One of my favourite Sherlock Holmes stories is "The Dog that did not bark". SH solved the crime by noting that the dog did not bark - in spite of all the evidence of there being a break in - it had to have been an inside job.
Mark Earls has reminded me of the brilliant paper by Henry Mintzberg et al called Beyond Selfishness - Link Here - His insight is that many business leaders are missing the point - they are not listening for the dogs who don't bark but are transfixed by the obvious.
By only thinking of the simple view of profit they miss the underpinning of true value. By worrying about day traders, they miss who is really attached - the customer and their staff. So they miss the value that can arise from really meeting their customers needs and the value of unleashing their employees power. They miss the impact of what they really do on how their business affects the wider world.
This Mintzberg's plea for business leaders - find a more holistic understanding of value.
I would like to add to this today. NGO leaders are as distracted by the wrong evidence as their business peers. They approach their constituency with arrogance about what is "Good" for them and they take their money, in Canada, largely from the Government without considering the price of being dependent.
The price of taking your money form Government?
A man sits down in his seat on a plane. Next to him is a well dressed young woman with a very large diamond on her wedding finger. He can't take his eyes of the diamond - it is huge. Finally he has to say something. "That's the biggest diamond I have ever seen!" he gushes.
"Yes" she replies. It's 8 carats".
"Does it have a name - I mean all the really great diamonds have a name don't they?"
"Yes - It's the Klopman Diamond"
"Now all famous diamonds have a curse - does the Klopman Diamond have a curse?"
"Yes - it does" she says.
"So what's the curse?" he asks.
"Mr Klopman!"
Mr Klopman = Government Money. Government money distorts NGOs the same way that the quarterly earnings pressure distorts many business leaders. As in business it takes an exceptional leader to get above this trap.
Arrogance about the needs of the "customer" is a vice that both business and NGO's share too. Maybe NGO's have this one even worse. So many NGO's that I have known are really just providing a good living for their staff.
I think that the way out of the trap for the NGO leader is the same as the way out of the Wall Street Trap for the business leader.
Non profits and for profits that humbly seek to understand and meet the real needs of those they serve can build a system that will sustain them all.
For profit companies have to have legitimate support from their community. So too do NGO's.
In the tight times to come, NGO's that rely only on Mr Klopman will pay the price. Companies that fail to create real value for their real constituencies will also fail.
So follow Holmes advice - look beyond the obvious support of traders and bureaucrats who don't care and look to who really does care - your customers and your staff.
