David at Harvard Bookstore

Consulting

You might be a nonprofit exploring a new initiative, like a revenue-generating operation meant to complement your service work. Your funding may have evaporated with the economic uncertainty — or with the unprecedented hostility — of our current social and political climate. You’re thinking of trying something new, right at a moment when you don’t have time for anything but day-to-day mission-critical operations. Launching a new project is expensive; doing nothing is even more expensive in the long term. I can help. I’ve been there before. We can come up with an exploratory roadmap that fits your project, your budget, your mission, and your culture. It’s just me, no team. And it’s just action, no fluff. Like a fractional COO for your project.

Examples of what it might look like:

1 Discovery and strategic positioning: This might include a review of your current performance, assets, and opportunities. Examining your long-terms goals, building a roadmap that is conscious of the context in which you operate. Refining your messaging for funders. Fundraising strategy is almost always downstream of this sort of discovery work.

2 Relationship strategy: Who’s on your side, and who’s in your space? Who might be interested in joining your coalition, and what would it take to entice them? We’ll want to identify the right people and institutions, then create an outreach and cultivation plan. After that, we’ll line up some early validation conversations.

3 Impact metrics and milestone design: Develop a short-term impact and outcomes framework, if you don’t already have one. Keep it simple. Have one goal. Measure the things that bring you closer to that goal. Set milestones that give us plenty of time to learn and pivot, based on where we’re landing. Assume that your first hypothesis isn’t perfect yet.

4 Launch planning and messaging: What would a pilot look like to launch a pilot that is *just* big enough to validate or dispel the assumptions that we’re making about this opportunity? How can we maximize learning while minimizing risk to the organization, and — this is the most important part — providing real value to the people who’ve invested their time in it?

5 Future visioning: Develop a multi-year roadmap, if possible, communicating to stakeholders a pathway to sustainability and outcomes. If it’s not yet possible to write a coherent, credible multi-year strategy, communiticate a more protracted exploratory process, outlining the work we have yet to perform to validate the model.

Not quite an "approach" but a style:

1I like to embed as much as possible as a member of the team for sprints, and understand the company holistically so that my observations can be grounded in your context rather than mine.

2I'm less about documentation, more about dialogue and rapid iteration. I approach this work from the perspective of a founder: I’d rather be in the pit with you than trying to conduct from a podium.

3I believe in maintaining the humility and the sense of urgency to understand that whatever we build in this moment is meant only for this moment. Let’s build for the inevitability of future change.

"David is unique – he’s sincere, straightforward, and relentlessly passionate about improving the world through equity and technology. He champions other leaders and knows when and how to make room for necessary growth and change."

Rachael Drew. Lead, Economic Prosperity, Global Programs. MIT Solve

"David has a genuine approach and deep understanding of building successful organizations. His authenticity and connection to community will help any group thrive!"

Dan Noyes. CEO, Tech Goes Home

Contact me at david@delmarsenties.com.