Start with “what it is”

Every shrinking organization tells itself a story.

• “Somehow people just aren’t interested anymore.”

• “It’s a generational thing.”

• “Things will bounce back next year.”

• “We’re doing everything right -- it’s just the culture.”

It’s a short story, sure.
But you can tell it’s a story because it has reached a conclusion.
The moral of the story is already summed up.

It’s a very human thing to do.
Because these stories feel safe.
They offer an explanation, without forcing anyone to look at the uncomfortable details.

But the real leverage -- the thing we can grab hold of -- doesn’t live in these stories.

It hides in the thing no one is naming.

Not the interpretation of meaning, but the observation of happening:

• “Only a few new people reached out this season.”

• “Our participation has thinned out.”

• “We haven’t followed up with inquiries in weeks.”

• “The partners we used to rely on aren’t sending anyone our way.”

• “Our outreach rhythm broke during COVID and never recovered.”

Those are concrete.
They can be tested, changed, or improved.
They’re not the end of a story, they’re the beginning.

But as long as we stay focused on what the decline means,
no one can grab the small handles sitting right in front of them,
handles attached to what's actually happening.

That’s usually where the turnaround starts:
not with a grand solution,
but with a clean look at what’s actually there.

It's tempting to start the story with the conclusion,
but good stories -- the ones with happy endings --
start at the beginning.

And the beginning is wherever you are, right now.

All the best,
A.