Hidup Dalam Secangkir Kopi

Hidup itu adalah sampulnya saja. Sedangkan isinya adalah nasi basi yang harus kita olah agar bisa kita nikmati dan menjadi sajian yang lezat setiap pagi.

Dalam hidup, kesulitan adalah bumbu utama agar kehidupan kita lebih bermakna dan memiliki rasa. 

Jangan hidup kalau tidak mau diuji.

Kita sering dihapapkan dengan kesulitan. Namun, yang lebih sulit adalah, bagaimaa cara kita agar bisa mengolah kesulitan itu menjadi sebuah roti panggan berselai setrawberry di pagi hari dengan
secangkir kopi.

Untuk menyajikan kopi, kita harus pintar bagaimana mengubah rasa kopi yang pahit menjadi manis. Itupun dibutuhkan dua hal. Gula dan sendok pengaduk. Ada gula saja tanpa pengaduk, tetap saja, kopi akan pahit sebab gula tidak bisa tercampur dengan serbuk kopi. Sedangkan pengaduk saja tanpa gula? Apa jadinya?
Sama seperti hidup.
Untuk menghadapi kesulitan hidup, apalagi kesulitan ekonomi, kita hanya butuh dua hal. Kemampuan dan kemauan. Kita semua sudah diberkahi kemampuan masing-masing. Itu sudah kodrat alam. Dan kemampuan tiap individu itu berbeda namun menghasilkan kepuasan yang sama. Sama-sama bisa mendatangkan profit.

Kemampuan yang kita miliki bisa menghasilkan sesuatu yang berharga asal ada kemauan. Kemauan saja tanpa ingin mengolah kemampuan sama dengan berpangku tangan. Hampa. Jadi, untuk bisa sukses mengatasi kesulitan ekonomi, mari kita seimbangkan keduanya. Agar seimbang, saling melengkapi. Baca peluang yang ada. Jangan malas, malas adalah musuh utama.

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Secangkir Kopi 2

Sekelompok alumni satu universitas yang telah mapan dalam karir masing-masing berkumpul dan mendatangi profesor kampus mereka yang telah tua. Percakapan segera terjadi dan mengarah pada komplain tentang stress di pekerjaan dan kehidupan mereka.

Menawari tamu-tamunya kopi, professor pergi ke dapur dan kembali dengan poci besar berisi kopi dan cangkir berbagai jenis dari porselin, plastik, gelas, kristal, gelas biasa, beberapa di antara gelas mahal dan beberapa lainnya sangat indah - dan mengatakan pada para mantan mahasiswanya untuk menuang sendiri kopinya.

Setelah semua mahasiswanya mendapat secangkir kopi di tangan, professor itu mengatakan : "Jika kalian perhatikan, semua cangkir yang indah dan mahal telah diambil, yang tertinggal hanyalah gelas biasa dan yang murah saja. Meskipun normal bagi kalian untuk mengingini hanya yang terbaik bagi diriki kalian, tapi sebenarnya itulah yang menjadi sumber masalah dan stress yang kalian alami."

"Pastikan bahwa cangkir itu sendiri tidak mempengaruhi kualitas kopi. Dalam banyak kasus, itu hanya lebih mahal dan dalam beberapa kasus bahkan menyembunyikan apa yang kita minum. Apa yang kalian inginkan sebenarnya adalah kopi, bukanlah cangkirnya, namun kalian secara sadar mengambil cangkir terbaik dan kemudian mulai memperhatikan cangkir orang lain."

"Sekarang perhatikan hal ini: Kehidupan bagai kopi, sedangkan pekerjaan, uang dan posisi dalam masyarakat adalah cangkirnya. Cangkir bagaikan alat untuk memegang dan mengisi kehidupan. Jenis cangkir yang kita miliki tidak mendefinisikan atau juga mengganti kualitas kehidupan yang kita hidupi. Seringkali, karena berkonsentrasi hanya pada cangkir, kita gagal untuk menikmati kopi yang Tuhan sediakan bagi kita."

Tuhan memasak dan membuat kopi, bukan cangkirnya. Jadi nikmatilah kopinya, jangan cangkirnya. Sadarilah jika kehidupan Anda itu lebih penting dibanding obsesi yang terlalu berlebihan.

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Hal yang akan terjadi kalau kita nggak pacaran

source : link 

Bebas

Jomblo itu bebas. Bebas jalan sama siapa aja, nggak ada yang ngelarang. Bebas mau ke mana aja, nggak ada yang ngelarang. Bebas ngerampok mini market, nggak ada yang ngelarang.

Hemat

Jomblo itu hemat. Duit yang harusnya habis buat pacaran jadi bisa disimpen buat beli macem-macem.

Semakin lama jomblo, semakin banyak uang yang ditabung. Semakin banyak uang yang ditabung, semakin cepat bisa beli barang impian. Misalnya kalau punya pacar, kamu butuh 21 tahun nabung buat beli iPhone 4s. Dengan jadi jomblo, mungkin 14 tahun udah kebeli.

Bahagia

Kamu nggak akan merasakan penyakit-penyakit asmara.

