“We Serve Customers Not the Economy”

yoav@negevdirect.com 12/17/2008 Inspirational, Israel, Quotes, U.S. Economy
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Ok, so maybe it’s easier to offer business advice when you’re a billionaire… at least if you’re a billionaire who’s name is not Bernie Madoff!!

Mr. Eitan Werthheimer, Chairman of Israel’s Iscar company offers his two cents about how businesses, and yes non-profits too, can cope with the current financial crisis.

Mr. Werthheimer said in a recent talk at the annual Globes Business conference here in Israel:

 “I’ve never seen a business sell to the economy.  We sell to customers.  If we need to we should wake up tomorrow morning and find new customers or create new products for our existing customers…”

Easier said than done, but what I think what Mr. Werthheimer is saying here is that in times like these, it can be easier for us to blame the economy rather than to make the necessary changes needed to adapt to the current economic climate.

As a non-profit, if you are suffering losses in your current annual giving campaigns, then there’s no better time than now to see if you can find a broader base of donors who support your mission!

Another other action step you can take is to re-think how to best achieve your organizations mission.

Innovation is a way to change how you do things while at the same time staying true to your organizations identity and your organizations goals and mission.

If you can’t get someone like a Mr. Werthheimer to donate a million bucks than the next best thing is to diversify and find 100,000 people who will each give you $10.00!

Yoav

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