Plane is at the gate

I spent part of New Year's Eve day with my oldest son Jess who was scheduled for his first sky dive. We went down to this cool airport and saw the rookies and the seasoned divers as they suited up and got on the plane for their own special moment in the sky. After an hour or so Jess donned his classy "snowboarder"green jump suit and boarded the plane. As the plane took off to get to 10,500 feet, I mused about how this could be a metaphor for my own impending "take off".



Like Jess, I'd arranged for this months before. Unlike Jess, I've been thinking about it regularly. Taking off from Greenlights means all the things that a take off always means - making sure there's enough fuel, getting the plane ready for the air, having a plan for where to go, and making sure that you get lift off.

It's been a while coming, but I think we're close to liftoff. The Transition Committee is almost through with its work and have given me a much clearer sense of when I will be free to fly. I am finishing up all the big projects on my list, and have identified a few new projects that can keep me relevant for a bit longer. But I am cutting back my management time with Greenlights and have a long list of management and strategy decisions that need to be made sooner rather than later. A few of these decisions may need to be made before the new ED comes on board, but the Board team is aware of this and, I hope, prepared to make them.

So I am making my new "to-do" list - the list of things ahead, that open up the new world to me. These are interesting (and the list keeps growing). They all fit with my new New Year's theme.
(Each year I try to come up with a catch phrase to ground my thinking and actions for the year. Words like "fun", "let it go", "connect", "excellence" have had anchoring value for recent years...sitting on my computer monitor to remind me of an underlying impetus for decisions and actions in a given year.)

2007 will have its special theme phrase - "adventure". It is true that 2006 had its share of adventure! I was fortunately to manage to travel to Europe three times during the year; to be part of Greenlights' new adventures adding special events, pivoting to a new future; and being part of a totally awesome team beginning a new international nonprofit (Psychology without Borders www.pwob.org). The coming year - adding graduate school teaching, additional start up projects and (hopefully) international nonprofit/NGO travel, helping with the Austin cultural plan, continuing with PWOB and NPower Texas...will be new adventures, using new tools, and quite as colorful as the skydiving I saw today with Jess.


One thing that was remarkable about today's skydiving - the new technology! I myself jumped from a plane... during my college days when we used army surplus parachutes and stood on the plane strut before the jump. These days the chutes are no longer round, but designed for agility, speed, movement, and control - more like windsurfing. The equipment is in-your-face colorful, fanciful, playful, and blending elements to maximize both safety and risk. Hopefully my tool box as I jump out of my plane will be as cool! More to come!

What I won't miss

Today is Christmas eve and it's been a full day of non-work related activities. I am thinking back to last year's Christmas holiday when I was re-entering the US mind set after 4 months in the Czech Republic. I was aware that I would be returning to my ED role in a different frame of mind. What I wasn't aware of was how fast the following year (this year) would speed forward. Yikes!

And now I think ahead a year - to a year without being at the helm of a thriving nonprofit. Here's what I WON'T miss ;

1) Money worries - of course they are always there, lurking in the background of a nonprofit. Because nonprofit rely so heavily on the voluntary actions of philanthropists - corporate, individual, foundation, civic group donors - it's hard to find funds you can count on year after year. Greenlights is still working on creating its sustainable base of support, and even when there's money coming in, there's a sense of concern about the financial future. But there's less worry about money when you don't have a weekly payroll to manage!

2) Management worries - as ED there are times that management decisions feel lonely. You can bet that others in your team will not appreciate decisions. ED's can be faulted for being too hasty, too slow....too decision, too laissez-faire...too independent, too dependent. And there are times when you second guess your decisions with some regret, but no real clear sense of how the path would have been different if you'd gone the other way. Less management decisions ahead (I think!).

3) People worries - as organizations grow larger, there are more people to think about and more values and personalities to work with. As the ED there's a commitment and responsibility to creating a climate that supports each and every one of the vastly diverse people who are helping make the mission. And along with that responsibility, at times, is a concern that people aren't getting what they need. Or that you are contributing to the disappointment, stress or distress of others in the organization. That can be a difficult burden. Less people to manage means less people worries!