Misalnya Rindu. Mau rindu sama siapa? Cemburu… mau cemburuin siapa? Galau… mau ngegalauin siapa?

Ya, jomblo itu bahagia.

Berprestasi

Coba deh perhatiin temen-temen di sekeliling kamu. Orang yang sibuk pacaran biasanya belajarnya nggak bener. Beda sama yang nggak sibuk pacaran. Walaupun nggak bener-bener banget, setidaknya lebih agak bener dari yang tadi kita bilang agak nggak bener.

Bener nggak?

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18 Strategi Promosi Cerdas

Produsen sebuah produk baik barang atau jasa, membutuhkan strategi promosi yang tepat untuk mengenalkan produknya kepada konsumen. Strategi promosi produk sangat dibutuhkan. Karena tanpa adanya kegiatan promosi, sebuah produk tidak akan dikenal masyarakat. Makanya para pengusaha saling berlomba menggunakan berbagai strategi untuk mempromosikan produk mereka, guna memperoleh perhatian dari masyarakat.

Kegiatan promosi produk, tidak selamanya membutuhkan biaya yang cukup besar. Bagi Anda yang memiliki dana terbatas sekalipun, kegiatan promosi produk juga dapat dilakukan. Yang terpenting adalah kreatifitas Anda untuk menyusun strategi promosi dengan meminimalisir dana. Namun tetap perlu diingat, promosi dengan dana yang optimal, tentu akan menghasilkan respon pasar yang lebih optimal.  Oleh sebab itu, sebagai tambahan informasi, berikut kami informasikan 18 strategi promosi cerdas, bahkan nyaris tanpa biaya sedikitpun.

1. Menyusun daftar rencana promosi

Pertama, susunlah rencana promosi untuk menarik konsumen,  mulai dari tujuan promosi, target pasar,  nilai lebih produk yang akan ditawarkan, besaran anggaran dana yang digunakan, serta buatlah daftar kegiatan promosi untuk mengenalkan produk Anda kepada konsumen.

2. Tentukan konsep promosi sebelum memulai usaha

Sebelum memulai usaha, cari tahu mengenai besarnya minat konsumen untuk menggunakan atau membeli produk Anda. Selanjutnya tentukan konsep promosi yang diinginkan, bila perlu tambahkan logo atau slogan khusus pada produk agar konsumen ingat dengan produk maupun bisnis Anda.

3. Pilih sasaran pasar yang tepat

Jika anggaran terbatas, sebaiknya fokuskan target pasar produk Anda kepada suatu komunitas atau kelompok tertentu yang memiliki kebutuhan sesuai dengan produk Anda. Bila produk Anda sudah tersebar dan dikenal masyarakat, Anda dapat memperluas sasaran pasar.

4. Fokus kepada pelanggan

Bantu konsumen untuk menyelesaikan masalah mereka, jadi yakinkan pelanggan dengan memberikan informasi bagaimana produk Anda bermanfaat untuk mereka.

5. Penuhi permintaan pelanggan

Konsumen merupakan orang yang paling tahu kebutuhan apa yang mereka inginkan, oleh karena itu dengarkan permintaan mereka dan penuhi dengan menciptakan produk yang diinginkan konsumen. Agar produk yang Anda ciptakan sesuai dengan permintaan konsumen saat ini.

6. Berikan informasi gratis

Berikan informasi gratis yang berhubungan dengan produk Anda, misalnya dengan memberikan brosur, surat, atau menyajikan website yang memberikan informasi gratis dengan berita up to date, bila perlu kirimkan sms untuk menginformasikan promosi terbaru dari produk Anda.

7. Gunakanan online marketing

Promosi bisa dilakukan dengan mengirimkan email kepada para pelanggan sebagai bentuk  berkomunikasi. Bisa juga dengan membuat grup melaluifacebook atau twitter, sehingga konsumen mengetahui informasi produk Anda melalui internet, yang dapat menjangkau konsumen lokal maupun internasional.

8. Manfaatkan relasi media

Usahakan agar bisnis Anda dimuat dimedia massa atau elektronik, sehingga informasi bisnis tersebut dapat tersebar luas dengan gratis. Terutama bagi usaha kecil menengah, banyak media yang ingin meliputnya. Perluas jaringan Anda dengan mencari relasi media yang bisa diajak kerjasama untuk mempromosikan bisnis Anda.

9. Masuklah ke dalam komunitas

Media komunitas menjadi pilihan tepat bagi usaha kecil dan menengah yang memiliki dana terbatas, untuk mempromosikan produknya. Jika Anda menjual pada komunitas yang sering Anda ikuti, maka tidak diperlukan lagi biaya iklan.

10. Memasang papan iklan

Papan iklan di lokasi strategis, merupakan alat promosi yang bagus. Karena mudah dilihat dan dibaca orang yang melewati lokasi tersebut.

11. Lakukan hal kecil yang berdampak besar

Hal kecil seperti memberi senyuman, salam, kamar mandi yang bersih, mengangkat telepon pada dering ketiga, kartu nama yang menarik, serta kebersihan lokasi usaha Anda ternyata mempengaruhi image konsumen terhadap bisnis dan produk yang Anda tawarkan.

