​Of course, as a child, every want to me felt like a need …until I moved out on my own. Becoming an adult required me to manage my own budget. Over time, I’ve learned to live out this depression-era lesson. 

So, what does this have to do with executive recruiting? Everything! What you want in your new leader and what you need may be two different things.

​Asking questions helps drive everything from program offerings and fundraising initiatives to the organization’s overall strategic mission. So, that begs the question, how can you ask better questions?

​Want proof? Recently the Brooklyn Community Foundation renamed itself Brooklyn Org, undertaking a major rebranding effort, which included spending a reported $49,000 for their new domain name Brooklyn.org to accompany the change. In speaking of the rebranding campaign, their President Jocelynne Rainey explained that their primary motivation was to get away from using the “foundation” in their name because of the possible negative perceptions around using that word.

Luckily, Brooklyn Org’s rebranding campaign was purportedly aided by pro bono work from a local marketing firm. However, these kinds of changes are often quite costly even if the work is supplemented with donations of time, professional skills, and other resources. They can run upwards of 20% of an organization’s marketing budget and take months or even years to fully execute. Given that context, deciding to rebrand shouldn’t be taken lightly!