What can we learn from “The Great British Baking Show”?
Is excellence in the U.S. ever an end in and of itself or is the bottom-line-dollars-and-cents always a required metric? I'm struck by the Great British Baking Show, a show that puts a baker's dozen to the test. The prize? Title of 'winner' and an engraved cake stand. Some contestants have gone on to publish cook books and the like, but there's no monetary prize at the end of their baking show journey. The work and the recognition as the best is enough. Contrast that with the American version of the show and alas, there IS a $250K prize to the winner. Money is how we in America too often measure success, progress, and even blessing. I wonder to what degree we are getting it wrong...
At CDP we openly share that we measure our success by our impact but seldom do the communities we work in or the nonprofits we partner with ask for those metrics. They often want to see our financial statement to determine our 'success'. I wonder to what extent social enterprises such as ours are limited because we in the U.S. don't move beyond an understanding that money isn't the only metric of business success and impact. Excellence. Impact. Those too are a bottom line worth striving for.
-Mindy Muller, CFRE, President/CEO of CDP
