He has a number of different theories about things that he applies to other aspects of life. One common theory he talks about all the time is diet and exercise, diet here meaning what you eat not any specific regimen. If you are trying to lose weight it can be reduced to two things: diet and exercise. That’s it. All the questions, important ones like types of food and exercise for example, are just details under those two. At the end of the day, if you want to lose weight, it’s about diet and exercise. It’s that simple. He constantly applies that theory to a number of other subjects.

I believe that it can and should be applied to your organization’s sales (fundraising for nonprofits) and marketing (outreach) efforts. My personal “diet and exercise” boils down to three things: value, engagement and problem-solving.

I have been working with and for several organizations over the years. And with all of them I have seen some great meetings lead to some important next steps. And so often (more often than not?) these next steps get stuck in the mud. Or quick-dry cement. Quicksand? The point is they get stuck.