Strategic Fund Development: Building Profitable Relationships That Last, Third Edition

Commitment to Process

Have you ever asked a group of people, “Who likes process?” Some wave their hands enthusiastically. Some don’t. Actually, lots of people frown. But building strong organizations and nurturing relationships are all about process. Effective management and governance require process.

Process takes time. Process can be messy. Process involves more than one person, sometimes lots more than one person. And that means diverse opinions and conflicts and conflict management and … And all that is pretty stressful and tiresome.

C’est la vie. That’s life. Embrace process. Just take a look at Exhibit 3.3, a blog from Seth Godin.

Exhibit 3.3 The Reason Social Media Is So Difficult for Most Organizations

It’s a process, not an event.

Dating is a process. So is losing weight, being a public company, and building a brand.

On the other hand, putting up a trade show booth is an event. So are going public and having surgery.

Events are easier to manage, pay for, and get excited about. Processes build results for the long haul.

Source: Seth Godin’s blog on December 10, 2009. Read all of Seth’s blogs at www.sethgodin.com.

When you visit www.visualthesaurus.com and click on “process,” watch the web it weaves, connections like: outgrowth, work, work on, procedure, cognitive process, mental process, operation, unconscious process, cipher, manage, handle, deal, care.

I clicked on one of the connections and then these words came up: juggle, coordinate, come to grips, handle (and mishandle), ...