Dentistry & Documentation

I have an embarrassing confession.

It’s been 10 years since I saw a dentist.

I had all the usual excuses:

• Not enough time.

• Concerned around the costs.

• Everything seemed to be ok – not ideal, but no broken teeth.

• There was always something more urgent.

  Generally feeling overwhelmed.

I ended up having an issue that forced me to stop procrastinating and book an appointment.

Here’s what happened:

• I had to complete all sorts of documentation.

• The dentist conducted a thorough assessment of all my teeth, not just the one with the immediate issue.

• Everything was documented to establish a baseline.

• Following the assessment, they provided their top three recommendations, obviously starting with the immediate issue that brought me into the dentist chair.

• Appointments were scheduled including recall exams and semi-annual check-ups.

Me avoiding the dentist is a lot like fundraising organizations that can never find the time to document their processes, workflows and systems.

The excuses are similar:

• Lack of time.

• Lack of resources.

• Things are tolerable, until they aren’t.

• There is always something more urgent.

• Generally feeling overwhelmed.

The solutions are also similar:

• Conduct an assessment to identify a baseline of the situation.

• Develop an action plan to address issues according to priority.

• Document the processes.

• Build in and book a consistent review schedule.

If you aspire to achieve sustainable fundraising success and build a high-performance team who is engaged, fulfilled, and productive, you are going to have to invest time in documentation.

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