Addressing social issues is not easy. Not only are the causes complex and influenced by multiple factors, but lasting solutions require changing cultural norms and attitudes that are deeply entrenched – and oftentimes, deeply divisive.

As we continue to struggle around issues like racism, gender inequality, and gun violence, we are challenged to find ways to have productive conversations and find common ground. Here are five important lessons learned from the civil rights movement to keep in mind.

1. Practice humility.

“We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak.”   – Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s important to speak up for what we believe. It’s equally important to recognize that we are limited in our experience, knowledge, and understanding. When people challenge our world view or have a different opinion, we can’t just assume they are wrong or dismiss them. We should take the time to understand their perspective, try to understand the context that shaped how they see the issue.  It may not change your position on an issue, but it may provide helpful insight to better approach the issue or strengthen your case.

Developing that humility in today’s world is not easy. People are constantly striving for affirmation and attention, and access to information online provides the false sense of expertise. That’s why it takes practice. Here are Six Principles for Developing Humility published in Harvard Business Review that are a helpful place to start.

2. Be prepared.

“Tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”   – Malcolm X

No matter how strongly you feel about an issue, it is highly unlikely that you will be successful in creating change without some groundwork. Before you take action, do your research.

• Develop a deep understanding of the issue. Chances are there are complex causes and factors involved, even if it seems like a no brainer to you.
• Identify what’s currently being done to address the issue. Most likely there are others working toward similar goals that you can learn from, join, and support.
• Get everyone on the same page. Sustainable change will require coordinated efforts across different people/groups, so have a clear strategy for how to communicate about it to get your key points across most effectively and consistently.

3. Focus on issues and values rather than individuals.

“I would like to be remembered as someone who wanted to be free…so that other people would also be free.”   – Rosa Parks

Social issues tend to become very political issues. And when we bring politics into the debate, we often focus on individuals, whether they are politicians or leaders of movements. We focus on their policies, their actions, their rhetoric. Their individual strengths and weaknesses get tied into their stance on the issue. Focusing on an individual’s (or a party’s) stance on an issue can deepen the sense of division.

But social justice movements are bigger than individuals, they are about what we believe in and what we strive for. It’s more likely that you can find common ground about things people care about rather than how they feel about an individual. Focus on shared values and goals, rather than politics and politicians.  The Washington Post recently conducted interviews across the U.S. that revealed several beliefs that unite Americans despite current partisan divides.

4. Be civil and kind.

“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.” 

 – Maya Angelou

There is a lot of anger and fear in the world today. We have political leadership that uses hateful and demeaning rhetoric. And social media makes it easy to lash out in ways that we wouldn’t do in person, or in front of our families and colleagues. When faced with this environment, the gut reaction may be to volley back with the same, but that’s not productive.

Approach differences of opinion with compassion and understanding rather than contempt. Show those who are hateful kindness, so they are reminded of your humanity. Model the positive, so they might learn to change their behavior.  Here’s a great example of how reacting to an online attack with kindness led to positive change.

5. Don’t demonize the opposition.

“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.”   – Thurgood Marshall

Lastly, remember that we are all human. We may hold vastly different beliefs and behave in ways that hard to understand, much less forgive. However, holding grudges makes it hard to move toward a productive relationship. Whether we like it or not, we are in this together. We have to live and work together. We have to forgive so that we may move forward.

After 670 pages of critically analyzing scientific evidence from a range of disciplines, Sapolsky boils down his book, and thereby human behavior, into a single phrase: “It’s complicated”.

It’s complicated because biological, psychological, and cultural aspects of behavior are so intertwined that they can’t be distinguished. Although his book begins with the brain, Sapolsky shows us that this is not where behavior begins, but rather where the many factors that influence behavior converge to create behavior. His detailed analysis takes us from individual neurobiology to social systems, from fetal development to adulthood, and from evolutionary factors millions of years ago to current day.   

