Delusional Altruism

7You Ask the Wrong Questions

Whether we realize it or not, our lives are ruled by questions. Asking ourselves a productive question sends us down a path of impact and joy. Asking ourselves a misguided question sends us down a bumpy road, limiting possibilities for us and for our organizations.

Philanthropists ask themselves the wrong questions all the time. Their questions restrict their thinking, tangle them in tactics, force them to make impossible choices, and increase their risk.

Before you can ask the right questions, however, you need to recognize the wrong ones so they can be avoided.

I primarily hear funders asking themselves three kinds of wrongheaded questions. As you read on, jot down any examples of times you fell into one of these traps. Doing so will help you identify simple changes you can make to ask the right questions and transform your giving.

Wrong Question #1: “How Do We Do It?”

In the introduction to this book, I told you that how you give is as important as how much you give or to which causes you give. Your “how,” then, is of paramount import.

Yet here I am telling you that the wrongest of wrong questions is the “how” question. What gives? Can understanding “how” be both critical and derailing?

The thing that makes this question dangerous is its timing. Used at the right time, it will transform your giving like nothing you've ever seen. Used at the wrong time, it will sink you.

Philanthropists ask “How?” too quickly. In particular, they ask “How?” before ...