We Can Build An Orphanage

Just talked with www.WeCanBuildAnOrphanage.com.

Great TEAM! Martin, Jeanette, Gala; look forward to working with you. Look forward to partnering soon!

These people are the DEAL. They have a GREAT system on their site to really help the mission in the Jacmel area.

I see BIG things ahead of them.

Check them out: http://www.wecanbuildanorphanage.com

My biggest concern in all the Big Picture/planning stuff is the risk of growing too insensitive to the Holy Spirit. I still do not know how to bridge this.

Just saw a movie being shot @ Polk Museum!

Random $650 deposit to my account. :) tracking down source. Blessed in ANY economy.

AWESOME training yesterday! Thank you, everyone, & CrossFit gym. Pictures & updates soon on SuccessFit.net

Our First SuccessFit.net Training Event

[POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE, SUCCESSFIT.NET.]

On the day of our First Ever Training Event, we are excited beyond compare.

This is a small, relaxed event.
There is nothing outstanding going on.
There are not a lot of lights or cameras.
There are not powerpoint slides or microphones.

This is a simple event. But I sense that it is very important both for SuccessFit and for me personally.

For SuccessFit, this is nearly 2 years worth of development and countless hours of discussion to hammer out the proper language we want to use to serve you all with a quality, EFFECTIVE framework by which to create Life Success.

Some of you have traveled here from across the country and across the ocean. Some of you have moved here. But we all are moved to be here for relationships that can help us develop Commitment, Community andConsistency toward accomplishing our individual goals.

For me personally, my 5 year goal can be summarized by saying that I wish that 50% of my time is devoted to humanitarian work around the globe. The other 50% of my time I would greatly desire that I be Training, much like these events today. That could include Writing, Speaking, and Coaching (one-on-one or corporately).

I have spent many hours on a stage before, both in theater and in the church. I have spent much of the last 10 years speaking or training to some degree. This particular event is, for me, like taking my Fran time from 8+ minutes to under 6. It is taking what spotty consulting and training I have done and making it a more focused event. It resembles the 5 year dream much more than other training I have been doing in all of these past 10 years.

I say all of this because a) you are MY accountability Community as much as we are for you, so b) I hope you know me more so that you can hold me more personally accountable toward that dream, and c) so that you continue to know your value as Community to us and to yourselves.

So, I encourage you all. For those who are here today, I will let you slide on Studying and Planning because we will be learning together. THE REST OF YOU ARE NOT OFF THE HOOK! ;P Press in and press deep today! This thing is shaping up!

3 - 2 - 1 --- GO!!

Drucker on Nonprofits: Balance Decisions

"The Balance Decisions are what we need non-profit leaders for, whether they are paid or volunteer." - Peter Drucker

I have to admit, I have never been one to live what others would call a 'balanced' life.

I have always pushed my own envelope, taken a ton of risks (though they never really felt like risks), and been rash. That has led me around the world. It has led me to preach in a chicken coop in Kenya and been kidnapped in India. It has led me into working with multi-millionaires and being paid once for 2 years to study and educate myself.

The one thing I learned in all of that, though, is that I do not have to sacrifice opportunities like these were I to be a little more balanced.

And, working with non-profits (like I am with Community Partnership International, cpihaiti.com), I have realized a need to really take a look at how to bring in better balance.

Peter Drucker is quickly becoming the next great mind I plan on reading after. He points out in his work with non-profits several key "balance problems". Sadly, he does not offer much in the way of navigating the balance issue, but he certainly equips us better in that he makes us conscious of them.

Balance Problem:

Seeing the Big Picture vs. Being Involved with Detailed Operations

Possible Solution: Be involved in the details of your operation, but get a bigger picture by serving on other boards for oversight.

Concentrating Resources on One Goal vs. Diversification

Concentration gets maximum results but is risky in that you leave your "flank totally uncovered." Diversification stirs the imagination, but can lead to splintering.