It's interesting to think about these things during the holiday season when my house is filled with great foods, great people, and light responsibilities. Cooking, cleaning, finishing a big piece of the jigsaw puzzle in the living room, organizing gift giving, coordinating visits and outings......not alot about people, money or management. And yet actually, it is still somewhat related to people, money and management. Ultimately, being with any social group - whether it's your work group, family group, or friendship group - means thinking compassionately, knowing that there will always be a layer of happening, or an undercurrent that;'s invisible or slow to become known, and relishing the good times!

We went to WestCave Preserve yesterday and got a delightful tour of the canyons, grottos and caves on the property. The tour guide told us how well WestCave is cared for by students in a program for at-risk youth - and how the students get as much out of the experience as WestCave. What kids value about hauling brush, mending fences, and designing outbuildings.
To me that's elegance - a win-win where two nonprofits maximize their mission by collaborating - bringing different talents and resources to bear on a project that yields double goals.

Happy holidays!!

Things I will miss

This photo of London at night is a memento from a recent Greenlights consulting project - yes, in London. Greenlights works with nonprofits in Central Texas, which means every once in a while we work with a nonprofit heaquartered here but national or international in scope. In this case, I was facilitating a strategic planning process with an international board working on international humanitarian aid, and very much enjoying the cross-cultural communication and thinking.





On my way back to Austin I began to ponder what I will miss as I hand off my management responsibilities at the end of the month (or perhaps early January...looks like the transition process is moving quickly, but the holidays do interfere).

WHAT I WILL MISS - A BEGINNING LIST
**my wonderful office - it's a great view and a great space - I can see the elevator from my desk, or look into Austin's hills. Some of the best sunrises and sunsets happen outside my window. I know, it's odd to think I am in the office in these off hours...but sometimes those are the best hours for being productive, reflective, and inspired. My office is upstairs from good friends - and the ease of wandering downstairs to visit will be gone when I move out.

**my Greenlights files - my office is equipped with a terrific, fast, reasonably reliable computer, accessing all the files Greenlights has (and hosting some of my favorite music, collected over 5 years). Greenlights' reference files are full of fascinating articles on nonprofit management and an archive of all the trainings, consulting, and templates we've used. Yes, I know a 4 gig flash drive can whisk all this into my own world, but in Greenlights' office I can find everything I need (with a bit of searching) in hard copy. And as an oldtimer, I still prefer hard copy review.

And by the way, which of the files can I take with me? I've written and/or organized many of the files, but needed to review our policies re ownership just to be transparent. Luckily, most of our materials are shared free of charge to our audiences, and all of our contracts with our affiliates spell out that we share ownership of what we produce. So it's not an issue.

** the team spirit - year end activities have admittedly taxed Greenlights' team to the max (we try hard to meet growing demand, and have exceeded many of our targets for programs and services already this year so we are slightly out of breath). Despite this, the team spirit is alive and pops out unexpectedly in moments of grace and fun - from breakfast tacos and homemade baked goods appearing in the mornings to silly stories, sports motivational tips, and helping hands. I am hopeful that the work I'll continue to do with Greenlights will keep me in the loop with team spirit, and am encouraged when I look at how other "former" Greenlights staffers stay connected and are heartily welcomed when they stop by.

** the daily indicators of impact - We have had so many nonprofits stop by and share their thanks with us in the past weeks. I am happy each day I see another nonprofit item in the news, another report on philanthropy in unexpected ways, and get a call or email from a nonprofit colleague describing how Greenlighs helped them or explaining how they worked something out.

No doubt I will think of many more things to miss as I get closer to cleaning out my office and welcoming my successor, but I'll stop here.

One of the most spectacular images from my London adventure is The Eye - a slow moving, huge ferris wheel of sorts that was installed on the Thames for the Millenium.

The Eye is a marvel of color, structure, engineering and its sheer audacity, and sense of fun. When I get too caught up in the hectic details of closing up shop in my managerial role at Greenlights, I think back to the nighttime visions of The Eye - and try to remind myself that ultimately it's all about style.