Bridging the strategic NGO / Corporate gap in order to facilitate project successes

May 3rd, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

As board member of a local non profit, I sometimes get to thinking about the more theoretical aspects of non-profit governance. I’ve recently been thinking again how non profit governance applies to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) in for-profit organizations and achieving common objectives.

The thing is that strategic objective alignment in NGO’s and corporations who work together can sometimes be a tricky task that largely is determinate of each party’s strategic goals, wherein those goals while aligning on some level often differ based on the stakeholder principle, I do believe that by offering operational transparency and vision alignment the NGO / Corp. partnership can create more “good” output, than if it were rely on status-quo collaboration. So let’s dive into the nitty gritty.

Inception 

Social responsibility by the corporation and philanthropic activities propagate good, given, but the synergies that can be created between corporations and NGO’s by far outweigh those of each party operating singularly. However the underlying problem for each party in finding a partner is  largely based on each party’s vision.

When looking to establish partnerships, NGO’s and companies need to enter a process of investigation, identifying those key points that bring both organization’s vision together.

If for example Shell would be looking to explore bio-fuels, a NGO in the bio-fuels space is the obvious election, however, organizational and operational culture need also align if processess are to coincide.

Vision Alignment

A partnership where these goals and objectives are aligned will create a positive reinforced efficiencies between the organization and the company. Key components towards creating these efficiencies can be established as follows.

  1. Establish a clear vision – Think of the partnership as an internal joint venture with overlapping objectives. Unification or the development of a cooperative project vision will create focus and prevent stakeholder dissension.
  2. Advance mutual objectives – The partnership needs to advance the overall strategic objectives of both parties. If a clear value is not present in the partnership, it will fail.
  3. Create operational synergies – in logistics, processes, operations, et al… monitor, control and augment. If successful, apply towards other projects.

By actualizing these key components, the NGO and Corp will involve in “Bond building”, a positive synergistic process that creates a trusting symbiotic relationship.

Once bond building happens, the second facilitation process – operational transparency – begins to evolve.

Operational Transparency

Operational transparency is the clear and truthful unabridged communication between the Corp. and NGO, and vice versa. By being truthful and honest in their objectives and projects, synergies increase over time, and the resulting project(s) and/or program(s) will see more efficient execution, will increase in scope, and will create more good, –  ideally project departments will function as extensions of one another.

However, to achieve operational transparency, each organization must have first aligned vision, and been involved in bond building.

The NGO / Corporate Bridge Matrix

Based on the functional relationships of NGO’s and Corps we want to stive for highly  bonded relationships, this means, high vision alignment, and high operational transparency, in this position the parties achieve the highest synergies.  Transferring information freely among themselves, and have the same aligned vision.

In second position we have synergetic, where synergies are based on vision, this is where component 1, 2, 3 flourish and trust is built, the arrow indicates the direction in which the relationship should head.

A non-functional relationship, is one where the parties are either in the “inception” stage, or if no synergetic progress has been made, should think of dissolving the partnership, no value is being created.

In the final scenario, prisoner, parities may have disclosed operational transparencies and are in a deeply involved non-functional relationship that creates negative project value and impacts both players negatively.

….

I know this is short and simplistic, but I’m hardly going to write a chapter on a blog. I do hope however that it made sense and for those of us in non-profit management, it’ll help us think about the process of partnering.

Stuff I think is awesome – Wild Mushrooms

March 26th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

When I was a kid, I recall family trips to the woods in order to go mushroom picking. I recall these memories very fondly, uncles, aunts, cousins, we’d walk though Northern European forests hunting the different types of edible mushrooms. And there was always an unspoken contest of sorts among all of us, those who managed to bring in the biggest haul, or biggest mushrooms were declared the winners.

After the mushroom hunt, we’d all go back to someone’s house or cabin, and proceed to cook them up. While there are wild edible mushrooms here in NY, the flavor for whatever reason just isn’t as rich, but it’s still pretty fun activity if and when the opportunity presents itself.

It’s not whether you have one or not, It’s how you use use a QR code.

March 23rd, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

I have to say, I effing love these things, I think they’re phenomenal and what you can do with them is really only (to use a cliche) limited by one’s own imagination.

