Driving and navigating

Navigation is a separate task from driving.

• Rally racing teams rely heavily on the co-driver's navigation skills.

• Commercial airlines, which haven't had a dedicated navigator on the crew since the 1980s, rely on automated navigation systems.

• When you're alone in your car, you're both driver and navigator (probably with some less-than-perfect advice from your phone).

It doesn't matter how the navigation gets done.

Somebody has to do it.

Without it, you can drive all day and never get anywhere.

Here's the thing:

Somebody will need to operate your CRM system, your membership programs, and your fundraising campaigns.

But somebody will also need to navigate: identify the goals, read the terrain, chart a course, and adapt that course as needed.

It can be tempting to put your head down and just work, and now and then that's what you'll have to do.

But don't forget to look up now and then. Check the road. Check the map. Try to foresee the challenges. Try to spot the opportunities.

That's how you get where you want to go without driving in circles.

All the best,
A.