You want to drive innovation throughout your
nonprofit, but you don’t think you have the time or money to try new
things. You would benefit from learning
about the “Lean Startup” method – which is the current model that businesses
use to develop new products and entrepreneurs use to start new companies.
Here are some of the key ideas of Lean Startup that
apply to nonprofits:
*Experiment.
You don’t have to have everything figured out at the beginning to try
out a new program/service. Use an
experimental mindset.
*Develop a Minimal Viable Product/Program. This is a scaled down version of the program
that you want to run, but it is robust enough to make the impact that you
intend. If it works as an MVP then you
can scale it for more impact.
*Listen and Learn.
Use the MVP with small selected groups of people and be open to feedback
from them. Measure your results.
*Pivot. Be
prepared to take the feedback and make continual changes until you get it right
– until the program is making the impact you really want.
Example. Imagine you have a brilliant idea for a new
program to provide to those you serve in your community. But you know it is going to cost a lot of
money to scale up and hire the staff you need to serve everyone.
What to do?
Try a Lean Startup! Develop the program idea to a point that it is a
Minimum Viable Program – it is robust enough to make an impact.
Then use some of your current staff to try it out
on a smaller subset of people you serve. Treat it as an experiment you can
learn from. Make improvements as you listen
and learn.
Once you have made changes based on the feedback
and you are ready to scale it, you can take the results of what you learned to
funders.
Use the Lean Startup approach to try new
programs/services, see what works, and expand your Mission Impact.
For more ideas on how you can lead
breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog and check out my web site
at www.SheehanNonprofitConsulting.com
You will find free resources you can download, including a Breakthrough
Strategy Workbook that you can download at no cost. You can also check out my book, Mission
Impact: Breakthrough Strategies for
Nonprofits, and buy it if you are interested.
And you can follow Sheehan Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.
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