Visitors [NOT] Welcome!

Welcome to our organization we won’t share much with you and you’ll have to dig for that much!

In an age of electronics and information why is information about business and nonprofit bottom lines so difficult to find?  The truth is a double-edged sword: first, we aren’t fully embracing transparency and second, not very many people are looking that hard.

Businesses and nonprofits struggling with transparency should understand that if you are doing things right, you don’t have anything to hide.  I completely understand that you want to make a huge profit…that’s your job!  The problem becomes when posting those huge profits come after significant layoffs and other questionable but accepted practices.  Maybe some stakeholders and shareholders would understand that “We only made a $7 million profit rather than an $8 million profit so that we could avoid a few thousand layoffs, encourage innovation, and build toward a strong future!”  After all, you get what you pay for, and cutting jobs equals paying less…therefore you get less.

The flip-side of this sword is that a lot of us just aren’t looking for it.  In an age of cat videos on YouTube, recorded TV shows and the “world at your fingertips” the amount of information and distraction is nearly limitless.  Research the information about your organization and see what you find.  Look up what that company that you spend your money at is doing and see if you like it.  If you don’t like what you find, let them know.  If they don’t listen, go somewhere else.  Empower yourself to make the difference you want to see in the world!

Key points:

-       Sacrifice short-term profits for long-term people investments, that way your people won’t leave at their first opportunity.

-       Spend time researching what the organizations and businesses you support are really doing with their profits.  If you don’t like it, let them know and if they don’t stop, go somewhere else.