Autism.

If you've been reading my blog (sorry it's been dormant for so long) it's time yet again for me to leap to the next thing. For the last 3.5 years I've immersed myself in the autism world learning more than I ever thought possible. Up until last week, I had been leading teams at Autism Speaks in social media, fundraising, marketing, IT, direct mail and CRM. I've been a busy bee.

First and foremost, I learned that autism is really, really complicated. Pick any one thing about it (take causes for example) and you'll find significantly different viewpoints from a variety of corners of the community.

I deeply connected with all parts of the community; parents, children, adults, researchers, caregivers, teachers and more. Beyond any of the other causes I've been involved in, autism got under my skin in some incredible ways. I feel deeply for those on the spectrum and for their loved ones who are must struggle to understand and cope with whatever comes from their experiences for all sides of the spectrum.

The autism journey is it's own unique, amazing, stressful and challenging path - one that as a society we're just now starting to understand, cope with and build supports around. I hope to stay involved in variety of ways with the community and will not soon forget the friendships I've forged with so many touched by autism.

Being at an organization like Autism Speaks which has both fans and detractors has led me down many different paths - from conversations with self-advocates and parents to civil and gay rights leaders to try to understand and get straight in my own thick head what autism is, and what it isn't.

After my time however, I still don't have a simple or single answer. That said, I know that there are many, many people and organizations out there fighting everyday for a variety of things, all hoping to improve the lives of everyone diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

The "arc" of autism, (the story about what we as a society tell ourselves autism is and isn't) is just now cresting after years of misunderstanding and confusion. That said, there are still miles to go. Even the very definition of autism, and classification as an illness, a disorder or some other word is up for grabs. Until we as a society we find some balance in the semantics of autism we'll struggle, argue and fight. Right now, in early 2013 it's as it should be and how it must be in this moment. In the future, when we do finally figure it all out, all of our lives will be enriched with millions of new and unique voices. If you listen closely , you can actually hear a few already.

I'm extremely proud of the work my team accomplished within Autism Speaks. I want to acknowledge all those who helped shine a light on my path and informed my own journey. You know who you are - and there are many of you who helped me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Autism has changed me and affected my perspective on life for the better.

In case you are wondering, I'll be joining PwC as a Director in their customer advisory group focused on social enterprise, social business and using technology to change the world like I always do. I hope to resume regular blogging but know better.

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Finally, I'm a Judge - it's Taggie time!

Fair warning: I'm one of the many judges of this year's program!


The Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards Program (a.k.a. The Taggies) just opened its fourth awards cycle with the addition of an Advocacy Campaign Tagline category.

Nonprofits and libraries everywhere are invited to enter their organizational tagline in the program, plus any tagline they’ve created to advance programs, fundraising campaigns, advocacy campaigns and/or special events. The 2,700 taglines entered in the 2010 Awards were a bounty of skillful messages and this year’s entries are expected to be equally powerful.

“A relevant tagline does double-duty—working to extend an organization’s name and mission, while delivering a memorable and motivating message to the people whose help it needs,” says awards program organizer Nancy E. Schwartz. “But our recent Nonprofit Messages Survey showed just 29% of organizations have a tagline that connects and spurs action.

“The biennial Awards program is designed to inspire and guide organizations to deliver taglines that connect quickly and strongly with their target audiences—Aha! messages that build and strengthen key relationships for the long term.”

Schwartz says that in addition to the new Advocacy Campaign Tagline category, Wildlife & Animal Welfare has been added as a field of focus for the organization tagline awards.

All entrants will be invited to a free webinar (Aha! Messages: 4 Ways to Test Message Relevance) and receive access to the fully-updated Nonprofit Tagline Report— the only complete guide to building an organization’s brand in eight words or less—and Database.

Organizations can enter their taglines via an easy-to-complete entry form at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Taggies12

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Leadership

Watch this. It is good. Really good.

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A or B?

I read the recent Wired Magazine article on A/B testing websites and like many of you, I wondered to myself if it was actually possible to embrace this sort of design philosophy.

After talking with my team, we've redoubled our efforts to design core Key Performance Indicators ("KPIs") in an attempt to actually start using A/B testing as a regular process for updating our site navigation, design choices and whatever else we want to change.

It's a disorienting thing, removing subjectivity from the design process. My background as a designer makes me one of those people who can look at a screen and make grand proclamations about where things should be and what they should say. It's something I'm determined to stop doing. I will be honest, it is hard to stop.

Either way, we've devised a series of "top level" KPIs designed to measure overall site effectiveness - and we've limited it to 5 measurements. Yes, of course we'll design secondary KPIs, but at this point, we plan to benchmark and establish baselines for just the most important things on a website. Here's a sample of the working list of questions we hope to answer:

1. 1. Do people come back (return visits)
2. 2. Do they make donations? (page views / total on site donations)
3. 3. Do they stay once they visit? (time on site)
4. 4. Do they take key actions designed to engage them in a deeper relationship? (page views / key actions)

We feel like we've got a good handle on how we will do this and I'm excited to get started. Some changes will be major, others we hope to test, like the font on the main navigation, are nominal. Either way, we'll learn a lot about what makes the site really tick and put ourselves in a position to improve it over time.

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1-2-3 TEAM

My older daughter is playing on a high school sports team and frankly, I'm surprised at how little focus there has been on the "team"  as opposed to what seems to be a singular focus on individuals.

I know some of it is normal; lots of in-fighting, jealousy and misunderstandings between kids who are all eager to do well. However, the overall feeling I get so far from observing things is that the school and coaches have simply forgotten that they should be teaching "team first" concepts.

Most of these kids will end their sports careers in the next 2/3 years, especially the girls. I've been talking to more and more parents and am hearing that girls in particular drop off teams and for spring sports, rarely play out their senior season. I'm unsure if  this is a generalization or a trend but it seems to be more true than false.

The chances of playing college level team sports is slim - which is of course why some players continually focus on their individual accomplishments; trying to make an impression, racking up individual accomplishments and focusing more on themselves than the team itself.

When my kids  were little, we wanted them to play team sports to get important lessons, not because we thought they would earn a scholarship. They tried everything from soccer, to tennis, dance, and softball to find something they loved to play or do. We hoped the experience would teach them about themselves and give them the lessons from being on a team that will serve them for their entire lives.

When these kids get out into the workforce, how will they know how to be a team player? Do they even know the concept of sacrificing for the greater good or are they simply learning to be entitled, spoiled individual contributors?

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