Expecting Results Now vs. Long-term Planning

Its "easy" to deal with people who want results too soon. When you want your results this week, just say that you want them in two weeks. Drucker contends that those who err on Long-term planning are harder to counteract.

Opportunity vs. Risk

Ask:

Is the decision reversible?

And what kind of risk is it?

Will it kill us?

Now, as you can see, Drucker does not really offer too many immediate solutions. BUT, just being aware is a step.

And, this has already added significantly to what we are focusing on for Community Partnership International and our work in Haiti, as well as over-arching ideals for managing in general.

Just one small example is how we will be building our ground-level team of unpaid staff members. I know for certain that I have a tendency to stay focused on Big Picture, Take Risks, and Diversify too much.

That simply means that I will need to draw to me at least some representation of people that love Details and Operations, Take time with evaluating Opportunities, and can properly Concentrate Resources.

If you haven't yet, check out our Facebook Cause and join the team. Consider how you can be a part of what we are doing. Another concept taken from Drucker that we have desired for quite some time is that we not only want donors; we want people who would like to contribute their unique giftings, skills, and networks.

So, if anything we are doing piques your interest, contact us! www.cpihaiti.org.

Peter Drucker on Nonprofit Organizations

I recently picked up Peter Drucker's 'Managing the Nonprofit Organization.' Halfway through the introduction, I knew that this book would be life changing. I would like to share several excerpts, as it is directly affecting what I am doing with our work in Haiti (cpihaiti.org, under construction still.)

Below are some selected sections from this powerful book:

"Business supplies, either goods or services. Government controls. A business has discharged its task when the customer buys the product, pays for it, and is satisfied with it. Government has discharged its function when its policies are effective. 

"The 'non-profit' institution neither supplies goods or services nor controls. It's 'product' is neither a pair of shoes nor an effective regulation. Its product is a changed human being. The non-profit institutions are human-change agents. Their 'product' is a cured patient, a child that learns, a young man or woman grown inot a self-respecting adult; a changed human life altogether."

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"We can no longer hope to get money from 'donors'; they have to become 'contributors'...It is much more than getting extra money to do vital work. 

"Giving is necessary above all so that the non-profits can discharge the one mission they all have in common: to satisfy the need of the American people for self-realization, for living out our ideals, our beliefs, our best opinion of ourselves."

USF Student Writes About Our Work in Haiti

Here is an article from friend of our work in Haiti with CPI and a USF student, Krysta Bustin.

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About 6 months ago, while working a Sunday night shift at Starbucks, a familiar customer approached me at the cash register to place his order. However, before he even said it—Doppio Espresso—I knew what he would order. I knew his drink, but I didn’t know his name, so I asked. After briefly introducing ourselves, he asked me about the significance of a necklace I was wearing— the same necklace I wear everyday—a skydiving parachute pin which is a small tribute to a sport I love and an expression of gratitude for surviving a near death experience in the sport the year prior. 

We started swapping stories until eventually we were interrupted by more customers wanting to place their orders. From that day on we have been good friends. Our common drive for adventure, pursuit of better health and elite fitness, love of people and community, and passion for travel and humanitarian aid has forged a meaningful friendship.

Grant Nieddu, a self-proclaimed philanthropist, small business owner, college dropout, world traveler, and motivational guru, has an extraordinary gift for networking and inspiring people. That has lead him several years ago to met a man by the name of Jonathan, a Haitian native who at the time was partnering with aid organizations and running numerous missions centers and orphanages throughout his home country, with over 80 other leaders located throughout the country helping him. 

Piqued with curiosity,..more.

Also, visit our sites.

FaceBook Cause: www.causes.com/cpihaiti

Site (coming soon): www.cpihaiti.org

Great Haiti Article on Agriculture

Here is a different perspective:

http://mattandestherinhaiti.blogspot.com/2009/02/teaching-haitians-learning-from.html