Dither vs. Decide

You can either succumb to your pile of excuses, or you can act. There is no such thing as the "right" choice. Every decision you make has consequences. Do you want to experience success this year? The answer is simple. Every day, decide - and then move based on those decisions. You can manage the consequences. What you cannot manage is chaos.

Muscle Through vs. Ponder

The path of least resistance is rarely the best path. Gut instinct does not always produce the best choices. And the cheapest option is almost never the best option. Do you want a nonprofit that is built to last? Stop cutting corners, skipping steps, racing to the finish line, and smacking a rubber stamp on it. Excellence requires reflection.

Micromanage vs. Lead

Panic may get you out of bed in the morning, but it won't motivate your staff. They don't need micromanagement. They need you to set them up for success every day. The job isn't to make yourself indispensable by constantly looking over their shoulders and checking their work. The job is to train them so they learn, grow, and become wildly capable. That's leadership.

Pinch Pennies vs. Prosper

Squashing the dream looks like scrimping and saving, underfunding the marketing budget, and saying "there's no money" when anyone in the org asks for literally anything. How to fulfill the actual Mission of your nonprofit is to give up your personal mission to be frugal.

Sheree Allison merges the worlds of fundraising, marketing, and leadership combined with an entrepreneurial spirit to train and develop nonprofit leaders who are committed to building a world class organization. Check out her book “The Non Profit Book of Wisdom - One Executive Director Who Couldn’t Be Swayed” and her weekly column at www.shereeallison.com.