Revenues For The Non Profit

Revenues Are Belonging To The Team. What to focues on when revenues are not a good metric for your business.

Just like the marines who don’t care how important taking that hill is, we need to take pride in our team and do what we do for our teammate who is in this with us. That is were the military gets its dedication from. If the four year seaman, E3, opts for a reenlistment, he is saying “yes I want to be part of this team.” It is not the EOD/BUDS training that make a seal dedicated to his shipmate, it is the fact he doesn’t want to let his mate down that makes him push further than humanly possible. The Marine will “take that hill” just because he will not fail his mate who is next to him.

Government work is just like military service. We are paid pittance and expected to deliver the world on a silver plater. To most people that seems crazy. Why would anyone come in on a holiday to check the temperature of a pool. Why would anyone work for below market rates while at a journeyman level. They will tell you it is job security. That they are tired of the rat race. They are lying. They do it for one reason an one reason alone. They do it for the same reason, regardless of who they are or what they hold dear to their heart. They do it to belong. They do it to be part of something that matters. To be part of a team that cares more about the well being of each other than revenues. They do it because it is the right thing to do.

There is another analogy that I can use. Baseball. It always comes back to baseball, because baseball is life, in an measurable trackable and statistic rich format. The baseball team doesn’t have direct influence on the ticket sales. A loosing Cubs team can still put butts in the seats and the marketing team can still sell this years uniform shirts in the local fan shop. The team has to preform the best they can with the teammates they are given. Not to make revenues but to make the public believe they are a team that they can get behind and support.

One other comparison I like to use is high school. Another observable level of the thing we call life. Kids gather into groups that make them feel welcome and comfortable. Not everyone is a Jock, Preppie, or Skater, but once they find likeminded kids that they feel like they can relate to, a click is formed. They will defend each other from outsiders, if for no other reason but to defend the group.

Your teammate next to you is reason enough to do what ever it takes. Those who don’t agree, will move themselves on to other ventures. Just like the young man who decides that military life is not for him, the government service employee will find employment elsewhere. It may take longer for the under-performer to move on because there is not a service contract that prompts them to make a decision. In the private sector there is pressure to preform or move on quickly. In government the prevailing culture will force those who are uncomfortable to move on, but it takes time. So hang in there and know that those you work with are rooting for you.