When Corporate Infrastructure Meets Start-Up Struggle: Why New Community Impact Initiatives Fail to Meet Expectations
If you are an executive leader starting a new program, mismanaged expectations may be setting you up for failure. When you build a program designed for legacy or impact, you do not get to bypass the start-up phase just because it is housed within an existing organization with infrastructure.
As brand values and mission alignment have become more important to consumers, with a corresponding increase in political purchasing decisions since 2020 (arguably earlier with the rise of social media), more senior leaders have considered starting programs or projects that are offshoots of their core business and are dedicated to impact or purpose-based work.
This might look like setting up a foundation, building a community or stakeholder advisory board, launching a subsidiary, or developing a product or service targeted to a particular social need. The originating organization may or may not have experience in this area previously. Too commonly, mid-sized to large organizations start with an idea and expect it to gain traction on its own.
This is a case of misaligned expectations. Two core premises drive this mismanagement. It is worth analyzing these misconceptions because research shows that strategic failure comes at a measurable cost.
About to launch a new program?
Premise 1: The “Good Work Will Speak for Itself” Fallacy
When a leader is about to launch an initiative designed to be impact work, it is common to fall for the idea that ‘because we are doing good in the community, everyone will naturally care.’ We really do care about the causes we are passionate about. We believe funding and resources will follow because of our reputation and intention.
In this scenario, leadership has an idea and may have a genuinely compelling vision. But because the new objective is not seen as a profit-driven initiative, it is not given the same due diligence or rigorous analysis as a core product or service launch may. The perspective may derive from a sense that failure will not be as costly since the organization was not going to be dependent on this initiative for revenue. Even though the vision exists, and people may even get excited about it, there may be a subtle underlying belief that the project or program is taking resources from key priorities and the organizational objectives that actually get managed, monitored, and evaluated against. As a result, no real plan is ever developed and leaders wander about trying new tactics instead of building a clear strategy with reasonable goals and metrics.
Premise 2: The Corporate Cushion Misconception
Often, this type of new community engagement initiative is developed within a well-established organization. The organization may range from a mid-sized business with 30-40 employees or could be a large corporation. Smaller high-functioning organizations often recognize they do not have the capacity to take on a new project or initiative and choose to work through partnerships and referrals instead. But the blind spot for organizations that have achieved some scale is jumping into a new impact project, expecting it to achieve results parallel to more established verticals. These leaders may rely on the reputation of the organization itself for early traction.
As a result, leaders dedicate comparatively minimal to moderate budgets to their new impact program and wonder why results are not there. An organization with seven-figure net profits dedicates one staff person part time to the project, who is then given a low six-figure budget to execute an impact program. Then, these leaders are inevitably dissatisfied with the results. The comparison to broader organizational benchmarks is rarely fair.
The Development Process Cannot Be Bypassed
In both cases, the infrastructure, processes and procedures, marketing strategy, outreach plan, service delivery, systems, and team all need to be built from the ground up. In reality, it is also likely the senior leadership team has not truly experienced a start-up or small business environment. Most people who succeed in established organizations operate differently than an entrepreneur or visionary non-profit executive director would. While talented, if you are this leader, you might remember that you were hired into an organization with a lot of existing structure.
Achieving Excellence – Designing a Community Engagement Strategy with Results
The environment you experienced as a new executive is not what is happening with this new project – more than likely you were hired into a role with clear boundaries and supporting infrastructure. Your new impact initiative is still emerging.
Want to start with massive impact? Well, then the new initiative needs a full-time fundraiser, and those roles are not inexpensive either. Want to have a team delivering services from the start? Well, then you need to hire, and the staff needs systems, tools, and procedures. Want to engage the people you aim to reach? Well, then the organization needs to do due diligence and market research to be sure it is offering a solution that is needed.
Legacy-focused senior executives and purpose-driven leaders alike must recognize a new project needs key elements to succeed.
- Your project needs proper resource allocation. A multi-million-dollar business will need to commit proportional resources to achieve multi-million-dollar impact. Success requires investment that aligns with your vision.
- Your project needs dedicated community engagement. The organization’s existing brand collateral will not drive engagement on its own. New initiatives require intentional relationship building with stakeholders who do not understand your work yet.
- Your project needs due diligence, system, and infrastructure design, and a strong governance model. The organization needs a clear plan with realistic expectations. You cannot afford to waste time guessing at what might work. Good strategic planning should be incorporated from day one.
Profound Hope Industries’ H.O.P.E. Framework for Social Change is designed to address these precise elements, helping your organization build programs and initiatives that achieve results from the start. By acknowledging and navigating the start-up culture in your established organization, you build a project, subsidiary, or program that raises your organizational profile while creating change for the community you serve.
If your organization is launching or retooling an impact initiative, this is your defining moment.
Don’t rely on good intentions alone — design for real results.
