I’ve been doing a lot of work for nonprofits lately. It’s grant-writing time, and I’ve had my share of success in writing winning proposals. So, a lot folk are calling.

All too often nonprofit folk think that grant funding – in whatever form – will be a savior for flagging budgets and reduced personal giving. And, just as often, these folk are disappointed when they find that grant funding isn’t so easy to acquire.

The problem I see most is that most organizations don’t have a plan for the future. In the private sector we’d call this a business plan. In nonprofit terms it’s called a Sustainability Plan.

In the last month I’ve counseled a number of organizations in developing sustainability plans for their organizations. At first it seemed overwhelming to them. But, in a short time, they understood my simple format.

My planning framework is really easy to follow. It’s the answers that take some thought. Here’s what I ask:

1. What do you want? Is what you want measurable and specific?

2. Why do you want it? Is what you want congruent with your mission?

3. Who will you help? Who will you serve? Who will benefit?

4. What is your market? Who will give to you? Who will align with your values?

5. Who will help you get what you want? Board members? Volunteers? Staff? Outside professionals?

6.  Where will this happen? Geographic location? Do you have the infrastructure to make what you want happen?

7. How will you get what you want? Donations? Planned gifts? Grants? Fee for service? What are your strategies?

8. Who will do the work?

9. When will the work be done? What are your deadlines? What outcomes do you hope to achieve?

10. How will the work be measured?

It’s pretty simple and straightforward. The hard part is forming answers that make sense, are realistic and are achievable.  What’s amazing to me is the degree of creativity my clients have employed in answering these questions. and, the more creative they are, the better their results have been.

Nonprofit sustainability isn’t hard, especially when there’s a solid plan in place.

As a copywriter I’m interested in most things related to business. Nothing fascinates me more than sales.

Having been in a number of sales organizations, I’ve seen my share of great salespeople, and more than my share of those who needed to find something else to do. One of the chief characteristics that the great ones have is the ability to talk plainly.

An article in Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Caffeine newsletter reminded me of this. In the article, “Plain Talk Makes Sales. Fancy Talk Makes You Sound Lame”, he promotes a book by Dianna Booher, The Voice of Authority. The essential message of the book is to “86″ all of the jargon, business-speak and cliches, and favor a style that’s authentic, original and specific.

This is good advice for anyone who’s interested in utilizing their creative abilities, regardless of their vocation. It’s especially true for us “creative-types”.

Being creative is hard enough. We make our job far more difficult by complicating our language. My 12th grade English teacher called this malady “Straight-A Illiteracy”. It’s saying a lot of smart-sounding words that no one can understand.

And this produces a creative fog.

Cut through the fog. Speak originally. Speak authentically.

My daughter received her first taste of the working world last night. Unfortunately, it left a bad taste.

16 years old, ready to make a good impression, trying out her first job. A local restaurant called her back to fill in their vacant hostess position. She put on her nicest dress, fixed her long strawberry blonde hair just right, and walked in confident, excited, and little bit nervous. She had the impression she would shadow someone this night, learn the ropes.

But, when she showed up, the owner (who wasn’t the one who’d hired her – in fact, didn’t even know her name) simply asked, “You the new hostess?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Follow me.”

He quickly gave her a tour of the small restaurant and outlined her responsibilities. He gave her a cursory lesson in how to work the register and where the salad plates were located. Her role was to meet and seat customers, take their drink orders, prepare and deliver salads, deliver their check and accept payment, run the register, then bus the table.

Remember, this is her first job, ever. This is her first night. She’s had no training. And the owner says, “It’s all yours.” She’s completely in charge of the front of the house!

My daughter is very smart and she adapts quickly. Through the fire she learned. In recounting her tale, she explained that she got “in the weeds” several times, but held tight. And held back tears on a few occasions. A number of times during the night the owner also reprimanded her, with a mirthless smile. “You’ve been doing this all night…you should know how it’s done by now,” was a common theme.

Upon picking her up she simply said, “That sucked!” And I heard her story. And her assessment was dead-on: The owner was a jerk and had no business running a restaurant. She called in to quit today, with my blessings. No one should accept that kind of abuse.

No matter how large or small the business, employees, whether first-timers or old pros, need to be trained. They also need to be treated with respect. Despite the rampant unemployment that’s hit our country, no job is worth being mis-treated.

Employers are in a tough spot. They need people who can do their jobs now more than ever. Reliance upon their people is what will empower survival and success. However, employers who act like this one are self destructive. Unfortunately, the owners of many small businesses are just like this guy. and they wonder why they consistently need to replace people. They wonder why customers abandon them.

Leaders, don’t be like this guy. train your people. Invest time in them. Like my daughter, people just want to work. They want to do a good job. Give them the tools, time and empowerment to do the job you want them to do.