12. Berikan hadiah untuk konsumen

Tidak perlu hadiah mahal, hadiah seperti pengiriman gratis, atau softdrink gratis, ternyata menjadi daya tarik tersendiri bagi para konsumen yang menggunakan produk Anda. Sehingga mereka tidak segan untuk kembali menggunakan produk Anda.

13. Gunakan strategi word of mouth

Promosi paling efektif adalah pemasaran melalui mulut ke mulut. Dengan memberikan informasi yang mengena pada konsumen, mereka akan meneruskan informasi tersebut kepada orang lain. Sehingga informasi produk Anda tersebar di kalangan masyarakat.

14. Hindari meniru produk ternama

Hindari pengunaan strategi promosi yang sudah sering digunakan untuk produk lainnya. Usahakan cari strategi yang belum pernah digunakan dan memicu rasa penasaran konsumen untuk membeli produk tersebut.

15. Jangan menganggap pesaing sebagai musuh

Selain memberikan dampak negatif, bersaing dengan competitor hanya akan menghabiskan banyak biaya dan hanya akan menjadi persaingan harga . Sehingga konsumen akan berpindah ke produk lain yang harganya stabil.

16. Promosi silang (Cross-promote)

Masukan promosi produk terbaru Anda yang siap dilaunching, pada setiap kegiatan promosi yang Anda lakukan. Sehingga dalam satu kali kegiatan promosi, bisa menginformasikan produk yang Anda miliki semaksimal mungkin.

17. Iklan alternatif akhir

Iklan bukan strategi pokok dalam pemasaran, karena biasanya memakan banyak biaya. Bila dana terbatas, usahakan untuk memilih tempat iklan yang tepat pada sasaran Anda. Agar biaya yang dikeluarkan tidak terbuang sia-sia.

18. Menunggu hasil

Yang terakhir sabar menunggu hasil, karena penjualan merupakan kegiatan yang berkelanjutan. Jadi tidak bisa langsung memberikan hasil saat promosi berlangsung, hasilnya baru terlihat setelah promosi selesai. Beri waktu bagi konsumen untuk menilai produk Anda, dan biarkan waktu yang bekerja untuk menjualkan produk Anda.

Demikian informasi pemasaran bisnis kami pekan ini, semoga informasi tersebut bermanfaat. Salam sukses.

(Sumber : Majalah Ide Bisnis Edisi 06/November 2010)

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Manajemen Waktu yang Baik

Anda mungkin telah pernah mengikuti seminar mengenai manajemen waktu, dan mungkin anda sudah sering membaca buku untuk mempelajari bagaimana cara mengatur waktu dengan baik. Anda mungkin juga telah membuat serangkaian perencanaan di buku atau bahkan gadget yang khusus untuk mengatur jadwal anda. Tapi apakah Anda benar-benar membutuhkan semua gadget dan buku itu? Apakah Anda tidak bisa mengatur pekerjaan Anda tanpa alat-alat itu?

Jawabannya sangat sederhana. Semua hal peralatan dan gadget yang Anda pakai untuk mengorganisir waktu Anda tidak akan berguna. Sebelum Anda bisa mengatur waktu Anda, Anda sendiri harus memahami arti dari waktu. Dalam kamus waktu dijelaskan sebagai sebuah periode atau titik dimana suatu hal terjadi.

Ada dua jenis waktu, waktu pada jam dan waktu sebenarnya (waktu nyata). Dalam waktu pada jam, ada 60 detik dalam satu menit, 60 menit dalam satu jam, dua puluh empat jam dalam sehari dan 365 hari dalam setahun. Waktu ini berlalu sama cepatnya. Saat seseorang berusia 50, mereka benar-benar berusia 50. Tidak ada yang kurang ataupun lebih.

Dalam waktu sebenarnya atau waktu nyata, semua waktu itu relatif. Waktu bisa berlalu tergantung dengan apa yang Anda lakukan. Dua jam dalam sebuah pabrik motor bisa terasa seperti dua belas tahun. Dan dua belas tahun masa kanak-kanak anda bisa terasa seperti dua jam saja.

Jenis waktu yang mana yang mewakili Anda di kehidupan Anda?

Alasan mengapa semua gadget, peralatan dan sistem pengaturan waktu yang Anda gunakan tidak akan berhasil adalah karena semua sistem dan gadget yang Anda miliki itu hanya mengatur waktu pada jam. Waktu pada jam tidak relevan. Anda tidak tidak memiliki akses pada waktu tersebut. Anda hidup di waktu yang nyata, sebuah dunia dimana waktu berjalan begitu cepat saat Anda bahagia, dan terasa begitu lambat saat Anda melakukan hal yang tidak Anda suka.

Berita baiknya adalah bahwa waktu nyata itu terkait dengan mental dan pola pikir. Anda dapat menciptakannya. Apapun yang dapat Anda ciptakan, pasti dapat anda atur. Ini saatnya untuk membuang segala jenis sabotase diri, dan pembatasan diri. Tidak ada lagi alasan “tidak memiliki waktu yang cukup” atau  “hari ini bukanlah waktu yang tepat” untuk memulai suatu hal.