Humans act based on emotion and cognition, which work together to keep us functioning normally in our social world. Context and culture shape not only how we behave, but how our behavior is perceived and defined – whether moral or immoral, prosocial or antisocial, violent or protective.  And a different world can create a different worldview, which in turn can mean a different brain and different behavior.

While Sapolsky’s focus in this book is to unravel the complexity of human behavior, he also underscores why our work in the social sector is so important – and provides some insights into how we might approach social and behavior change. Here are three key takeaways.

1. Inequality hurts us all.

“In terms of its caustic, scarring impact on minds and bodies, nothing in the history of animals being crappy to one another about status differences comes within light-years of our invention of poverty.”

Research shows that societies with more income inequality have less social capital. People in these societies are less healthy, less likely to vote, less kind, and less likely to help each other. They experience more crime, violence, and bullying. Creating a more equitable society requires fostering a culture of cooperation, minimizing us vs. them dichotomies, and promoting shared rights and values.

We must find ways to demonstrate that an equitable society benefits everyone, and increase understanding of our shared humanity. Sapolsky provides some interesting examples of how facilitated interaction of diverse groups and putting a face to those perceived as “others” can help change negative perceptions and create social connections. Focusing on common concerns, values, and benefits rather than differences can build bridges and promote collaboration. For example, the University of Michigan Program on Intergroup Relations has been working   on addressing social conflict and promoting social justice through intergroup dialogue.

2. Childhood matters.

“While little in childhood determines an adult behavior, virtually everything in childhood changes propensities toward some adult behavior.“

While stress in during crises can be lifesaving, chronic and psychological stress is detrimental to health. Adverse childhood experiences increases the likelihood of an adult having depression, anxiety, substance abuse, impaired cognitive capabilities, impaired impulse control and emotional regulation, and antisocial behavior (including violence). However, many children who experience adversity turn into well functioning adults due to protective factors that build resilience.

We should continue to focus on creating safe, stable, nurturing environments for children. This can be through intervention and support for parents, as well as programs and policies that foster a protective and positive community that can help children grow to their full potential. For evidence-based strategies and resources, check out CDC’s Essentials for Childhood Framework.

3. Doing the right thing isn’t always easy.

“It’s great if your frontal cortex lets you avoid temptation, allowing you do the harder, better thing. But it’s usually more effective if doing that better thing has become so automatic that it isn’t hard.”

Humans have a desperate need to conform, belong, and obey, which can be a negative thing when we choose to follow the crowd instead of do what’s best or right. People are more likely to resist temptation when doing the right thing has become the natural reflex, the easy thing to do. They can also be persuaded by guilt or shame (internal or external). Therefore, we need to create a culture in which doing the right thing is the norm – and not doing the right thing can have negative feelings or repercussions.

We can use social marketing campaigns like Let’s Move to promote healthy behaviors by making them fun, easy, and popular. We can also advocate for policies that reward positive behavior (e.g. tax credits for electric cars) and deter unsafe behavior (e.g. fines for not using seatbelts). Sapolsky points out though that some social issues are harder to address than others, for example violence. Because our culture frequently rewards aggression and normalizes violence through media, it creates ambiguity towards violent behavior, making it contextual rather than inherently right or wrong. Therefore, addressing violence requires significant shifts in cultural norms and values – not just education campaigns and policy changes.

Charitable giving is expected to grow by about 3% in 2018. Here are five areas to focus on to ensure that your nonprofit organization is poised to attract more support and continue to build on successes in the coming year.

1 – Strengthen brand awareness and reputation.

The goal of branding for nonprofits is to create a well-known, trusted, and respected name so that your organization is the place to go when your audience is  ready to take action. There are many organizations working on similar causes, so creating a strong brand that has a consistent voice and messaging across different media and marketing platforms is critical for awareness. Be clear and transparent about your work, funding, and impact as part of your reputation strategy.  Reinforce your reputation by sharing timely and useful information that demonstrates your organization’s expertise in the issue.

