Success without succession is a failure
I recently read the document that Acumen Fund released entitled “10 Things We’ve Learned About Tackling Global Poverty,” and the one thing that really struck me to be very important was Lesson #4:
We won’t succeed in the long term without cultivating local leaders, local money, and strong local communities.
The biggest challenge that any organization faces is sustainability. And for me (esp. for the nonprofit world), what particularly drive sustainability are three things: leadership, resources, and community involvement. Leadership not only provides the direction but also the inspiration so that members and volunteers can deliver on goals, objectives and can raise enough funds and resources to get things done.
Leadership is also about reproduction of future leaders and this is where most organizations fail – for me, the real test of sustainability is when organizations are able to attract potential leaders who can take on future challenges and also when they are able to cultivate local leaders.
In our example, a bulk of our fundraising comes from Manila, which is miles away from Zamboanga and Masbate so it is very important that there are local teams in these areas as well who can raise enough resources on their own.
Lastly, when we were starting out at the last part of 2010 and early part of 2011, Anton Lim, our Chief Dreamer, introduced the concept of sweat equity in Layag-Layag wherein he made sure that the local community we are about to help and support will also do their share in the project. He talked to our key partners and the community leaders on the ground that the boat (and any other future boats) needs to be maintained by the community as a whole.
We also made sure that they begin helping themselves by bringing in experts who can help them improve their livelihood, access to government agencies who can help them in their healthcare needs and their access to social services, and also volunteers from other organizations who can teach them about how to clean and take care of the environment and other basic stuff.
What this lesson didn’t mention though is the important presence of both passion and patience in an organization’s leaders and members. Passion is the difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.
To end, I agree with known venture capital guru, Randy Komisar that “only passion will get you through the tough times. It’s the romance, not the finance that makes business worth pursuing.”
And so for the rest of 2012, I wish that you find your passion in life and remember sharing success creates more of it.