Being a Pilotlighter – A Personal Perspective
What happens when a senior executive works with a small charity to help focus its work and make it more effective? Samuel Berwick talks about the process, its successes, and the benefits he didn’t expect.
Free at Last and Pilotlight – A Three Minute Overview
[Transcript of a speech given in February 2006]
I met an editor friend the other night and he explained to me how he had just gone through the process of editing a novelist’s first draft of over 1,500 pages into a publishable work of 700 pages. He described this process as being one of refining and refocusing the work without cutting the heart out of it – and that sounded very similar to what Pilotlight has been trying to do with Free at Last.
First impressions
When we had the first Pilotlight meeting with John, two things were immediately obvious. First, it was obvious that he had a huge heart, immense energy and wanted to do everything possible to help everybody – not only in his own community, but in the entire world! Secondly, it was obvious that if we could just get him focussed, there was at the centre of his thought process, a vision and a product that could make the charity truly sustainable and even a beneficiary and part of the government’s policy of outsourcing public sector work to the voluntary sector.
For all of us involved in what is now almost a year’s process, it has been a hard, sometimes emotional, but always rewarding experience.
What did the Pilotlighters bring?
Two words, focus and measurement.
Focus – Many Pilotlighters are used to having to focus in their day jobs, and we were able to bring this skill set to John during his work on the operational business plan. At the core of this process, was our crafting of the mission statement. Forget my friend editing 1500 pages down to 700 pages. We edited John’s novel down to 50 words. On one particularly satisfying day, Deborah and I, sat for two hours with John , his staff members and trustees and argued over this statement, but finally came to one that we all agreed summed up the charity. Then we all had a well deserved lunch!
Measurement – Again, many Pilotlighters are used to measuring and being measured on their results. As such, they are used to strict timetables and real evaluation methods. I don’t think that the charitable world is used to either of these factors, but they should be. All of a charity’s stakeholders will want to be able to measure their return on investment , whether it be time or money - and it will be these charities that grow and become sustainable. Pilotlighters definitely help in this process.
What did I gain from my experience?
In most people’s day jobs, the focus that I talked about often becomes a silo – and it has been very beneficial to work on an overall operating plan with Free at Last and the various Pilotlighters. Not only have we talked about an overall vision but we have talked about marketing, property law and government policy. Things like mission statements and balanced scorecards were business school gobbledygook for me then, and now through the Pilotlight experience I realise how important they are in creating and then holding a vision. And then forcing everyone to stick to that vision through the vagaries of the financial year. I have just finished writing an annual business plan for my bank, and even though I say it myself, it is much better than the past.
However, unashamedly what I have gained most is enjoyment. Pilotlight is about meeting people with different backgrounds, different needs and different qualities. With Free at Last, I got the chance to work with John’s youthworkers, who are not incentivised by money like all of the bankers I work with. I even got he chance to visit Nechells in Birmingham, see where John grew up and see the bus where Free at Last had their weekly youth club and disco. All of that does help you in your day job by giving you a different perspective on what makes different people tick, but most importantly, it just makes living more fun.
Samuel Berwick
Chief Executive Officer, Mizuho International