2 – Stand out from the crowd.

People are inundated with information from all directions and, after a while, it all starts to blur. It’s important to find ways to stand out and cut through the clutter.

• Start with visuals, which people notice first and help them decide if they will read content. Capture attention with design that is simple, yet appealing and distinct.
• Then, tell them how and why you are different.  Better yet, show them.
• Listen to what your audience is talking about on social media, and join the conversation with unique perspectives and ideas.
• Partner with others who support your cause and have a strong following. Leverage their networks and influence to grab your audience’s attention.

3 – Share engaging content.

Once you’ve captured their attention, get them engaged so what you share sticks – and they come back for more. In order to figure out how best to engage your audience, listen to them. Find out what matters to them, what they are talking about and how. Use that insight to craft messages and content that will resonate.

• Share stories for a personal/human touch that can draw audiences in and help them feel rather than just know.
• Create videos, so that audiences can hear and see what you are saying rather than just reading it. They are more likely to remember video content than visuals and text.
• Develop interactive content, such as quizzes and polls, to get audiences thinking and sharing their thoughts. These can also be a great way to gather information and get feedback.   
• Make it easy for people to share your content so you can grow your reach and engagement even further.

4 – Make it easy.

There are many ways people want to support nonprofit work, through monetary gifts, volunteering time, or donating goods and services. Once you’ve got them engaged, provide clear and easy options for each of these to maximize support. Make sure information about your nonprofit  is accessible on a range of platforms, including mobile. For those who are making monetary gifts, provide an option for electronic giving. Also provide recurring giving options — smaller monthly amounts that equate to tangible solutions (for example, $25 a month will educate a child).  This allows donors to give more each year by budgeting and also allows your organization to better forecast monthly investments.

5 – Build strong relationships.

It takes more effort to find new donors and volunteers than to retain those who are already supporting your organization. Create a system for tracking and regular outreach, consider using customer relationship management (CRM) technology if you are large organization with many donors and volunteers to manage.

• Take the time to thank them and show your appreciation.
• Keep them updated on your efforts, and show them how they are making an impact.
• Ask for help only once out of every three or four times you reach out.  Use the other outreach activities to reinforce the need and show how the partnership with your donors is an important parts of the solution.
• Suggest other ways they can support your work, or ask them for ideas on how else they can contribute.
• Provide training and support for roles they are taking on, and ask for regular feedback to make sure you are meeting their needs.

Make it a win-win relationship so that it turns into a lasting one.

If you’ve made sure your organization is ready for a consultant, and found one that is a good fit for your project  – congratulations! That’s half the challenge.

Now, in order to get the most out of the consultancy, you will need to build a strong partnership with your consultant.  The more you can orient and engage with the consultant, the better equipped they will be to deliver tailored and useful support.

Here are 5 steps you can take to ensure your consulting partnership is off to a strong and successful start.

1. Provide a project lead that can dedicate time to working with the consultant.

Identify a staff person who will be able to share necessary context and insight with the consultant as well as serve as the coordinator for gathering internal feedback. Ideally, this person will be able to provide feedback on deliverables and garner continued support from stakeholders for the project.

2. Share background information about your industry, organization, and the project.

Having this context helps the consultant develop a strong foundation for the project, and focus their energies on building upon existing evidence and lessons learned.  What is shared depends on the project but may include:

• Organizational documents (strategic plans, branding guidelines, etc.)
• Key communication materials (annual reports, program brochures, etc.)
• Project documents (logic model, evaluation report, etc)
• Other relevant research or reports on the issue or constituents

3. Schedule a project launch meeting with consultant and key staff.

It is critical to make sure the consultant, project lead, and other key staff are on the same page regarding expected roles, responsibilities, and outcomes. Carefully review milestones and deliverables, and agree on the process for working together and making decisions.  This can also be an opportunity to share background and context, including any considerations or limitations to keep in mind.