You see, a QR code is like a little doorway into an unknown world, it holds a surprise, maybe a prize, maybe asks me to do something, or compliments whatever I was looking at. It is a tool for engagement. That’s what a QR code is, or at least should be when it comes to Advertising.

But more often than not, it’s a link to some horrendous non-mobile optimized page that’s next to impossible to read, and more so navigate on my tiny little mobile screen. I scanned it, I’m interested, but not interested enough to stand there on the street trying hard to press some tiny button to figure out whatever it is you want me to figure out.

Solution:  Deploy a mobile optimized page for the campaign, build and create engagement, make it fun. I’m already giving you my precious time, don’t squander it, have me engage there and then. How. Well I’ve got ideas, but it’s not my damn campaign is it?

I tend to scan these things as much as I can simply out of the enjoyment of seeing what it is that people are doing with them, and some of the more intelligent (and I use this word loosely in this context) implementations of the QR code have been a direct link to a branded Facebook (FB) page. Yay! Engagement.

Yet this engagement was executed by get this, Whole Foods, who were running a contents to get a month’s worth of free groceries, which I have to add were never displayed on the FB page, and aside from liking them, I had no idea how to participate. Whoever the agency was that did this should have been fired there and then.

The second example of a QR facebook link is from my dentist. MY DENTIST! Yes, my dentist is more technologically adept and understands how to use and engage people better than most agencies I’ve seen use these things.

But the buck doesn’t stop there, and here we are on this post talking about a tool. A QR Code. The one on this page is a Version 11 or 12, as it allows me to input 220 characters of data. Anything higher, and you’re getting into readability problems with current gen phone cameras, especially if you print small. But that aside, think, what can you do with 200 characters.

What messages can you convey, and especially if those messages are not bound by human semantics, and serve a purpose. Are you seeing the potential of these things? I’ve recently been trying to connect with some people at a certain company about the potential use of these that could save them millions, but I’ve thus far only been chagrined.

And if this post seems to come off a bit cross, it is, because it baffles me every time I scan one of these codes hoping for something fun to happen, I meet the same boring result. Non mobile optimized web page.

But there’s one better before I sign off until the next blog-update. There’s a creative agency in Portugal called “9 The Creative Shop” who by some miracle of god managed to score a Jeep Contact. The following ad is what they came up with. Comments Follow.

Ok. So aside from the obvious fact that the QR code is front and center, and I don’t know this is a Jeep ad until I spend some time looking, and aside from it having no sheen or polish to it, and aside from a potential metaphor that the QR code is a forest of some sorts and I’m to navigate through it (long shot I know), the QR code itself takes you to …. get this, a Flash encoded website for mobile. So sure Apple doesn’t have the 20+% market share it has in the US, but it’s around 10% with the other 20% of the total Mobile market going to Android. So 33% of all the people who could even scan this can’t access the content.  Total utter fail.

Innovation & the Changing Face of Advertising

March 17th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Innovation + the Changing Face of Advertising is the talk that I will be giving at Tulane University come Monday, and to be honest I could’t be more excited.

The presentation is fairly short but provides a simple yet very powerful tool that I hope will have these students approach problem solving in unique, and effective ways.

And especially so as they look into the realm of the Ad gods. We’re also going to cover why emotion is the main driver behind purchase decisions, why old paradigms in the Ad world are just that, old, and that no matter how deeply you delve into data mining, consumer purchasing behavior considering price and commodity equal, will still be driven by emotional choice and influence.

Anyways, the presentation is up on Slideshare, share, read, enjoy what have you.

Oh also as a side note, that silliness Avatar Hot or Not, got picked up by Destructoid.com a gaming blog, and traffic jut keeps on rolling in, i.e. 15,000 page views on Thursday, and with no marketing push what so ever. Go figure. Still it’s great to see something I came up with and build  be so well received.

And check out the first poster I’ve ever been on. :)

Got Bored, Made This – Avatar Hot or Not

March 11th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

I’m a firm believer in that sometimes it’s worthwhile to take some time, decompress and clear your head; and with my upcoming trip down to NOLA to meet and talk to the new Launch Pad Ignition class, and give a lecture at Tulane on how Mobile Innovation is Changing the face of Advertising (Slidehare coming soon), and something else I can’t really legally talk about yet, decompression was well needed.

