“Sh*t nonprofits say”

I just found this hillarious, thought you might, too. Snarky, but hillarious:

How can we put evaluation tools in place for projects we've already completed? What are our metrics?

(It’s a tweet from Sh*t Nonprofits Say, which is worth a follow, or at least a quick look, if you like a little laugh-while-you-cry commiseration now and then.)

In case you’ve missed the joke, I’ll spell it out: The desired outcome metrics are part of the goal. Cherry-picking them post hoc kind of … doesn’t count.

Sure, it’s not just nonprofits that feel pressure to spin every poorly planned effort into a celebration of success. (Politicians do it all the time.)

But in a world where words like “accountability” and “metrics” so easily lose their meaning in the shuffle of tight budgets and rotating leadership, this “ready, fire, aim” kind of thinking seems to creep in a lot.

Remember this:

Goals with measurable targets are something you aim for, so you can consistently improve your outcomes.

Coming up with metrics after the fact is, well, cheating.

Don’t cheat yourself.

All the best,
A.