Rule #21 “You must track your results, review them thoroughly and act upon them thoughtfully.”

It might be too strong to say, “The very existence of your ministry, cause or organization is dependent upon you learning and living by this rule.” As fundraisers we have enough anxiety as it is. It feels like I often run around like a complete lunatic with what seems to be the world’s most important questions swirling through my brain. Well, I’ve found that, for me, ignoring this rule will cause more anxiety than following it. I admit a certain amount of neurosis when it comes to knowing the yield of my efforts. I’ve been known to stand in the accounting department anxiously awaiting the day’s donation tally (I can hear you laughing, but you’ve probably done it too). But there’s hope for the neurotic in all of us and sometimes it comes from unlikely places, like Ecclesiastes:

Who is like a wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,
And the sternness of his face is changed.
Ecclesiastes 8:1-3, NKJV

In a very real sense, we hold the health of our organizations in our minds, by what we measure and by what we do with what we learn. Perhaps even more important is what we choose to track or measure.