I’ve made yogurt a couple of times a week for the last two years, and quickly reached the conclusion that it’s not rocket science.**
I use powdered milk (much easier in Jakarta), get the temperature of the water roughly right, put both it into the (unwashed) container that held the old yogurt, put that in an insulated box and pow, seven hours later you’ve got yogurt.
Near perfect results with minimal variation. Twice weekly, every week, for two years. It’s Easy, yo.
Except this week.
Now it’s the rainy season. It’s raining in a way that it hasn’t done for a couple of years, and suddenly it’s cool at night (well, 27 degrees instead of 31), and I’ve discovered that the last hundred or so good results have had more to do with me happening to live at an ideal temperature for making yogurt than my expertise.*** What worked effortlessly before, and produced good results, suddenly just produces sour milk, or curds and whey.
The context – which I’d never really even noticed – has changed, and if I still want yogurt, I’m going to need to do things differently.
Goldilocks
In the same way, the success of our organisations (impact, culture) is always to some extent dependent on factors that are beyond our control. This is simply how life works – and responding to these conditions is part of what will make us successful.
The danger comes when we forget that there is a context, and that it can change. We fail to realise that we’re living in a Goldilocks moment****, and base our (charitable) business models on assumptions that will no longer work for us when conditions (including our users) change.
We need to keep an eye on the future, and do our best to understand what’s changing and why, and respond accordingly.
Just as importantly, we need to base our models on things that change more slowly, or not at all. Fundamentals like staying focused on a clear vision and deeper goals, integrity, an attitude of service and investing in people, showing up and getting things done, communicating well, having a good handle on the money, and even being prepared to close things down when the time comes.
It’s also worth spending time thinking about the ecosystem that you’re part of, and how you can build assets that you can control that will create the factors you need to succeed. At the centre of your assets will be a history of excellent work that helps others to flourish, founded on relationships of trust and affection. These assets will stand you in good stead when Goldilocks moves on.
** I mean, how much did people know about rockets when they started making yogurt?
*** It’s still pretty easy, just not effortless
**** the current burst of interest in and funding for literacy education in Indonesia might be an example of this