[NEW EPISODE] Strategic Planning

Fridays 10:00am - 11:00am (EDT)

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EPISODE SUMMARY:

Nonprofits with a strategic plan achieve more. They are more likely to succeed in fulfilling their mission, have a clearer understanding of how their work changes the world, and experience greater fundraising success. Yet only half of nonprofits have a strategic plan.

Join host Tommy DiMisa #InTheAttic as we welcome Sophia Shaw, co-founder of PlanPerfect, an expert-powered, AI-assisted strategic planning software designed to help small and midsized nonprofits maximize their impact. 🤝✨

This week, we explore “Strategic Planning: Empowering Nonprofits for Greater Impact.” 💡📊 Sophia shares how PlanPerfect equips nonprofit leaders with the tools to create dynamic, actionable strategic plans that drive mission success and increase fundraising effectiveness.

🕙 Tune in Friday, April 5th, at 10 am EST to discover how a solid strategic plan can be a game-changer for nonprofits striving to fulfill their mission. 🎧

✨ Why listen?

Learn how strategic planning can help nonprofits achieve greater mission success.

Discover how PlanPerfect combines AI and expert insights to guide impactful decision-making.

Be inspired by Sophia’s deep knowledge and commitment to enhancing nonprofit effectiveness.

Organization: PlanPerfect

Website www.planperfect.co

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/PlanPerfect/6157114929

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/planperfect_strategy

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planperfect

#PhilanthropyInPhocus #PlanPerfect #StrategicPlanning #NonprofitSuccess #AIForGood #MissionImpact #TommyDiMisa

Tune in for this sensible conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

Show Notes

‍Segment 1

Every Friday, Tommy D—the Nonprofit Sector Connector—spotlights powerful nonprofit stories from his attic studio, where he kicks off each show with energy, updates, and a deep commitment to the sector. In this episode, he shares heartfelt visits to impactful organizations like Sib’s Place, the Woodward School, and Nosh food pantry—all finalists in the Long Island Imagine Awards—showcasing the incredible work being done across Long Island. Joined by guest Sophia Shaw, a longtime nonprofit leader and co-founder of Plan Perfect, Tommy sets the stage for a conversation rooted in purpose, connection, and the ongoing evolution of nonprofit leadership and community impact.

Segment 2

Tommy D and guest Sophia Shaw share a warm, wide-ranging conversation that blends personal stories with professional insight—from Sophia’s early days working at USAID in Barbados to hands-on leadership roles in Chicago’s nonprofit and cultural institutions. Sophia reflects on the value of real-world experiences, including lessons in humility and collaboration from jobs that didn’t quite fit, and powerful growth moments like leading seasoned teams by earning their trust and clearing barriers. Their exchange is a celebration of how diverse backgrounds, mutual respect, and a love for community shape the nonprofit journey—and a reminder that leadership is as much about heart as it is about hustle.

Segment 3

Sophia Shaw shares how her time as CEO of the Chicago Botanic Garden helped her see firsthand the transformative power of nature, leadership, and connection—especially for communities underserved by traditional institutions. Drawing from personal experiences with mental health, adaptive sports, and triathlon coaching, she explains how resilience and small steps led her to co-found Plan Perfect, a tool designed to empower small and mid-sized nonprofits with accessible planning, tracking, and strategic support. Together with Tommy D, they spotlight the importance of holistic well-being, community investment, and uplifting the organizations doing grassroots, life-changing work.‍

‍Segment 4

Sophia Shaw introduces Plan Perfect, a flexible, accessible strategic planning platform built specifically to empower small and mid-sized nonprofits to plan for the future while staying nimble and mission-driven. Designed to turn traditional, overwhelming planning into a living, energizing tool, Plan Perfect integrates feedback, board engagement, AI-powered insights, and real-time tracking to support growth, adaptation, and community impact. With clarity, coaching, and connection at its core, Plan Perfect is helping nonprofit leaders focus less on perfection—and more on purpose.

Transcript

00:00:49.190 --> 00:00:50.570 Tommy DiMisa: That another week

00:00:50.860 --> 00:01:02.529 Tommy DiMisa: has gone by, and the benefit of doing a show on Friday is Friday happens every week, and at the end of next week there'll be another Friday. It's your boy, Tommy, the nonprofit sector

00:01:02.620 --> 00:01:04.150 Tommy DiMisa: connector

00:01:04.190 --> 00:01:27.999 Tommy DiMisa: here. Every single Friday morning I make the trek. I make the trek up from the 1st floor. I grab some coffee. I think I've been down there 3 times to get more coffee, but I make a trek up here to the attic. That is the room just below the roof of my house. We call it the attic. I didn't make up that term, but about 4 or 5 years ago. Somebody locked me up here in the beginning of Covid, and they let me out every now and again for some coffee.

00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:36.890 Tommy DiMisa: But I just. I have this incredible opportunity to meet with nonprofit executive leaders every every Friday in the show. But, to be honest with you.

