Our fundraising office has failed to grow revenue for years. There appears to be a dedication to remaining unremarkable.
The following problems are well known within the company, discussed every day by employees, and are not addressed by leadership at all. This is demoralizing:
- The marketing department (called Mobilization) is run by a homegrown 25+ year employee who is not a marketer. As a result, the direct marketing approach the company has taken for, well, 25+ years hasn't changed with the times. This person is simply not equipped to lead a change.
- A system of SMART goals perpetuates silos and inefficiency with people working at cross-purposes.
- The culture is also a thing of the past, hierarchical and overly deferential on the basis of rank, even when leadership is lost or incompetent.
- There is little to no career path for bright young stars, so they leave. This perpetuates mediocrity. Underperforming, or "pretty good" employees are rewarded for playing the game. They can stay as long as they like.
The following problems are not recognized by management and therefore are not addressed by leadership either. Also demoralizing:
- They are a big part of the problem.
- Forays into new marketing practices or new markets are withdrawn too quickly if initially unsuccessful. Fear is at the heart of this.
- The brand is stuck in the way back machine, and the stewards of the brand are tired. Any true creativity was sucked out of them long ago.