Spent this evening watching a Michael Jackson retrospective. I’m left feeling awe, delight in his brilliance, and an emptyness. The world is incomplete without him.

Forgive the weirdness. Remember the artistry.

Billie Jean may well be the single greatest pop song ever recorded. And Thriller the best commercial video/short film ever produced.

Both, within the context of the time they were made, were transcendent. They moved the culture of music forward and truly marked the merger of artistic media. Jackson was a genius. And that’s how I’ll remember him.

In the same vein as Elvis and Jimi, Michael’s artistic purpose may have faded into legend. Watching his videos and performance footage, I was reminded of how truly unique he was. There’s a reason he sold 750 million albums and influenced hundreds of artists during the past three decades. Just as Elvis gave rise to blues-infused rock and roll that’s still going strong, and Hendrix took rock guitar to cosmic heights, Michael had the same effect in truly becoming the first post-racial mega-star. What these guys did will never be duplicated.

And, what’s really interesting to me is that none of these brilliant men would have succeeded had it not been for Son House, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker. Original Delta bluesmen who’s legacy still lives on. And their influence can be heard – and felt – in every song produced by Elvis, Jimi and Michael.

And just as with the great bluesmen that came before him, including Elvis and Jimi, Michael’s train pulled into the station, and he climbed aboard, leaving us wanting more.

Someday that train will come for each of us. While we may never leave the culture-changing legacy that Michael left, let’s hope we all leave our tribe wanting more of us.

Thanks Michael.

I’ve been blessed.

During this economic crisis, my business has actually grown. My clients are fabulous, every one of them. They’ve referred me to their colleagues and…here we are.

But, it’s gone very, very fast. And I’ve found myself in the weeds a number of times. Being a solo-pro (with some home-grown editorial support), there is only so much I can handle. So, I’ve found myself in a peculiar position. I need to hire.

Not employees. Lord, no. But qualified, craft-minded freelancers with whom I can develop a relationship.

I’ve done this at a corporate level, but never at this level. That is, it’s my reputation and standards on the line.

How do I go about finding the right writers to come aboard? I know how clients find me (a writer)…but it seems different now that the shoe is on my foot.

Any suggestions?

Dear Mr. Trump,

As Executive Producer for the Miss USA pageant, you have a problem.

As no doubt all have heard by now, the contest was down to Miss California and Miss North Carolina.  During a Q & A period, the judges asked the contestants questions pertaining to current affairs and issues of the day. Judge Perez Hilton asked Miss California, Carrie Prejean, her opinion on gay marriage. Miss Prejean answered honestly according to her belief system that she thought marriage should only be between a man and a woman.  She lost.

Miss Prejean attributes her loss to the answer she gave. Though honest, it evidently wasn’t popular with the judges. While it’s certainly possible that Miss North Carolina would have been crowned anyway, it is a sad state that integrity and character were penalized by the judges in your pageant, Mr. Trump.

Rather than give a middle-of-the-road milquetoast politically correct answer, Miss Prejean’s response was clear and direct and filled with conviction. But, in a contest like this, the question shouldn’t be about one’s political or religious convictions, should it? Regardless of their answers, contestants should be evaluated on the conviction of their answer.

But, that’s just part one of your problem, Sir. Part two came later, after Miss Prejean suggested she lost because she gave the answer she gave. Mr. Hilton shot back at her in his blog and in media interviews that her view didn’t jibe with the rest of America, that she shouldn’t insert her religious or political views into her answer, that Miss USA had to represent all of America, and, in the end, that Miss California was a stupid b****. Wow. Talk about impartiality.

And, based upon Mr. Hilton’s response, no contestant with integrity or character could ever meet that standard. First, he said that Miss USA must represent not only Christians, but Muslims, Jews and Atheists as well.  Um, were there any Muslims as contestants? In a pluralistic society all anyone can do is demonstrate respect for one another’s beliefs. Miss Prejean offered a “no offense, but this is what I believe…” She answered a specific question with a specific answer. If anyone is demonstrating a lack of respect in this case it is Mr. Hilton (especially when he calls her a “stupid b****”, of which she is neither). and, unfortunately for Mr. Hilton, most of America does agree with Miss Prejean’s view. This isn’t a judgment on whether her view is right or wrong, the statistics show that Mr. Hilton is off-base here, and judged her based on a faulty premise.

What is disturbing about this, Mr. Trump, is that you stand clearly for effective leadership. Miss Prejean demonstrated all of the qualities of a great leader when she answered Mr. Hilton’s question. She was honest, direct and yet respectful. She stood firmly on her convictions. And that’s the criteria she should have been judged by. Whether she believes in gay marriage or not is irrelevant. Her character is what was relevant. What made her answer even more impressive is that, in being faithful to her conviction and giving the answer she gave, she knew she would lose. That is character. Instead of being called a stupid b**** by one of your judges, she should be applauded for her courage of conviction.

