Distraction vs. Opportunity
how to know the difference
Have you ever heard the phrase: “Just because we can doesn’t mean we should?”
It holds true for business too. You can offer a lot of different services, build countless features, and launch whatever program you or your donors want—there’s nothing stopping you but your imagination.
And cost.
When you take on something that’s outside your area of expertise, it can actually cost you because you don’t have the skills, tools, or perspective required to deliver it.
The same is true when you pursue something that isn’t aligned with your purpose. Most commonly known as mission drift, I tend to see these detours originate in a few different places:
We’re bouncing from trend to trend in the name of staying ahead of the curve
We had a donor or board member decide it was a good idea simply because they liked it
It’s a good thing to do so we should do it
We could make some fast money if we do this thing right now
All of these come from a place of short-termism and don’t keep the company focused on the value it delivers to the humans it serves.
As a result, you end up investing your team’s time in a distraction rather than an opportunity. And we’ve all been there, putting extra hours into a project when we didn’t understand the point.
Does this mean you can never explore new ideas? Goodness no. You should always review, iterate, and innovate to improve the value you deliver—which may be by expanding your mission—but that starts by listening to the people you serve and making the case for alignment.
The best way to boil this down is to say, “Does this opportunity fit into our mission and advance our purpose? Or does this activity distract from it?”
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