I’m always reading something. Last week, in the midst of reading short stories by Julian Barnes and Dave Eggers, I turned to a classic,
Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo. Ever heard of this one? I hadn’t until I read Francine Prose (
Reading Like a Writer), for whom it clearly was a seminal work of shocking dimensions both formally and because of its content. It’s all of about 125 pages, but it took me three days to wade through it. Normally I could do this in one evening, but the book was so weirdly constructed, that I had to turn back innumerable times just to catch a thread of narrative. Simply put, it is magical realism pared down to only the magical part. It is a little like Cormac McCarthy stripped of a story line, and much like Emile Bronte in its shocking turns, but for these allusions to make sense, but subtract the logical, linear, time-goes-in-one-direction sense of reality. The protagonist, Pedro Paramo, is a shadowy figure who may or may not be the narrator’s father, but who is certainly dead by the time the book opens. Most of the text is like a waking dream, where, dreamlike, anything can happen (people who are not really real speak and interact with the narrator). In the midst of that, which like most dream narrative is somewhat boring, is the story of a man who is ruthless in the use of his power to take others’ property to fulfill his endless lust for ownership of people – particularly women. He is finally killed by revolutionaries, or so it appears.
More relevant, perhaps, to your interest is my non-fiction reading. I received, “hot off the presses,” Michael K. Wells’
Successful Program Evaluation, a book that promises to give the grantseeker a full telling of how to discuss evaluation of projects cogently so that the grant maker will be impressed that the project will be logically and professionally evaluated both for its substantive outcomes and for its formal ones. I’ve paged through it once and find it fairly well organized, and not too plagued by Wells’ uninspired prose. In short, he gets the point across, although it’s a slog getting there. I’ve found his other books of value, so I plan to keep this one on my desk to consult.
A much better written, and therefore more useful book is
Flawless Consulting by Peter Block. Its subtitle is "A Guide To Getting Your Expertise Used." It is a second edition of a book from 1981 that I’m sure has inspired many consultants to pull up their socks and develop a better style. A theme throughout is Authenticity, by which Block means the capacity of an individual to tell the truth even when it seems dangerous to his self interest. Also known as integrity. But in this case, it is something that contributes to the whole purpose of consulting, which is to get the client to recognize the issues and to confront their solution. Hiding from the problems is, therefore, counter-productive. The book is chock full of relevant references to psychology and business, without lapsing into tedious discussions of how to do your taxes or arrange your office for the best results. Highly recommended if you’re a consultant and have had any less that satisfactory experiences with clients. If you’re like me, this has happened mainly because the non-profit manager does not know what you do and you’re unaware of that, so you never take the time – or you’re never given the time – to explain it fully so that everyone is clear about what is going to happen during this adventure.
Why do budgets hang people up so often? Because they’re intimidated by them, and that is because they’ve never taken the plunge to learn what they are and what they’re supposed to tell about the project. I consider myself pretty good at budgets, mostly because I get that nice satisfied feeling when I grind a spreadsheet out from the random figures a client gives me, usually presented in spreadsheet format, but without any rhyme or reason so far as order goes. And, the numbers are more often than not meaningless, don’t add up, and are in the wrong place relative to the other numbers. Anyway, I like to read about the subject so that I can sound authoritative when I have the opportunity, which is rare, to speak to a bookkeeper or CFO. I want to know how to read an annual report, an annual budget, and an audit. So I picked up two books recently, and I found them rich with information and even advice. One is
Not-for-Profit Accounting Made Easy by Warren Ruppel, a CPA with a distinguished career in non-profit work, and a good writer. His book is thorough without being pedantic. The writing is excellent and often even amusing (without being condescending). It didn't keep me up at night, but all things being equal, it is an excellent read. The other is
Bookkeeping Basics by Debra L. Ruegg and Lisa M. Venkatrahnam, a somewhat more elementary guide that I found somewhat confusing on a few concepts, such as accrual versus cash basis accounting. I think it’s because the authors (why did it take two of them to write a 78-page text?) are not sure who they’re writing for. Nonetheless, for a quick look at the subject, this book will serve.
Finally, my favorite. Cheryl A. Clarke (of
Storytelling for Grantseekers fame) and Susan P. Fox (a fundraising consultant and educator) have written
Grant Proposal Makeover, which takes non-winning grant proposals and demonstrates how they could be transformed into winning grant proposals. Since my business motto is “grant writing grant winning,” I had to have this one, and I’m glad I got it, because it mostly lives up to its intention to edify people like me. Why does that great proposal get dinged by the federal evaluator when it seems to fit every last inch of the guidelines? What’s up with that, as my haircutter says. Well, Clarke and Fox are articulate, insightful and amusing in their analysis of each part of a good proposal, style, substance, budgets and organization. They even discuss the cosmetics of a good presentation. I devoured this book, and I’ll consult it again (because I can be a slow learner when I devour). There should be more books like this. It’s a frank discussion of a subject we’re all shy of talking about: why we fail. Everybody fails (learn from your mistakes! I’ve always heard that, so if it’s such good advice, why is it so hard to do?), and here’s a book that calmly takes you through it, whether you’re a beginner or a “seasoned professional,” as they say. (That word - seasoned - in this context has always bothered me because, as I think most seasoned chefs will tell you, the seasoning goes on first, so it adds to the flavor throughout the cooking. So maybe we should say “tender, juicy professional.”)