Hanya ada tiga cara untuk menghabiskan waktu: berpikir, bercakap-cakap, melakukan sesuatu. Terlepas dari tipe bisnis yang Anda jalani saat ini, bisnis Anda tidak akan terlepas dari ketiga hal ini.

Sebagai seorang pengusaha, waktu yang Anda miliki pasti akan sering terbagi. Saat Anda tidak bisa menghilangkan interupsi-interupsi itu, Anda harus mempertimbangkan berapa banyak waktu yang harus Anda luangkan untuk interupsi tersebut, dan berapa banyak waktu yang harus anda luangkan untuk berpikir, berinteraksi dengan orang lain, dan mengambil tindakan untuk kesuksesan bisnis Anda.

Praktekan ke-sepuluh teknik di bawah ini untuk menguasai pengaturan waktu Anda!

1. Bawalah jadwal, dan ingatlah seluruh isi pemikiran Anda, percakapan, dan kegiatan yang harus Anda lakukan selama seminggu. Ini akan membantu Anda untuk memahami berapa banyak hal yang dapat Anda selesaikan dalam satu hari, dan kapan waktu-waktu berharga Anda akan berlalu. Anda akan dapat melihat berapa banyak waktu yang Anda luangkan untuk mencapai hasil, dan berapa banyak waktu yang telah Anda buang untuk kegiatan-kegiatan yang tidak produktif.
2. Segala kegiatan dan percakapan yang penting untuk kesuksesan Anda harus ada jangka waktunya. List pekerjaan Anda akan bertambah sangat banyak jika Anda mengisinya dengan hal-hal yang tidak bisa dikerjakan. Buatlah jadwal untuk diri Anda sendiri dimana Anda bisa meluangkan waktu untuk berpikir dan melakukan hal-hal yang produktif bagi diri Anda. Lakukanlah hal ini secara disiplin.
3. Rencanakanlah setidaknya 50% dari waktu yang Anda miliki untuk menghasilkan hal yang produktif.
4. Rencanakanlah waktu untuk beristirahat, menarik diri dari semua kesibukan yang Anda miliki.
5. Luangkan 30 menit pertama setiap harinya untuk merencanakan hari Anda. Jangan memulai aktivitas Anda sebelum Anda selesai merencanakannya. Saat yang paling penting dalam hari Anda adalah saat dimana Anda merencanakannya.
6. Luangkan waktu selama 5 menit untuk setiap undangan dan keputusan yang harus Anda datangi dan Anda ambil. Ini akan membantu Anda memperlihatkan prioritas yang harus diutamakan, dan membuat Anda merasa bahwa waktu tidak berlalu begitu cepat. Luangkan pula 5 menit setelah aktivitas atau keputusan yang Anda ambil untuk menentukan apakah target yang Anda tentukan hari ini tercapai atau tidak. Apakah ada yang terlewat, atau tidak.
7. Jangan ragu-ragu untuk menolak interupsi dari siapapun juga saat Anda benar-benar harus mengerjakan sesuatu sampai selesai.
8. Berlatihlah untuk tidak mengangkat semua telepon yang masuk, atau mengecek e-mail yang masuk hanya karena handphone Anda berdering. Matikanlah koneksi telepon Anda. Jangan berikan perhatian Anda secara mudah kepada orang lain kecuali hal itu benar-benar krusial dalam bisnis Anda. Jika hal itu benar-benar menentukan bisnis Anda kedepannya, Anda malah harus menyediakan jadwal khusus untuk meladeninya.
9. Blokirlah semua hal yang tidak berhubungan dengan pekerjaan seperti Facebook dan sosial media yang lain, kecuali Anda menggunakan hal itu untuk membantu bisnis Anda.
10. Ingatlah bahwa mustahil untuk menyelesaikan semuanya. Dan ingatlah bahwa hal yang baik adalah membuat dua puluh persen kegiatan Anda menghasilkan delapan puluh persen dari hasil anda.

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DEVELOPING A CAMPAIGN STRATEGY Introduction

Every organisation – no matter its size, aim or budget - wants to be successful. That means setting goals, realising a vision for change and having an impact on peoples’ lives. 

The goals your organisation sets may be complex or challenging – from ending Internet censorship to protecting and freeing political prisoners to creating conditions for a society’s access to information. The journey from setting aims to actually achieving results that will have an impact on people's lives is a demanding one. 

While your organisation may undertake routine work toward its overall mandate, it is when it seeks to make a significant advance on a specific issue that it launches a campaign. 

A campaign is a series of coordinated actions, organised within a strategy that aims to achieve concrete objectives in a specific timeframe. 

In order to be successful in achieving change, a campaign needs to align with the overall framework of your organisation – its Vision and Mission: 

Vision: the image of an ideal future towards which your organisation wants to contribute with its work. For example, “The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) strives for a world where freedom of expression is defended, respected and upheld.”

