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E-mail DanDon't Be Afraid to Lose Control
September 9th, 2009 - by Dan AllenbyWhen my daughter was born, I couldn’t wait to tell the world.
I knew that my siblings would be looking out for an e-mail, that my parents would be waiting by their phone, and that my friends would be expecting a text message. I faced a complicated marketing mix and an audience that was nearly impossible to prioritize. But my biggest challenge was I that insisted on being the messenger.
First, I e-mailed my brother from my mobile phone. Then, while I fumbled to send more messages at the expense of not spending time with my new baby, I received a surprising influx of congratulatory messages from people who I hadn’t yet been able to contact. My brother, it turns out, had immediately posted the news on Facebook. It only took minutes for it to be viewed by dozens of people who shared networks with my brother and me. I felt frustrated. Not because of outcome, but because I wasn’t in control.
Fundraisers have a tremendous chance to use networks through social media to spread good news about their organization. Unfortunately, the need for control can compromise this opportunity by wasting important time and resources.
Give up some control and you may find you have more time to do the really important things.
Great post, Dan – all so true. My wife and I set a policy years ago that we would NEVER post any photos of our kids on the internet – and have abided by it. We’ve experienced something similar to your loss of control however when friends and family who were unaware of our policy have posted pictures of our kids – only to be reprimanded and asked to remove them.
As a business founder and owner, I have experienced this fear of losing/giving up control many times. I learned (the hard way) that delegating and leaving decisions and tasks up to your colleagues and employees can not only relieve stress, but can be a learning experience and even inspirational!
Reading this also reminded me of one of my favorite stories, which has to do more with being too in control of always doing what you–and perhaps your superiors– feel is the “right” thing when it comes to fundraising and marketing. So few fundraisers and marketers are okay with stepping outside this zone, to take even small risks with their mail, phone, and other campaign strategies. But, they are often unhappy with the results of these ’safe’ strategies. The story is entitled “The Black Door” and was written back in 1937 by Cleve Adams. It touches on the fact that we often so fiercely ‘cling to the familiar.’ Read it here – and I hope you’ll be glad you did!… http://tinyurl.com/l246e8
What a great story about the ’surrender’ of control in utilizing social media. I enjoyed ‘listening’ to it. Great job.