It’s not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.  Sure, try telling that to a Boston Red Sox fan who just lost to the Yankees.

In baseball, there is a reason why a coach benches a star player when the team, who has clinched a play-off spot, is down and the post-season is just a few weeks off.  A win tonight doesn’t make a difference—its the success of the team down the road.  

So, what does this mean for nonprofits?  Like baseball, sometimes the best results for nonprofits aren’t necessarily immediate.  We tend to think of success in terms of a win or loss, and either way, we want it now.  Rarely is a situation that simplistic or our demands met. 

In nonprofits, many factors can determine an organization's success.  Is an after-school program considered a success because every seat in the room is full?  Or is it a success because the kids who are in great need of being off the streets are attending?

It’s the struggle in making that determination where measurement plays a significant role.  Measurement is more than knowing what works and what doesn’t.  It’s taking that knowledge and applying it to programs, to events, to fundraising, to whatever your challenge is, and making it work--without the fear of admiting a setback or failure.

For nonprofits that need to meet the demands of boards, funders, donors and those who they are serving, applying measurement can be a tiresome task and getting over the fear is a challenge.  Yet, it's this change in thinking that can unlock an organization's success.

Interesting concept.  Focus on the "getting there" than just the there.  It's not usually how one thinks of success.  But as many of us know well, success is rarely achieved without experiencing the long-haul.  Maybe that’s why there are 162 games in the baseball season.