I'd like to thank you all for listening today. And until next time, be safe and remember everyone that if we all work together, we can accomplish anything.
[00:50:26] Speaker A: You have been listening to. Let's be diverse with Andrew Stout. To stay up to date with future content, hit Subscribe.
