With the advent of our modern day web 2.0 world of blogs, social media, and constant updates, there seems to be a lot of place for criticism with little advice on action. It’s just easy – point out a problem that people should be aware of. But what about making changes? What steps are necessary to actually improve the situation versus bringing awareness to it?
Take for example a recent article from Forbes, Think Like a Startup. It makes an excellent point – that smaller, forward thinking companies are out gaining larger, bureaucratized organizations and beating them by being more innovative. But as someone who has worked for large organizations, simply issuing a statement to think with more curiosity, or to disregard the status quo, isn’t enough. There are systematic reasons why large organizations move slowly – not just a mindset.
Recognizing issues is the first step to solving problems, but rarely do authors, writers, bloggers take the next step and continue to address the problems that they initially posited. The immediacy of the online space can make these issues seem fleeting, but if people keep addressing the same issues without any resolutions, no progress is being made.
So what does this have to do with social change, and more directly, Social Change Consulting? Put simply, if we address an issue, we want to make sure it continues to be focused on over time. We want to help make the changes necessary to improving the issues that smaller nonprofits face everyday in the online space. We want to drive action, not just address issues.
To be trite, and a touch hypocritical, talk is cheap. Act. Do. Change. Start over, move on. Stop talking. Start doing. And follow-through.
Justin (he, him) is a Principal and Co-Founder of Social Change Consulting. He has over fifteen years of nonprofit experience, with expertise in online fundraising, digital communications, and data management. Justin helps organizations connect their communication strategy to their income development needs. When he’s not on the clock, Justin is exploring Berlin, running, listening to too many podcasts, and drinking too much coffee.