Mission: states what your organisation does to contribute to make its Vision a reality; it is its central purpose and raison d'être. For example, “As the leading global network defending and promoting freedom of expression, IFEX enhances its members’ work by creating distinct opportunities for capacity building, joint advocacy and increased visibility.”

It is from these conceptual terms of reference that your organisation has established its identity, developed its policies and hired its staff. The Vision and Mission are the organisation’s expressions of desire: what it wants to achieve and how it will achieve it. 

The campaign should also align with and figure into the organisation’s Strategic Plan – the outline of how a group makes its Mission operational. Thus, the issue chosen for a campaign should already be part of your organisation’s Mission and Strategic Plan. If it’s not, there is risk of setting out on a path leading to frustration and failure since this plan guides decision-making around the use of resources based on your organisation´s objectives. 

PLANNING: THE KEY TO SUCCESS

With the campaign intrinsically linked to your organisation’s Vision, Mission and Strategic plan, it becomes possible to begin planning a Campaign Strategy – that is, a defined set of goals, objectives, activities, and monitoring and evaluation tools that will enable your organisation to achieve change around the issue it is focused on within a given time period. 

The Campaign Strategy is the road map for the campaign. It ensures that all campaign activities work to achieve the campaign's overall objectives; it is also the reference point for evaluating the progress and success of the campaign. Having a Campaign Strategy is also effective for communicating plans to other stakeholders, including fundraisers and other financial decision-makers, in order to gain their participation and support. 

THE CAMPAIGN CYCLE

This section will map out a process for undertaking strategic campaign planning as part of the Campaigning Cycle (see Figure 1). The Campaigning Cycle helps an organisation, whatever its size, to develop a successful campaign and to become more strategic and efficient when designing and implementing campaigns.

As mentioned above, the campaign is framed within the Vision, Mission and Strategic Plan of the organisation. The Campaigning Cycle can be divided in three phases that each take into account the stakeholders involved and decisions that need to be made: 

Phase One: The issue and problem to be addressed by the campaign are decided; 
Phase Two: The strategy is designed and implemented; 
Phase Three: The outcomes of the campaign are evaluated and its results are analysed. 

Phase One: Define the Issue and Identify the Problem 
At this stage, the organisation decides on the focus of the campaign. Ideally representative members, board members, executive directors and senior managers are involved in this decision, perhaps with some input from outside specialists. 

Issue: In the first strategic decision, the organisation must define the issue the organisation will focus the campaign on. This decision needs to be based on careful analysis of both external and internal factors. 

Problem: There are many aspects to any one issue. For instance, the issue of Internet censorship includes the role of software providers collaborating with governments; the persecution and arrest of online journalists and bloggers; the banning of human rights-related websites, etc. To focus resources more strategically, organisations should select only one or two of the problems related to the larger issue. 

Issue: In the first strategic decision, the organisation must define the issue the organisation will focus the campaign on. This decision needs to be based on careful analysis of both external and internal factors.

Problem: There are many aspects to any one issue. For instance, the issue of Internet censorship includes the role of software providers collaborating with governments; the persecution and arrest of online journalists and bloggers; the banning of human rights-related websites, etc. To focus resources more strategically, organisations should select only one or two of the problems related to the larger issue (See What to Campaign on: Choosing Your Campaigning Issue).

Phase Two: Design and Implement the Strategy 
This stage covers the design and implementation of the campaign strategy, which includes setting the concrete objectives that the organisation aims itself to achieve in the timeframe of the campaign. In this stage, the organisation also needs to outline the activities and tools and resources it will employ to achieve these objectives:

• Strategy Design: Based on thorough internal and external analysis around the campaign problem, the organisation defines: the SMART objectives for the campaign (See Setting Campaign Objectives); the plan of action that will deliver those objectives (See Implementing your Campaign Strategy); and the monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment methodologies (See Monitoring and Evaluation and Assessing Impact) .
• Strategy Implementation: The organisation executes the campaign action plans and periodically monitors progress made toward achieving the objectives. Based on the evaluation and impact analysis, the organisation responds with adjustments to the strategy. (See Monitoring and Evaluationand Assessing Impact) .

Phase Three: Identify Changes to the Issue and the Problem and Assess Impact 
As the campaign comes to an end, the organisation needs to identify how the issue and problem have changed since the initiative got underway. Changes may be immediately visible - for example, a new law was passed that meets your campaigning objective, but the impact that comes from this change may take some time to be clear. For example, impacts may only be gauged by measuring an increase or decrease in the numbers of licenses awarded to independent media houses (covered by the law) in the months or years that follow. 

Identify Changes: The organisation undertakes to identify, analyse, and communicate the changes achieved and triggered by the campaign
Assess Impacts: The organisation assesses the impact of the changes on the problem and the issue over time. 

Note: to be effective and responsive, organisations should also systematically monitor and evaluate the implementation of the strategy and the achievement of campaigning objectives throughout all stages of the campaigning cycle. 

By following the Campaigning Cycle, your organisation can ensure that its campaign is strategic, impact-oriented and safeguarded against being purely activity-driven. Ultimately, the success of a campaign is in its ability to produce changes in norms or practices that are measurable. Success will also mean that the impact of these changes is central to your organisation's Mission and Vision. 