So what’d I do? Well, Nate and I decided we’d make an XBOX Live Avatar version of the internet classic hot or not. If you have your own XBL Avatar have a go over at http://avatarhotornot.com and enjoy :) Here’s a screenie.

The Art of Negotiation – Positional vs’ Interest Based

March 5th, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

Last Monday we covered Positional Bargaining and followed up on Tuesday with Interest based bargaining techniques. Today we wrap up the “Art of Negotiation” series by comparing the two, delving into the psychology behind negotiation and talking about what you should do post negotiation and how this can help you become an all around better negotiator.

Positional vs’ Interest Based Negotiation Styles

Let’s start up by looking at both types of negotiation techniques and the process that each method passes through.

Negotiation's Processes Step by Step

So what about the psychology of negotiation, where does that come into play. Well from the above we can identify that the mentality of a negotiator is based on the style of negotiation he will utilize to attain his goal. However, to strictly put this as a mentality from the side of the goal seeker is wrong. Mentality changes throughout the negotiations process, and is adversely affected by where the individual sees himself at any given moment.

For example an individual will always be more affected with what he will lose over what he will gain in any situation, people are afraid of losses, and these losses affect their psyche much more adversely than winnings. Therefore, it is necessary when negotiating to convince the opposite party that they are getting a better deal than they really are, a person with low self-esteem will trend to push negotiations too far and to allow his own ego to dictate the course of negotiations. In negotiations with such an individual there are basically two alternatives (other than giving in and getting a raw deal), firstly try and get rid of that individual, and the best method is to stand up to him (and his bullying) in such a way that he (and its not always a he) loses face in front of his colleagues, and the second way is to convince the individual that he has been given a much better deal than may strictly be the case, he can present this as a major victory. The weakness of such a person is that his colleagues probably do not like him and will not always give him the full support in negotiations that he needs.

Anyways, in any complex negotiation it is a necessity to understand the other party, their personality, their wants and needs, knowing these attributes one can use psychological knowledge to affect the course of the negotiation. One other thing that can be used in negotiations is neuro-linguistic programming, which allows the person skilled in it, to read the body language of the other and adjust his strategy based on the reactions of the other party.

This also coincides with the politics of negotiation where each party is looking for.

Post Negotiations Strategies

After the negotiation is completed it is important to sit back and reflect on what occurred during the negotiation phase. Some questions that a negotiator should ask himself are. What did I come into the deal wanting? What did I wind up at? What was my offer, and target? How close to the walk away was I? Did I bundle things correctly, use what I had intended to as leverage factors? All these questions are necessary to assess the negotiation between the two parties, and this is one of the most important steps in the negotiations process, reflection. It identifies where the negotiation went wrong, or positively, and what was it that made it turn in that direction.

But the above questions only reference the material outcome of the negotiation, it is also important to consider such attributes of the negotiation as psychology. Did I involve my feelings in the process? Is the outcome of the negotiation really what I wanted, or was I simply made to believe so? And, as a disputant were there occurrences where I would have been able to utilize the opposing party’s emotions to achieve a more favourable outcome. All these questions are pivotal to understanding the post negations outcome, and should be utilized as strategies for learning, for future use when negotiating.

Stuff I think is Awesome – Being Playful

March 5th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink


I saw this guy’s photos about a month and a half ago on reddit, and instantaneously fell in love with the idea of playing with the moon. While most of us don’t have live in an area that allows us to experience the moon at an almost horizon like level, the photos here bring about the idea of a concept which most people I reckon will overlook. Playing with nonplayful things, or simply looking at the world in a more playful way.

The simple reason is, that playful things and absurdities tend to give us a certain joy in our lives and sharing those playful absurdities with others simply tends to spread that joy. It’s “stop and smell the flowers” enjoy life for a brief moment, but perhaps in a way that is unique, and in the mean time inspire others to do the same. This man with the moon, he inspired me to make this little guy…

… who I observed made 6 people smile and laugh until someone eventually came by and decided that an upside down snowman was clearly distasteful and decided to augment his position 180 degrees vertically. But you get the point.

The Art of Negotiation – Interest Based Bargaining

February 28th, 2012 § 3 comments § permalink

If you missed it, yesterday we covered positional bargaining. To fully understand the entire concept and series, and to get a better understanding and get a getter grasp on Negotiation Techniques we highly recommend reading it. You can read it here.

