How to Use the Rule of Threes to Prioritize Your Goals as a Nonprofit Leader [Video]

The rule of threes exists everywhere, and the same goes in the non-profit world where we have three components we have to focus on as nonprofit leaders: mission, margin, and sustainability. Watch today’s Monday Money Moments video for more (and skim the transcript below).

Dana Miller: (00:01) Hello, and welcome to Monday Money Moments with myself, your host, Dana Miller of Executive Financial Insights.

(00:08) Happy new year! Are we ready for this year? I am. And I’m hoping you are too. We’re going to start this year off with what I use as the rule of threes.

(00:21) That is defining our goals for the year and basically just having three main goals. Why?

(00:31) Why three goals? Well, it’s based on a principle that things that come in three are inherently funnier, more satisfying, more effective, and (here’s the good part) easier to remember and digest.

(00:48) If you think about it, threes, if you look around, threes are everywhere. We have three branches of our government, right? We have in the environmental universe: reduce, reuse, recycle. Things come in threes. Nike: just do it. Three words, three syllables, not just three words, three syllables. And in management, we have how you should think of this is three big goals for the year and then work to accomplish three things a day, three things a week, three things a month, three things per quarter, and all on the major goal of three things a year, three major initiatives for your organization per year.

(01:40) Now in the non-profit world, we also come in threes having three major components that we focus on: mission margin, sustainability, or as I like to call it thrivability (what are we doing to grow and serve more people again), rule of threes.

(02:03) So I encourage you to focus on what would the three major things you would need to focus on this year for 2022? And if one of your three mission, margin, or sustainability, if it might be margin, reach out to me because that’s what I’m here for. That’s what I thrive on. And that’s my superpower is helping you reach your margins so you can meet your mission. Please reach out to me www.executivefinancialinsights.com. Thank you.