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Assessing Impact

As the campaign comes to an end, your organisation will need to evaluate the progress made and look at how the issues have changed since the beginning of your campaign. This should include documenting intended and unintended outcomes, as well as positive and negative changes. 

Some of these changes might be obvious, such as the passage of a new law that meets your campaigning objectives. However, other changes may not be immediately clear, and may require time before they can be fully assessed. For example, the impact of a new law governing media licences may only be evaluated over time by measuring the change in the numbers of licences awarded to independent media houses in the months or years following the enactment of the law. 

IDENTIFY CHANGES AND SHARE THEM WITH STAKEHOLDERS

Changes could be concrete, such as those that you identified at the beginning of the campaign in your SMART objectives (e.g. the passage of a new law) (see Setting Campaign Objectives). They could also be unexpected, such as an increase in the number of journalists covered by life insurance or the adoption of a minimum wage requirement for journalists. Both changes directly relate to the objective of improving the working conditions of journalists. 

Be sure to communicate to your stakeholders all of the campaign's initial outcomes. This will help to reinforce your relationships with those who were involved in the campaigning process. Communicating campaign achievements can also have a great motivational effect on your internal constituency, and can serve to strengthen your ties with external stakeholders, such as financial donors or other activists.

ASSESS IMPACT

Impact concerns long-term and sustainable effects in the lives of the campaign beneficiaries. Impact assessment answers the question, "How have the lives of the beneficiaries been influenced as a result of the changes achieved by the campaign?" 

Impact can be related to the changes achieved directly by the campaign, or to the unanticipated changes caused by events during the implementation of the campaign strategy. Impact can be positive or negative, and internal or external.

The objective of doing an impact assessment is to help you decide what actions your organisation should take to continue advancing towards your ultimate goal (e.g. the protection of freedom of expression), and to identify and improve on the tools your organisation needs to achieve this goal. 

Since an impact assessment will evaluate the effects of the changes in the lives of the beneficiaries, beneficiaries should ideally be part of the impact assessment process to analyse whether the outcomes have had any effect (positive or negative) on them. You may decide to re-engage with the beneficiary group that helped your organisation analyse the campaign issue and problem (see What to campaign on). 

For instance, if a focus group of journalists helped your organisation identify that poor working conditions in their profession are an impediment to freedom of expression, it is best situated to analyse the effects of the outcome (e.g. a new law that permits the creation of journalists' unions). 

Impact assessment also allows you to analyse if the advances made during a campaign fulfil the overall mission and vision of your organisation. If the mandate of your organisation is to improve the overall freedom of expression situation for journalists in your country, you would assess whether the new law brought you closer to reaching your overarching goal.

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN ASSESSING IMPACT

Internal impact: Your campaign can have an impact on the internal workings of your organisation. For example, after having worked closely with a political party in order to advocate for a new law, your organisation might be identified with a political leaning, and thus lose the perception of political independence. You should implement internal feedback mechanisms and consider comments from key stakeholders such as donors, media, other NGOs, etc. in order to be aware of and avoid this kind of impact. 

Baseline studies: In some cases, it might be possible to find trusted sources that could indicate, for example, the percentage of journalists working for the mainstream media that do not have written contracts. The same source could undertake a study of the percentage change at the end of the campaign. However, keep in mind that establishing baselines can be a complicated and expensive exercise depending on the data that needs to be included. 

Other impact indicators: During the analysis of the campaign issue and problem, other indicators may become apparent that you could refer to when assessing the impact of the campaign. 

Adequate implementation: While doing an impact assessment, you should also measure whether the outcomes achieved are being adequately implemented. A law that was passed as a result of your campaign might not be properly financed or regulated; you might also find that the legal interpretation of the law's key elements vary from one judge to another. This will affect the overall impact of the law. 

Ad-hoc methodologies: Tools such as focus groups or baseline studies as mentioned above help to assess the impact of the expected outcomes. But since outcomes could also be unexpected, it is also necessary to include ad-hoc methodologies to assess impact.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT VERSUS MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Even though they may seem similar, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and impact assessment are two different processes. M&E tells you what outcomes the campaign has achieved and what activities helped achieve those outcomes (see Monitoring and Evaluation). Impact assessment, on the other hand, informs you about the real effects of these outcomes. 

While you should assess impact at the closing of the campaign, impact assessment methodologies and tools need to be identified at the initial stages of the campaign strategy in the same way that you would have identified M&E methodologies and tools. 

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Implementing Your Campaign Strategy

When your organisation approves the campaign strategy, you are ready to put it into action. Without rigorous and effective campaign implementation, the most strategic of campaigns could fail to achieve their objectives and result in a lost opportunity.

CREATE A CAMPAIGN OPERATIONAL PLAN

A good idea before you start is to create a Campaign Operational Plan (COP). Include in the plan WHAT it is that the organisation wants to achieve (the objectives), HOW it is going to achieve it (the plan of action), WHO is responsible for each area (assignment of responsibilities), and WHICH tools will let you know if the campaign strategy is being implemented correctly - and if it is achieving the expected results (monitoring and evaluation). 