The win/win negotiator’s approach or Interest Based Bargaining

Integrative bargaining (also called “interest-based bargaining,” “win-win bargaining”) is a negotiation strategy in which parties collaborate to find a “win-win” solution to their dispute. This strategy focuses on developing mutually beneficial agreements based on the interests of the disputants. Interests include the needs, desires, concerns, and fears important to each side. They are the underlying reasons why people become involved in a conflict.

Integrative refers to the potential for the parties’ interests to be [combined] in ways that create joint value or enlarge the pie. Potential for integration only exists when there are multiple issues involved in the negotiation. This is because the parties must be able to make trade-offs across issues in order for both sides to be satisfied with the outcome.

Why is Integrative Bargaining Important?

Integrative bargaining is important because it usually produces more satisfactory outcomes for the parties involved than does positional bargaining. Positional bargaining is based on fixed, opposing viewpoints (positions) and tends to result in compromise or no agreement at all. Oftentimes, compromises do not efficiently satisfy the true interests of the disputants. Instead, compromises simply split the difference between the two positions, giving each side half of what they want. Creative, integrative solutions, on the other hand, can potentially give everyone all of what they want.

There are often many interests behind any one position. If parties focus on identifying those interests, they will increase their ability to develop win-win solutions. The classic example of interest-based bargaining and creating joint value is that of a dispute between two little girls over an orange. Both girls take the position that they want the whole orange. Their mother serves as the moderator of the dispute and based on their positions, cuts the orange in half and gives each girl one half. This outcome represents a compromise. However, if the mother had asked each of the girls why she wanted the orange — what her interests were — there could have been a different, win-win outcome. This is because one girl wanted to eat the meat of the orange, but the other just wanted the peel to use in baking some cookies. If their mother had known their interests, they could have both gotten all of what they wanted, rather than just half.

Integrative solutions are generally more gratifying for all involved in negotiation, as the true needs and concerns of both sides will be met to some degree. It is a collaborative process and therefore the parties actually end up helping each other. This prevents ongoing ill will after the negotiation concludes. Instead, interest-based bargaining facilitates constructive, positive relationships between previous adversaries.

The first step in integrative bargaining is identifying each side’s interests. This will take some work by the negotiating parties, as interests are often less tangible than positions and are often not publicly revealed. A key approach to determining interests is asking “Why?” Why do you want that? Why do you need that? What are your concerns? Fears? Hopes? If you cannot ask these questions directly, get an intermediary to ask them.

The bottom line is you need to figure out why people feel the way they do, why they are demanding what they are demanding. Be sure to make it clear that you are asking these questions so you can understand their interests (needs, hopes, fears, or desires) better, not because you are challenging them or trying to figure out how to beat them.

Next you might ask yourself how the other side perceives your demands. What is standing in the way of them agreeing with you? Do they know your underlying interests? Do you know what your own underlying interests are? If you can figure out their interests as well as your own, you will be much more likely to find a solution that benefits both sides.

You must also analyze the potential consequences of an agreement you are advocating, as the other side would see them. This is essentially the process of weighing pros and cons, but you attempt to do it from the perspective of the other side. Carrying out an empathetic analysis will help you understand your adversary’s interests. Then you will be better equipped to negotiate an agreement that will be acceptable to both of you.

There are a few other points to remember about identifying interests. First, you must realize that each side will probably have multiple interests it is trying to satisfy. Not only will a single person have multiple interests, but if you are negotiating with a group, you must remember that each individual in the group may have differing interests. Also important is the fact that the most powerful interests are basic human needs – security, economic well being, a sense of belonging, recognition, and control over one’s life. If you can take care of the basic needs of both sides, then agreement will be easier. You should make a list of each side’s interests as they become apparent. This way you will be able to remember them and also to evaluate their relative importance.

The Art of Negotiation – Positional Bargaining

February 27th, 2012 § 4 comments § permalink

What is it, this negotiation?

What is at stake some may ask. Basically everything, we negotiate every day, knowingly or not. Be it about the added sugar in your coffee, whether you can borrow a Euro from your friends, or if someone can lend you a pen. Negotiation encompasses all of that. Additionally, negotiation can act as a form of conflict resolution; it can involve striking deals, working things out with one or more parties. Negotiation is an integral part of everyday life. Negotiation occurs in business, non-profit organizations, and government branches, legal proceedings, among nations and in personal situations such as marriage, divorce and parenting.