That’s leadership. And this kind of leadership is important today because there is such a lack of it. So, Mr. Trump, the problem as I see it is that Mr. Hilton, as a judge for your pageant, demonstrated a severe lack of discernment, character, impartiality and leadership. And this reflects on you. Is this how you want the Miss USA Pageant branded? A contest in which integrity and character are penalized?

Is this what you stand for? I don’t think so.

After the carnage of April 15, I’ve had a chance to lick my financial wounds and reflect on the Tea Party event that swept through the nation on that day.

This blog isn’t meant to be political. It’s about marketing and communicating. But, something significant happened on April 15, and the response to it has been very strange to me.

I should state at the outset that I definitely lean to the right in my politics as an Independent. But, I try to see every side of the issues. As a marketer, I must see every side because you never know what could be missed that might make a huge difference.

The Tea Parties that took place were unusual. Though there were people of every stripe, creed and political leaning in the crowds, most were conservative-leaning, and it seems all were very anti-Big Government. What ‘s unusual is that people on the right don’t protest like this.

Group protest has largely been a tactic of the left for the past 40 years. So, I found it really interesting that people who don’t normally attend such events were very present. In fact, estimates I’ve seen suggest that over 300,000 participated in these rallies. And, their message was pretty clear: we can’t continue to mortgage our children’s future…people don’t like the economic direction this congress is taking us…and government has become way too big and intrusive.

And yet, the left has completely minimized this protest.

Wow…are these people that near-sighted? That arrogant? Literally, that foolish? First, people who never protest are protesting publicly. If 300,000 people showed up at these events, that tells me there are millions who feel just like them. And these people vote.

Second, this protest was nationwide, yet happened at a local level. It wasn’t a well oiled and organized effort to march on D.C. This protest happened in big cities and little towns. Unlike Nancy Pelosi, who said this was an "astroturf" protest (organized and orchestrated by a big organization), I think this was very grassroots. A lot of folk on the left say it was a construct of Fox News. But, from where I sit, Fox simply saw the writing on the wall and covered it. Granted, Fox has more conservative commentators than other news organizations, but they simply balance the absolute bias outfits like NBC News has in its unvarnished support for all things Obama. It’s a wash.

Finally, virtually every liberal commentator I’ve heard has completely minimized the protest. Calling it and the people involved everything from anti-Obama racists to redneck tea baggers, they belittle the protesters at their own peril. Especially those in Congress.

If I were a Congressman, Republican or Democrat, who supported the bailouts and the President’s budget, I’d be very nervous. I’d be especially nervous if the protests planned for July 4th come off as big or bigger than those of April 15. Because it’s no longer an event, it’s a movement. And movements cause Congressmen to lose their jobs. Think Contract with America.

As a marketer, I’d advise every Congressman to pay attention and take seriously this protest. When people who normally don’t react outwardly take to the streets, there’s something going on. And it’s real. When people get so stuck in their ideology that they become blind to an oncoming storm, they’re going to not only get wet, but blown away in the winds of change.

Minimizing competition or opposing points of view is never a smart strategy. Becoming bloated with power or position is a dangerous position to take.

Times are tough for a lot of people. Seems like everyday businesses large and small are folding up their tents. People are holding tight to their jobs and their money.

Regardless of the field,  every nonprofit is a charity and, as such, relies on donations and other forms of giving in addition to any fee-for-service contracts they may have. Unfortunately, as business and government markets contract, fee-for-service contracts are being reduced, even eliminated. And, with people holding tighter to their money, donations are being squeezed.

So, what’s a nonprofit to do?

Just as in the private sector, now is a “wheat and chaff” time for nonprofits. That is, those with substance will survive and thrive. Those that don’t will be carried off on the wind.

What separates wheat from chaff?

First, operating like a business. Being concerned with cashflow, balance sheets, operating procedures, customer service and all things business.

Second, the board and staff must be strong. Competence in not only service delivery, but in understanding the principles of profit and loss are essential.

Finally, and perhaps most important of all, there must be an unassailable sustainability plan.

Sustainability plans to a nonprofit are equivalent to a marketing plan for a private business. In fact, it’s actually more comprehensive because it involves all aspects of operation, including what the board must do to ensure sustained levels of operation and performance.

Why are sustainability plans so important? First, it provides clarity to leadership, rank and file employees, board members, donors and the community served. It is a vision of not just how the operation will be sustained, but why and what it will look like now and in the future.

