[Fundraisers Forum] Organizational Restructuring of Biblical Proportions
- From: Ron Allswang <ron.allswang@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "frforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <frforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2015 10:46:19 +0200
*Organizational Restructuring of Biblical Proportions*
As I listened to the Torah portion yesterday, Parshat Yitro, it struck me
like never before.
The first Jewish Organization Consultant was a non-Jew; I refer to Yitro,
Moses' father-in-law.
The known scenario: Moses, the greatest leader ever known to the Jewish
People, is directing/managing/running - in essence- the largest Jewish
Organization--the Jewish Nation. (BTW - There is no mention of a
Development Director, and quite frankly, with Mana falling from Heaven, I
am not sure what additional bag of tricks such a professional could bring
to the table).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Moses is spending day and night in Judgment,
resolving conflicts between man and his neighbor. Yitro his F-I-L comes by,
(I have a visual of his putting his arm around Moses' shoulders) and says
roughly "Son, it ain't gonna work this way. For your NPO/Amuta - The Jewish
People) to grow and be a success, you will need to handle your personal
schedule differently, delegate to a core group of 'volunteers' to deal with
the day-to-day operations, leaving you available for the Big Picture/Bigger
Decisions, in a nutshell, to change your organizational
structure--drastically". מדוע אתה יושב לבדך וכל העם נצב עליך מן בוקר עד
ערב....כי כבד ממך הדבר לא תוכל עשהו לבדך
A most common fault of leaders in NPOs (and elsewhere) is the fear of
relinquishing power and authority. Even though by empowering others, the
leader is freed up to deal with the larger picture.
True -solving judicial cases between man and fellow man is important, but
it pales in comparison to preparing the people for its next set of
challenges, namely the bringing of His People to His Land, conquering the
nations residing there, and setting up a society, for beginners. Big Big
Stuff. And as such, Moses' greatest leadership quality is summed up in a
mere 8 words וישמע משה לקול חותנו ויעש כל אשר אמר - Moses listened to his
father-in-law, and implemented all his suggestions.
As 'cute' as this is-we need to revisit why/how Yitro succeeded-seemingly
so easily-to convince Moses that these changes were not just smart moves,
but necessary?
A deeper look at the exact steps taken by Yitro to gain Moses' trust will
shed light and clarify.
Exodus 18:7 - Moses invites Yitro in and they talk.
Exodus 18:8 - Moses tells him the History of the Organization
Exodus 18:9- Yitro is inspired with what he hears about the Jewish People
Exodus 18:10/11 - Yitro elaborates on all the great accomplishments of 'The
Organization'.
Exodus 18:13-27 Yitro suggests sweeping changes in the way that Moses is
managing The Organization--and Moses accepts all that is suggested.
Yitro listened. Yitro is inspired. Yitro appreciated the greatness of The
Organization's past and even brighter future. And at that point, when he
had Moses' full trust, he presented his Organizational Restructuring Idea.
Then, and only then, are his words appreciated and implemented immediately.
Long before Dale Carnegie, Yitro understood "How To Win Friends and
Influence People".
And I bet the price was right, too.
--
Ron Allswang
Director, PR and Marketing
Lema'an Achai
www.smartchesed.org
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