To Resist the Shiny Thing

Earlier this summer, I worked with a corporate foundation client on their next three-year strategic plan. This client already had a very solid, robust strategy. As I dug deeper into their work, I felt like I was peeling back the layers of a really good onion.

When I sat down to put together a deck of recommendations for the client, I found myself itching to add new things. “Oooooh, they could direct dollars over here and do this cool thing!” “Ahhhh, they could launch this new program to support teachers doing this other thing — how fantastic would that be?!”

The end result was a deck that half stayed the course and half jumped to new things…new initiatives, new funding, new partners.

When I sat down with my client to review it, I realized I’d gone overboard.

I had, as the one and only Vu Le would say, a case of Bright Shiny Object Syndrome. I was hunting for the best new thing. Something splashy. Something different. Something totally and utterly new.

But guess what? I didn’t need to do that. I could look at what was already in place and simply refine, enhance, sharpen. The work was already excellent. The work was already working. Was there room to grow? Of course (isn’t there always?). But a whole new strategy wasn’t what this client needed.

Lesson learned. And I’m thankful for it.

Because with my funder hat on, I recognize exactly what I was doing: I was too focused on differentiation. Too caught up in newness. And I didn’t need to be; this foundation was already doing great work, with great opportunity to keep riding that wave.

Innovation is certainly magnificent and necessary — it’s how we’ve gotten this far. But we should be wary of the wrong kind of innovation. The kind where we go chasing our own individualized, branded version of philanthropy instead of asking better questions. Where can we spend more on proven efforts? Where can we lean on experts? Where can we build on the existing work instead of reaching for the next shiny object?

Let’s not each go build our own thing. Let’s seek out collaboratives and collectives. Let’s find the organizations already on the ground, doing the work. Let’s not waste our time, energy, and dollars chasing that Bright Shiny Object. Vu would approve. 😉 

With love and appreciation,

Sarah

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✅ SUPPORTING NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP…IN A BIG WAY

Since 2007, the American Express Leadership Academy has invested more than $100M to sharpen the leadership skills of more than 165,000 nonprofit leaders worldwide.

The six-month program, funded by the American Express Foundation and delivered by Common Purpose, a global leadership nonprofit focused on helping people cross cultural, social, and institutional boundaries — runs three regional academies a year: Americas, Asia-Pacific, and UK/EMEA. Leadership Academy programming is a mix of in-person and online.

If you’re a senior nonprofit leader in the Americas and UK/EMEA, 2027 applications are now open. And check the website soon for info on 2027 apps for Asia-Pacific.

This is very cool. Go, American Express Foundation!

📝 MEETINGS DONE DIFFERENTLY

I fell down a rabbit hole this week reading about how Amazon runs meetings. Have you heard about this?

Jeff Bezos banned PowerPoints in meetings at the senior level in 2004, replacing it with a six-page narrative memo instead. The memo is shared 24 hours in advance of the meeting; for the first 30 minutes of the meeting, everyone reads the memo in complete silence. After reading, the group discusses. The most senior person in the room speaks last.

Super interesting. I really love the silent reading part. (Because how many meetings have you been in where you’re supposed to read something before you arrive and…it doesn’t exactly turn out that way.)

Curious to hear your thoughts. Have you tried something like this at your organization? Please share!

📍 EVENTS ARE BACK (AND BIGGER)

I recently came across this Booking.com for Business article from February. If we didn’t already know that in-person events are back, well, this article proves they really are.

The global corporate events market is set to nearly double, from $325B in 2024 to $595B by 2029 (!). In-person events now cost nearly 50% more than virtual ones. 80% of event planners now run hybrid events as a permanent model. And 40% of attendees choose events based on destination alone. Dang. (Anyone else channeling their best Priya Parker right now?)

All these stats plus more can be found here.

💘 NONPROFIT LOVE

Just call me obsessed with the Ghetto Kids from Uganda. Did you watch the World Cup final on Sunday? Did you see them with Shakira and Burna Boy?! I mean, these kids are incredible.

The Ghetto Kids was founded by Dauda Kavuma, a man who grew up on the streets of Kampala, orphaned and unable to afford school, until a stranger paid his way through. He became a math teacher and promised to pay it forward. In 2007, Kavuma started what’s now the Ghetto Kids Foundation, taking in vulnerable and orphaned children from the Katwe slums and giving them shelter, food, education, and — through music, dance, and drama — a way to be seen.

The dance troupe broke out in 2014 when a video of the kids dancing to Eddy Kenzo’s “Sitya Loss” went viral and the world fell in love. More than a decade later, the organization still cares for around 60 kids. You can donate and/or help spread the word about the Ghetto Kids’ mission; learn more here. And if you’re looking for good and happy and uplifting and motivating on your Instagram feed, follow Ghetto Kids here.