In its basic form negotiation has two distinct strategies, these being the advocate’s approach and the win-win negotiators approach. From these then we have additional strategies. One One strategy is interest-based (or integrative, or cooperative) bargaining, while the other is positional (or distributive or competitive) bargaining.

The advocate’s approach, the win – lose.
A “successful” negotiation in the advocacy approach is when the negotiator is able to obtain all or most of the outcomes their party desires, but without driving the other party to permanently break off negotiations.

The win – win approach.
Suggests that agreement often can be reached if parties look not at their stated positions but rather at their underlying interests and requirements.

A Deeper Look at the advocate’s approach or positional bargaining

Positional bargaining is a negotiation strategy that involves holding on to a fixed idea, or position, of what you want and arguing for it and it alone, regardless of any underlying interests. The classic example of positional bargaining is the haggling that takes place between proprietor and customer over the price of an item. The customer has a maximum amount she will pay and the proprietor will only sell something over a certain minimum amount. Each side starts with an extreme position, which in this case is a monetary value, and proceed from there to negotiate and make concessions. Eventually a compromise may be reached. For example, a man offers a vendor at the flea market $10 for a rug he has for sale. The vendor asks for $30, so the customer offers $15. The merchant then says he will accept $25, but the customer says the highest he will go is $20. The vendor agrees that $20 is acceptable and the sale is made at $20. So the customer pays $10 more than he originally wanted and the vendor receives $10 less.

Why is Positional Bargaining Important?

Positional bargaining tends to be the first strategy people adopt when entering a negotiation. This is often problematic, because as the negotiation advances, the negotiators become more and more committed to their positions, continually restating and defending them. A strong commitment to defending a position usually leads to a lack of attention to both parties’ underlying interests. Therefore, any agreement that is reached will probably reflect a mechanical splitting of the difference between final positions rather than a solution carefully crafted to meet the legitimate interests of the parties.

Therefore, positional bargaining is often considered a less constructive and less efficient strategy for negotiation than integrative negotiation.  Positional bargaining is less likely to result in a win-win outcome and may also result in bad feelings between the parties, possibly arising out of the adversarial, “you vs. me” approach or simply a result of one side not being truly satisfied with their end of the outcome. Positional bargaining is inefficient in terms of the number of decisions that must be made. The example above demonstrates the back-and-forth nature of positional bargaining. The more extreme the opening positions are, the longer it will take to reach a compromise.

Can Positional Bargaining Be Good?

Despite criticism of positional bargaining, supporters of this negotiation strategy do exist.

It has been argued that consideration of all underlying interests in a negotiation process is unnecessary. In fact it may sometimes be counterproductive. This is because of the distinction and relationship between issues and interests. Issues are universal; they are shared between each party in a conflict. Interests, on the other hand, are specific to each party: what the buyer of the rug in the market wants is a bargain, what the seller wants is profit. This relationship is quite simple. The problem arises when the issue at hand stirs up dramatically opposing interests between the parties, a situation in which it would be very difficult to bring them into agreement. If this is the case, it may sometimes be better to negotiate in terms of positions and go for a compromise.

For example, two nations are in a dispute over water rights. However, they also differ on many other issues, including trade, immigration, religion, and politics. Broadening the debate to include these underlying interests will only polarize the sides further. In this case it may be much easier to reach agreement if the two sides focus on the smaller issue of water, and set aside their other concerns. This involves negotiating in terms of positions. This may help the sides reach a compromise without creating any larger, interest-based conflicts. So, for issues that involve extremely conflicting underlying interests, it may be best to just focus on positions and aim for compromise.

Tomorrow we cover in detail interest based bargaining.

Stuff I think is Awesome – Life

February 25th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Once in a while you see a photo that so fundamentally captures the human spirit that is just makes you smile. To me this picture of a woman at what looks to be a confessional is laughing along with the priest, but I’ll let the photo tell its own story. It’s not my role here to interpret what it means to convey. I do however want to add that although it is a religious themed photo, and religion tends to be an incendiary topic whether just by showing something that is different, try not to look at this photo as that, religious. Look at it’s inherent humanity.

 

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