There are many ways to show this data in a COP. The following table is one suggestion:

This COP shows that implementing the campaign strategy has both external aspects (meetings with MPs) and internal aspects (hiring and training staff). In some circumstances, it is possible to achieve several outcomes in a single activity. For instance, including freelance journalists in lobby meetings to tell their personal stories will empower the journalists, as well as help to improve the attitude of those you are lobbying - by bringing them closer to the journalists, and illustrating how proper legislation would help.

IDENTIFY KEY DATES

When you draft the COP, identify internal and external key dates to ensure your activities have the greatest possible impact. Key dates for the journalists' rights bill might include national or international commemorative days, elections, when Parliament is open and closed, report launch dates, or when the contract of a key staff member comes to an end. 

If one of the main activities is lobbying, and your organisation does not have qualified staff, it is necessary to include the recruiting, induction and training schedule of new staff in the timetable. An accurate calendar will prevent delays that can directly affect the development of the plan of action and its expected outcomes. Scheduling activities strategically will benefit the campaign, and will avoid their competition with your organisation’s other activities and priorities.

DRAFT KEY MESSAGES

Also come up with key messages: the main ideas that your organisation wants to communicate to its audiences about the issue, the solution proposed, and the necessary actions required for reaching that solution. A key message is not the same as a slogan, although some key messages could easily be translated into one. Your organisation may decide it is most effective to communicate the key messages by using images, music, website banners, viral Internet videos, posters, reports, or a combination of these. Take into account the different audiences you will communicate with (mass media, NGOs, associates, donors and supporters, etc.) when deciding upon your key messages.

ASSIGN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

To effectively implement the COP, you need to make the necessary adjustments to your organisational structure. A fundamental first step is to assign tasks and responsibilities, as well as to define the decision-making process for the duration of the campaign. 

The person in charge of implementing the activities should develop a specific work plan that covers the different stages of each activity and which resources are required at each stage (such as materials, training, staffing, technology and budget). Work plans should be approved and reviewed periodically, taking into account your monitoring and evaluation tools.

MITIGATE AGAINST POTENTIAL CONFLICT

Putting your campaign into action requires a great deal of energy and involvement. It's only natural that some internal conflicts may arise. Within every organisation, different programmes and individuals have their own priorities that can compete for the organisation's resources (Director’s time, budget, staff, etc.) and support. Be aware of the possibility of conflicts and be prepared to manage them as they surface. 

For instance, the campaign may require the support of other departments in your organisation, like administration, fundraising or IT, that perhaps had little to do with the campaign up to this point. To mitigate against potential conflict, conduct an introductory meeting inviting all internal actors involved in implementing the campaign. The meeting provides the space for people to learn more about the campaign, to brainstorm about how the implementation process will influence their specific areas of work, and to focus on opportunities to build the capacity of the organisation as a whole for operationalising campaigns effectively.

USE YOUR MONITORING AND EVALUATION SYSTEMS

Finally, don't forget to implement the monitoring and evaluation systems you established in the strategy. Keep in mind two questions:

1. Is the strategy being implemented exactly as it was designed?
2. Are the results of the activities what was expected?

For instance, if one of the monitoring and evaluation systems established is to maintain periodic meetings with relevant actors, you should have defined who those actors are, who is in charge of coordinating the meetings, and when and where they will take place. 

If you are deviating from your strategy - i.e., because the organisation did not account for the estimated resources necessary, or because there have been significant changes to the environment related to the campaign - it is likely that your activities will not result in the intended outcomes, and, thus, your objectives will be in jeopardy. Also, the success of one activity does not guarantee the success of every activity. Keep focused on your objectives, constantly monitor and evaluate your implementation, and adapt your campaign strategy based on your findings. 

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Setting Campaign Objectives

Campaigns tackle very large and complicated issues. With them we try to improve journalists’ working conditions, bring governments to respect and promote freedom of expression, or stop the killing of journalists in conflict situations. None of these issues are going to be resolved from one day to the next. But, before we achieve our ultimate goals a number of steps need to happen within a campaign's particular time frame. These steps are our campaign objectives while the larger issue is ourcampaign goal. 

To effectively outline a campaign strategy and determine what the change being sought by a campaign will look like, it’s necessary to set campaign objectives. Campaign objectives help in the planning and design of activities that will achieve tangible outcomes. They are also essential in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of campaigning work (see Monitoring and Evaluation). 

Objectives have to be in line not only with the overall goal of the campaign, but also with an organisation’s resources and capacities. Campaign objectives need to beSpecific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound: they need to beSMART. 

Question: How SMART do campaign objectives need to be?
Answer: As SMART as possible. 

Establishing a SMART Objective involves stating what will be achieved within the campaign’s timeline and what steps will take place in order to make this happen. For example, it is not enough to set as an objective: “To improve journalists’ working conditions”. However, that could be the broader goal of the campaign, which is supported by several strategic SMART objectives. 