4. Develop a work plan that all stakeholders agree upon.

As a first order of business, your consultant should draft a work plan based on the launch meeting to be reviewed and approved by the project team and other key staff. This document should clearly articulate the project goals, outcomes, and deliverables as well as detail key tasks, roles, and timeline. While the timeline may need to be adjusted as the project gets underway, it is important to work closely with the consultant to develop a work plan that is realistic and meets your needs.

5. Communicate openly, honestly, and often.

Provide clear direction during the launch meeting and honest feedback on the work plan. Sharing any possible barriers or limitations up front will build trust, and help the consultant to better mitigate challenges and/or delays. Set a schedule for regular check-ins between the project lead and consultant to share progress updates and discuss any challenges.

 

In his 2017 book, Hit Makers, Derek Thompson explores the science of what makes things popular.

Trying to understand how something became popular is not easy –  predicting whether something will be popular is even more challenging. Thompson tackles this challenge by delving into a range of “hits” from historic lullabies and myths to current music, books, and movies – which also provides insight into the changing landscape of communication and information consumption.

We no longer need to carefully trace the movement of people across the seas to understand the spread of ideas and art, we can now very easily track the growth of popularity through media monitoring. More importantly, the growth of social media has created an environment, according to Thompson, in which “rather than us consuming content, it consumes us”. As the norm becomes engagement and interaction through frequent social media, the content we see is more tailored because our actions, thoughts, and preferences can be monitored without the explicit awareness or feeling of being watched.

Thompson argues that this isn’t a good thing necessarily. Why not? Because people like things more when they don’t have to think. When something is familiar, they find it easier to process. This “fluency” leads to more “liking”, which then shapes the content that is presented. This preference is natural, but dangerous because it can potentially skew information, narrow perceptions, and reinforce biases.

Then how do people discover new ideas and art?

In researching some of the biggest hits in recent years, Thompson finds that people want something familiar, yet surprising. He presents the concept of MAYA: Most Advanced Yet Acceptable. Understanding how far to push beyond the familiar requires deep ethnographic understanding of consumers. Young people, who are less crystallized in their opinions and tastes, are more likely to be open to new ideas and perspectives. It is also easier for those who are already popular to push their fans to explore beyond the familiar.

That brings us back to the central question of the book: Is there a science to popularity?

Thompson finds that quality is necessary but insufficient for success. Though his examples are engaging and insightful, he is not able to uncover any formula. Rather, he concludes that the business of creativity is a game of chance – one which requires not only good ideas, creative execution, and strong marketing, but also perseverance. Popular ideas and successful cultural products are not the norm – they are the outliers.

So then how are there so many videos and memes that  seem to “go viral”?

Thompson argues that viral marketing is a myth. Ideas don’t actually spread virally; rather, they are diffused through large broadcasts (one or more big, influential sources reaching lots of people). No matter how “infectious” an idea or post, it will unlikely spread on it own. In fact, he cites a 2012 study which revealed that only about 1 percent of messages on Twitter were shared more than seven times. Thompson finds that the paradox of scale is that the biggest hits are often designed for a small, well-defined group of people who, it seems, would need to have the networks and influence to broadcast their tastes.

In addition to exploring the science of popularity, Thompson discusses deeper issues such as the impact of social media on interpersonal communication and the role of media in perpetuating biases and prejudice. While this book may not provide the clear formula or strategy for creating hits that some may be hoping for, it contains valuable insight on the complex and changing landscape of media and communications.  

