[Fundraisers Forum] Re: Organizational Restructuring of Biblical Proportions
- From: Gidon Ariel <gidon.ariel@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Ron Allswang <ron.allswang@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2015 10:47:55 +0200
great Ron, as your stuff always is
I suggest publishing it on the Times of Israel blog platform
Thanks תודה and God Bless,
Gidon Ariel gidon.ariel@xxxxxxxxx גדעון אריאל
cell 054-5665037, home 02-5354586, USA (VoIP) 516-321-1846
Israel fax 1532-5354586, USA fax 623-433-4874
Maale Hever, DN Har Hebron 90420 Israel מעלה חבר, ד"נ הר חברון
"Happy are those who have discovered
that the secret of life is to be nice to others"
On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 10:46 AM, Ron Allswang <ron.allswang@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
>
> *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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