When you are going on a trip, especially to a place you have never been before, you try your best to prepare for it. Flights, itineraries, destinations, budgeting, it takes a ton of organizing! We all do this work to prepare for a vacation because we don't want to get lost, and want to make the most of our time and money. Running an organization or business is not that different. Unfortunately, what ends up happening often is that there develops a gap between passion and planning for the long road ahead. Sustainability is HARD to plan for, especially when we are moving from crisis to crisis and constantly trying to find funding to support the work we are doing. This is why turnaround, burnout, and vicarious trauma is such a challenge for many organizations and businesses, and why planning for the future is so important.
The Best Laid Plans....
Looking at the whole picture can be overwhelming, which is why small manageable goals should be our objective when planning for an organization that can exist long-term. One of the biggest ways to prepare for this is to create strategies that reduce living from one crisis to the next. When organizations exist in a place of constant chaos and reaction to the newest crisis, they exist in cycles of trauma that create an environment of instability not only for staff but for those they serve as well.
Stopping this cycle means first, acknowledging it, and addressing it by creating support around the areas that are struggling to function. What support you need is very individual to the organization and the roadblock they are facing. For some, it means getting an outside third party to step in and do an evaluation, for others it is signing up for training or hiring consultants with Lived Experience.
Where do I start?
There is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all plan for sustainability in organizations. What matters is intentionality and the ability to acknowledge that there is always something we forget to pack for the trip ahead. None of us are perfect, and we cannot escape making mistakes. What matters is how we respond to our shortcomings and the goals we set are manageable to the capacity we currently have.
Mosaic is dedicated to assisting organizations and businesses in navigating the complexities of their work. Our goal is to provide practical support, honest feedback, and strategic planning to ensure long-term sustainability by streamlining operations and fostering growth. Visit our services page to gain insight into our mission and offerings.
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