In an earlier post, I challenged us to think of all our changemaking efforts as temporary. Seasonal. To embrace the probability that they will outlive their usefulness. That if they endure, it is because they’ve had several lifetimes, not one. That the world loses when we put mission-focused organizations on life-support. I argued that the best investment you could make into the impact you target is planning for exit. Today, I strengthen that argument with an analogy. Let me know what resonates, engage, and share!

To see how planning for exit fits into your entire roadmap to impact — from identifying your transformational ideas through vetting, funding, implementing, and scaling them to putting yourself in the best position to thrive — get your copy of Change-maker’s Handbook (2023).

A home is perfect if it is perfect for you

Our efforts to make a meaningful difference in the world (for and non-profit, projects and organizations and other forms of ventures) grow organically and come to reflect the idiosyncrasies of both the people and the circumstances that shape them. Think of yours as a homestead that mushrooms from the original all-in-one cabin you constructed to house your idea.

Image credit: FriedeDia from Pixabay

Today, it is nobody’s but yours and needs to work for nobody but you. So, you may build your home around an elaborate two-story birdcage. You may have no use for a kitchen but install a Turkish-style bath. Or your layout may be utterly determined by the practicality of a construction on a rocky mountainside, not by ultimate usability. Still, the only thing that matters is whether it all works for you.

That is, of course, until you try to sell your home. Until you need somebody else to imagine themselves thriving there.

The very same attributes that command a premium from certain buyers take others off the table.

Why suburbia is so boring

We once bought a super unique home. Perfect for us, it had been on the market longer than its seller’s preference, waiting for the right buyer. Both its location and its aesthetic left little to be desired. However, it was built to facilitate summer entertainment by a socialite couple, not year-round occupation by a family. Only one of the two bedrooms had a door; the upper level was accessible exclusively via a narrow spiral staircase; and none of it was comfortable on a cold day or with bad knees, let alone with a walker or a wheelchair.

I would argue that resale value is the main reason why suburbia is so boring. Surely, it is not because those three-bed-two-and-a-half-bath off-white layouts truly reflect the desires of most homeowners!

Those uninspired homes simply don’t compromise most of our basic needs, making that “product” the most guaranteed to quickly sell with a return. Nobody is truly happy, but nobody is decidedly unhappy, either. The decision can be relegated to the other factors (location, price, etc.).

Let’s tease this analogy further.

Why I wish we thought about our ventures like homes

Even when it is what they need, most owners are hesitant to change their home in ways that drop its market value. In fact, sellers may standardize their unique kitchens and bathrooms — and stage their homes with bland furnishings — to help more of the potential buyers image themselves there.

It is what it is, and it becomes an art practiced by real estate agents at higher price points.

I only wish more people thought about the exit value of their ventures the way they do about their homes. That they imagined whether anybody else — and how many others — may want to make a home in what was once another’s. That they saw exit potential as a criterion for building and valuing a venture as much as it is used in real estate. I’ll keep working on it!

Reflection

* What about your changemaking efforts/venture is custom and what is generic? What might pose a challenge for somebody looking to take over?

* Are there ways that you can turn your venture’s idiosyncrasies into marketable strengths?

The conclusion I hope you draw is this: even if it feels like cheating, and you believe you will never use it, it behooves you to have an exit strategy for your efforts/venture to make a meaningful difference in the world.

In future posts, I will help you explore your exit options and plan for the best outcome, as well as address what happens if you don’t.

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