Here are five key takeaways for those in the social sector:

1. Listen and watch. Take the the time to understand what the people you want to reach know, think, and feel about the issue or topic. Find out what media platforms they use, who they follow, how they share information, and what they talk about.  
2. Tailor and Target. Rather than trying to find that one message or idea that resonates for everyone, identify different segments of your audience. Determine how to capture each segment’s attention and support based on what they find engaging, who they follow, and how they communicate.
3. Push – but not too hard.  Trying to force change or completely new ideas rarely works. Remember MAYA – take what is already established or popular, and build on that so it’s familiar yet innovative.   
4. Tell stories. Most people process the world in stories, not statistics and facts. Use familiar storylines and  techniques like repetition and rhyme to make your stories memorable.  
5. Don’t stop. It’s not enough to create something and put it out there – or to share an idea once and hope it spreads. You have to monitor who it’s reaching, how it’s being shared, and what people think of it. Then, use that insight to repackage, repost, and come up with new ideas to keep pushing your agenda.

There may be many reasons why your organization is considering hiring a consultant. Perhaps you need a strategic plan and want an independent person to facilitate the process, or you are developing a new program and need expertise your staff doesn’t have, or you need to conduct a needs assessment but don’t want to bring in additional staff.

These are all good reasons. Consultants are often used by organizations to support efforts or provide expertise and perspective.

What Consultants Can Do

• Help your organization reach its goals
  • Facilitate strategic planning process
  • Offer a fresh perspective on an organization’s strengths and opportunities
  • Share expertise for program development and evaluation
  • Identify and secure funding
• Help your staff be more effective
  • Take on projects that take staff away from their core responsibilities
  • Identify areas for capacity building
  • Provide training and support
  • Improve communication and conflict resolution
• Help you save money
  • Develop new systems for managing operations or providing services
  • Identify inefficiencies and help solve them
  • Offer creative, innovative solutions for cost savings
  • Complete short-term projects without having to hire new staff

What Consultants Can’t Do

But that doesn’t mean consultants are always the right answer for your organization. It may not be cost-effective to bring in a consultant to complete a job that could be done by existing staff, board members, or partners. There are also certain things consultants can’t do.

Consultants can’t drive change. Although they can identify opportunities for change, make the case for change, and help facilitate the process, it’s the organization’s leaders that make decisions and staff that implement change.

Assess if your organization is at a place to make change.  If not, hiring a consultant to do just that is not likely to result in long-term, sustainable change.  

Ask yourself:

• What change do we want to make?
• Who are the decision-makers in the organization regarding this change?
• Are they on board?  If not, what needs to happen for them to support this change?

Consultants can’t work in a vacuum. Unless you’ve hired a consultant for a stand-alone/ independent project, you’ll need to be prepared to partner with them. A consultant needs your insight and guidance to produce relevant recommendations and solutions. They may provide training and oversight, but you and your staff will need to implement.  

Ensure you can designate staff time and resources to work with the consultant and implement their recommendations.  If that’s not feasible, it’s not the right time to hire a consultant.

Ask yourself:

• Who are the key decision makers?  Do they have time to spend with a consultant to ensure the “big picture” issues are addressed?
• Who would the internal lead be?
• What are this person’s current responsibilities?  Would some of that work need to shift?  And if so, to whom?

Consultants can’t (always) meet all expectations if a project is underfunded or has a short timeline. Consultants that have expertise and skills that put them in high demand understand the time and effort it will take to deliver high-quality solutions. It may take longer, or require more resources than you are able to put in.

Ensure you have a well defined scope of work, and then look across the lifespan of the project to determine the real costs — both from a resource and financial standpoint.  If you do a project in-house would you need to hire new staff?  Or reallocate efforts from other projects?  

You may find hiring a consultant is the right answer but if both parties are not comfortable with the scope of work, pricing, and timeline, there will likely be disappointment all around.   

Ask yourself:

• How important is this project to your organization’s mission? What value does it add?
• What are the costs if you don’t do the project?  What are the costs if you do the project in -house?

Balance the internal costs against the costs of a consultant.  While consulting costs are typically front-loaded, they may save you money in the long run.  

Good consultants add value and help you meet your goals, but you need to know when, why, and how to use them to make the most of the partnership. Consider the questions outlined above to help you assess whether hiring a consultant is the right solution to meet your organization’s needs.