Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
By Melanie Lockwood Herman
“It’s extremely liberating and honest to admit that we know very little about almost everything. This is not to make us feel small and insignificant, but rather to make us feel excited about how much we still have to learn.” – John Hunt, The Art of the Idea
It’s not often that an epiphany interrupts my racing thoughts and endless loops of must do and might do lists. Recently, however, I experienced a moment of Zen and discovery while digging a hole to prepare for a new planting. What I genuinely love about gardening is not knowing how things are going to turn out. As I paused while planting it occurred to me that my many ‘epic fails’ as a gardener have germinated two wonderful outcomes: first, valuable lessons about paying closer attention to the selection and placement of new plantings, and next, consistent success in the garden would have eliminated countless hours of enjoyment replanting and reimagining the landscape. Had everything I planted 17 years ago survived, the bare spots and blank canvass left by the things that needed more/less sun, better draining soil, fewer delicious leaves for critters… wouldn’t exist.
In his book, The Art of the Idea, John Hunt uses the term ‘sunriser’ to describe “people who go through life open to the idea that the best may still be coming.” For many years now, I’ve felt that my best is yet to come.
How can we cultivate an optimistic, forward-facing path for ourselves, our communities, and our organizations? I found the following seeds of inspiration in The Art of the Idea.
It’s hubris to believe that human beings—with or without risk management training and study—can accurately forecast the disruptions, detours, and deviations from standard operating procedures that most certainly lie ahead. If you’re still using the well-worn, pointless approach of scoring ‘likelihood’ and ‘impact’ for each named risk in your ‘risk register,’ I’d love to learn how you scored the risk of ‘pandemic,’ or the risk of ‘civil unrest.’ Better yet, tell me how those scores inspired the hard work necessary to build resilience at your organization. Instead of pretending that we can forecast the future or reduce uncertainty, let’s reflect on how we’ve been surprised, caught off guard, based decisions on faulty assumptions, and continued with practices that weren’t working but somehow seemed ‘good enough.’
Regret is a powerful, destructive emotion. For the most part, we can’t undo what we’ve already done or failed to do. Regret is the relentless reminder of the pain and disappointment we’ve caused others and a hard reminder of letting fear eclipse courage when we’ve experienced failure. The only way to reduce tomorrow’s regret is to take bold action today. What are you doing to inspire optimism, creativity, and bold choices within your team? When it comes to a simple pleasure such as gardening, I’m determined to stop regretting the countless poor choices I’ve made over two decades toiling in the soil. I’m choosing to fill the void with optimism about the lessons from my epic fails and wonder and excitement about which perennials will survive their off-season slumber to emerge as showstoppers in my always changing, uncertain landscape.
Two identical yews planted in close proximity on the same day. A landscape architect recently told me that they were both ugly and should be removed. The scrawny one on the left makes me smile every time I see it. Despite whatever challenging conditions that have stunted its growth, it’s still reaching its branches skyward. So, I’m going to keep my fraternal yew twins for now!
The small hydrangea I planted in 2004 as an accent at the end of an extensive landscaping bed. If I had known it would grow this large, I would have never purchased and planted it. I’m grateful for my ignorance; it’s one of the most beautiful features in the yard.
“First let me congratulate you on a conference well done. I had a great time at the Nonprofit Employee Benefits Conference and walked away with some valuable tools and questions that we’ll need to be addressing in both the short and long term. Thanks to you and your staff for all you do to provide us with quality resources in support of our missions.”
“BBYO’s engagement of the Center to conduct a risk assessment was one of the most valuable processes undertaken over the past five years. Numerous programmatic and procedural changes were recommended and have since been implemented. Additionally, dozens (literally) of insurance coverage gaps were identified that would never have been without the work of the Center. This assessment led to a broker bidding process that resulted in BBYO’s selection of a new broker that we have been extremely satisfied with. I unconditionally recommend the Center for their consultative services.
“Melanie Herman has provided expert, insightful, timely and well resourced information to our Executive Team and Board of Directors. Our corporation recently experienced massive growth through merger and the Board has been working to better integrate their expanded set of roles and responsibilities. Melanie presented at our Annual Board of Director’s Retreat and captured the interest of our Board members. As a result of her excellent presentation the Board has engaged in focused review which is having immediate effects on governance.”
“The Nonprofit Risk Management Center has been an outstanding partner for us. They are attentive to our needs, and work hard to successfully meet our requests for information. Being an Affiliate member gave us access to so many time- and money-saving resources that it easily paid for itself! Nonprofit Risk Management Center is truly a valued partner of The Community Foundation of Elkhart County and we are continuously able to optimize staff time with the support given by their team.”
“The board and staff of the Prince George’s Child Resource Center are extremely pleased with the results of the risk assessment conducted by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. A thorough scan revealed that while we are a well run organization, we had risks that we never imagined. We are grateful to know that we have now minimized our organizational risks and we recommend the Center to other nonprofits.”
Great American Insurance Group’s Specialty Human Services is committed to protecting those who improve your communities. The Center team has committed to delivering dynamic risk management solutions tailored to nonprofit organizations. These organizations have many and varied risk issues, hence the need for specialized coverage and expert knowledge for their protection. We’ve had Melanie speak on several occasions to employees and our agents. She is always on point and delivers such great value. Thank you for the terrific partnership and allowing our nonprofits to focus on their mission!