Analysis of the campaign issue might indicate some of the steps necessary to achieving the broader goal. For example, with a goal of improving journalists’ working conditions it might be necessary to attain the recognition of journalists’ unions by the government; the establishment of compulsory work contracts between journalists and editors; and the setting of national minimum wages and working hours. A SMART objective will define the progress one aims to achieve on each of these more specific fronts. 

Thus, for the first campaign objective - the recognition of journalists’ unions - it is necessary to find out if there is legislation on the matter that needs to be approved by parliament, or if there are any other relevant legal procedures underway or requiring initiation, according to specific time-lines. The campaign team needs to be specific as to what outcomes will be achieved that are both relevant and realistic during the life of the campaign. A new bill may not get passed within the timeframe of a one-year campaign. But perhaps a declaration of support from members of parliament, or, a draft bill passed by the relevant parliamentary committee would be possible, as the first steps to getting new legislation on the issue. 

Thus, the specific objective would be: “To get a draft bill approved by the labour rights parliamentary committee, allowing journalists, including freelance journalists, to constitute unions”. 

Having specific, concrete objectives allows the campaign team to have greater focus and to identify areas where capacity-building might be needed – for example, around strengthening lobbying expertise – in order to achieve the objectives. Specific objectives also make it easier to convene relevant allies, such us other freedom of expression organisations or sympathetic members of parliament and labour organisations, around a defined aim. 

Furthermore, a set of specific objectives provides the benchmarks to measurewhether the campaign team is achieving its aims. Specific objectives contain within them milestones that will indicate if things are on track. It will be easy to check if the parliamentary committee has or has not approved the bill but it is also relevant to know why this has not happened or why it may have happened earlier than expected in the campaign. By measuring the progress of a campaign according to specific objectives, campaigners can better analyse the reasons behind success or failure and make adjustments to the overall strategy along the way. 

Vague but necessary objectives such as “raising awareness” need to be reformulated into measurable ones. This can be done, for example, by setting out to receive coverage of your issue through a targeted number of newspaper articles and TV or radio interviews at specific media outlets. Thus, campaigners can infer that through the readership and audience of these newspapers and broadcasters, the public´s awareness of the campaign issue has been raised. This and the reaction of the target audiences will tell you if you’re on the right track to reach this particular objective. 

Similar specific objectives can be set for other public outreach and awareness raising elements of a campaign, such as aiming for specific numbers of subscribers reached by a newsletter, new members signed up in a drive, or attendees at a speaking event or street theatre performance. 

Even if a campaign is ambitious and it’s uncertain whether it can be accomplished, the team needs to make sure it has established achievable objectives – you don’t want to set yourself up for impossible tasks. 

To assess your chances of achieving a campaign objective, you’ll need to analyse internal and external factors. 


Internal factors are those related to your organisation and your campaign team, such as in-house skills, human and financial resources and relationships with key stakeholders. These factors can make parliamentary lobbying or forming a coalition, easy tasks or monumental ones. It’s important to assess if your team is able to achieve its objectives with the resources it currently has or with those it can reasonably procure. 

External factors are those outside your organisation or team, such as economic or political conditions. Maybe it’s not the right political moment to introduce a draft bill because attention is focused on another issue, or perhaps an election is near and the topic of protecting media workers under a legal framework could become politicised in the campaign in a way that could benefit the cause. 

Campaign objectives also need to be relevant to the broader campaign goal. The best way to assess the relevance of a campaign objective is to check with those who will benefit from the campaign´s success - in this case, the journalists. It’s also necessary to consider your options from a strategic and long-term perspective to evaluate whether a certain direction will deliver what you’re seeking to achieve. 

Sometimes opportunities may present themselves in the course of the campaign that appear to be a gain although their outcomes may be different than initially imagined. It’s thus necessary to assess whether that apparent opportunity is actually relevant to the campaign goal itself. For example, in seeking recognition for a journalists’ union you may receive assurances that journalists could be brought into the general workers union. Despite this being easier to achieve, it would not ensure journalists the power they need to negotiate better working conditions, which was the original goal. 

If the campaign objectives are established and understood in the first place it will be much easier to determine whether a potential opportunity that arises is relevant to your campaign goal. 

Like campaign plans, the campaign objectives need to be time-bound, meaning a target date must be set by when specific objectives will be achieved. 

If campaign plans and resources run from January 2014 to December 2015, you’ll need to be specific as to when the objectives will be accomplished within this period. This is important because it will help in scheduling the campaign implementation plans. As well, by monitoring and evaluating the external and internal factors that occur during the campaign, it will also be possible to determine whether you’re achieving success within the imagined timeframe. 

Making campaign objectives SMART at the very outset of the campaign strategy-building process will enable you to set targets that are possible to realize. They will focus your campaign team around recognised and understood goals and empower you in the process to stay on target, meet deadlines, and come together to evaluate and reassess progress along the way. They can also help your organisation use human and financial resources efficiently and most importantly, to create effective and lasting social change. 

So, what does a SMART objective look like? 
“By the end of the parliamentary calendar year 2015, the Labour Rights Parliament Committee will have discussed and approved a draft bill granting union rights to all journalists, including freelance journalists”. 

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