More and more funders are asking for sustainability plans when making investment decisions. So, the sustainability plan becomes a primary mechanism and tool to ignite funding streams. Without a solid plan, funders won’t even look at a proposal. From this perspective, the quality of the sustainability plan is a measure of the professionalism of the organization.

Finally, the sustainability plan is a road map. For every problem there is a solution, for every destination, there is a well defined route to take. Will there be detours? Of course. But the plan even details how to handle them.

So, what’s a nonprofit to do? Plan, and become stronger.

Time begins on opening day.

That’s what Thomas Boswell, the legendary baseball writer, said about the start of our beloved national pastime.

I couldn’t agree more because, let’s face it, we’ve had a dismal time since the baseball season ended.

Opening Day should be a national holiday. It’s a time when hope springs eternal, which is a hallmark of the American character. No matter how badly your team played last year, the slate is clean come the first Monday in April. No matter what the prognosticators have to say, the games will be played and a winner will be crowned six months later in late October/early November. From the 1969 Amazing Mets to the 2008 Tampa Rays, it’s a time for long-shots. It’s also a time for perennial powerhouses to re-ignite their engines. Before the first pitch is thrown, though, everyone is a winner.

Given the current climate, maybe what’s needed is a little wisdom from the diamond. First, and especially for those in business for themselves, maybe the economy exists not “out there”, but betwen the ears. It’s a matter of attitude. Fueled by enthusiam and optimism, maybe it’s wise to declare a mental Opening Day.

Second, just like the Japanese in the World Baseball Classic, maybe it’s time to get back to the basics. Instead of looking for the “next big thing”, let’s get back to the fundamentals of marketing and make our case. I hink sometimes we get so tech-addicted, looking for easy electronic solutions, we forget that business, especially marketing, is about people. As my friend and executive coach extrordinaire Kay Cannon says, “All business is personal.” So, let’s make business personal again, and focus on the real needs of customers and prospects.

Finally, like all 30 teams in Major League Baseball, let’s compete. But, let’s do so fairly and with integrity, being true to ourselves and to the principles of capitalism. While there certainly have been some egregious examples of malfeasance and greed, capitalism works. It draws out our best attributes and character, cultivates creativity and confidence, and makes us better as individuals and a nation. It makes the world better.

In baseball a guy throwing a 100 mph will never apologize for his good stuff. And so should we never apologize for being the most industrious, creative and progress-minded nation on earth.

So, let’s declare an Opening Day for a new attitude that gets back to what made our country great in the first place. Optimism. Hope. Innovation. Hard work. Freedom.

God, I love baseball.

A part of my existence is lived as a ghost.

Over the past four years or so I’ve quite accepted this life. In fact, it’s kind of fun.

As a copywriter and marketing strategist my role is to give flesh and blood to the dreams and ideas of others. I realize that not everyone can do this. In fact, at times I’ve struggled. After all, in order to focus on other people’s dreams, I’ve got to set aside my ego. If it isn’t, the results my clients expect won’t be realized.

Like anyone else, I’ve got an ego. I take pride in my work, and I like to be recognized for the fruit my work  produces. As a ghostwriter, though, there is really just an audience of one: the client.

This can be a challenge for many solo service professionals like me. Unlike those selling a product that can be sold to hundreds or thousands of people, we live one client at a time. When we add a new client, it’s a time of real celebration. Lose one, and there is grief.

So, as a professional ghost, my clients give form to my work and practice. They are the life energy giving flesh and blood to my dreams. And I’m extremely grateful for each of them.

One of the really cool parts of my job is that I have the opportunity to form relationships with each of my clients. In fact, while I completely respect the fact they’ve hired me to do specific things, I value the relationship more than anything else. As their writer, I get to know them, going below the surface, learning their values, their dreams, their art. This process is every bit as fulfilling for me, as their scribe, as it is for them when their dreams are fulfilled. From this perspective I love every one of my clients.

In this techno world, in which internet marketers are driven to produce thousands of anonymous hits on their website, never knowing the names of the people who find them, it is this ind of love that is lost. The great salesmen of old, people like Walter Hailey, Zig Ziglar and Mary Kay Ash, they understood the value of loving their customers. In their world service came before self. And, while they received ample compensation for their service, I’m certain that the love they generated was worth ten-times what was deposited into their bank accounts.

So, unlike the mass marketers who may have 2,000,000 people on their mailing list but know nothing about any of the people they sell to, I want to know the names of my clients. I want to know about their lives. I want them to know I value them enough to find their unique voice and deliver their message with integrity and truth. That’s what drives me.

And that’s my life as a ghostwriter. My treasures aren’t just in my bank accounts, but rest in the relationships I’ve come to enjoy with my clients.  And so, this post is meant as a thanksgiving for them because being a ghost has proven to be substantially fulfilling.