00:01:36.890 --> 00:01:46.079 Tommy DiMisa: it's pretty much every day I'm hanging out in the nonprofit sector. I got to visit Sib's place this week, which is a really important organization here on Long Island.

00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:47.920 Tommy DiMisa: It for

00:01:48.440 --> 00:02:00.940 Tommy DiMisa: family members, siblings who have a either a parent or a sibling, who is experiencing going through cancer treatment right now. It's a really really special organization here on Long Island. They're one of the finalists

00:02:01.010 --> 00:02:28.880 Tommy DiMisa: in the Long Island. Imagine awards! Shout out to vanguard benefits our company. Vanguard benefits Rising Star award, I went to the Woodward school, which is a school for young people with different abilities and some challenges, and maybe some behavioral issues, things like that really pouring into those children with what they need, I mean. Early on Monday I went to Nosh, here in Glenhead, but not, you know, not far from where I am. But up in Glen Cove here on Long Island, and I went to.

00:02:29.050 --> 00:02:33.319 Tommy DiMisa: It's a food pantry, and and I got to meet the team there again. Another

00:02:33.440 --> 00:02:52.819 Tommy DiMisa: finalist in the vanguard benefits Rising Star award, shout out to Long Island! Imagine awards! April 29, th just a few weeks from now you can show up if you're close enough to Long Island, and you want to travel, connect with me, going to have 500 people there, 80 or 90 different nonprofits represented, and and my team at vanguard benefits, and I are always thrilled

00:02:52.910 --> 00:03:16.549 Tommy DiMisa: to have the opportunity to sponsor these events. So look! I don't know what else to tell you I am the nonprofit sector connector. I know it because I made it up, and because I had to print it on my business card, and it's a hashtag, so I know it's mine. I made it up. So if you see anybody out there trying to fake you out and say that they're the nonprofit sector connector call me up. We'll deal with that whole situation. But I will say this

00:03:16.550 --> 00:03:41.980 Tommy DiMisa: more and more people that I spend time with, and I hang out with are also in true to be real with, you are also nonprofit sector connectors. I hang out with people who are doing the good work. I hang out with people who are making connections, shout out to Kellyanne, Serini, my friend, over at Serini and associates. She runs all the marketing over there. She's always like trying to hook me up and connect me with people, and she's like Tommy D. You know it'd be great to

00:03:42.090 --> 00:03:58.180 Tommy DiMisa: to have this person on your show. It'd be great to have that person on your show. So it's actually funny, because that's kind of how we get here. My guest is Sophia Shaw, Sophia, from plan perfect. We're going to get into the conversation, but I feel like I must say hello to you 1st before I continue my rant. Good morning. How are you? What's going on

00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:04.409 Sophia Shaw: Good morning, everything's great, so nice to be on your show. You are the nonprofit connector, that's for sure.

00:04:04.410 --> 00:04:16.830 Tommy DiMisa: I appreciate it. Well, it's so cool, too, because I started talking about Kelly and Serene start talking about serene associates that rolls right into the nonprofit resource Hub, which is an organization that we founded, which is a trade association.

00:04:16.829 --> 00:04:40.580 Tommy DiMisa: Ken Serini, David Goldstein, Ken Serini from Serini, associates David Goldstein from Sir Tillman Ballen, myself and my business partner, Ed Probst, and our other partner, Vinnie Blasi. We're part of the founding team, and Christine Deska and Frank Orzo over at nonprofit sector strategies. Christine is one of my closest collaborators. I love you, Christine. It's so cool hanging out with you. We call each other brother and sister. I always say we're like family. So

00:04:40.580 --> 00:04:43.069 Tommy DiMisa: so appreciate that. But it's the thing where

00:04:43.070 --> 00:05:07.859 Tommy DiMisa: we have these different members, what we call associate members who are business professionals. What I like to say best of breed in different industries that bring resources to our nonprofit, our nonprofit partners, about 400 5,460 nonprofit members part of that group. I don't talk about nrh all that much on the show, so I'm ranting on it now. But go to nonprofitresourcehub.org, or send your boy an email, Tommy D. At philanthropy in

00:05:07.860 --> 00:05:26.820 Tommy DiMisa: focus. PHOC. US. We spell out with a ph right. That's philanthropy in focus. Tommy D at philanthropyinfocus.com finish the whole statement, kid. All right, let's get after it. So this show is always about a leader of a nonprofit organization, except when it isn't

00:05:26.820 --> 00:05:49.390 Tommy DiMisa: so. Today is one of those exceptions, an exception. In a positive way. Sophia Shaw has been an executive in nonprofits for a number of years. She now co-founded this company plan perfect, which we're going to get into today. I promise you all we're going to get into it. It is a great solution for small medium and sometimes larger nonprofit organizations, but we will talk about it soon, I promise.

00:05:49.390 --> 00:06:00.620 Tommy DiMisa: but I always feel until we tell the story until we set the context. You know, the rest doesn't make sense. So let's get into it, Sophia. I have notes, I mean certified Para triathlon.

00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:06.280 Tommy DiMisa: open war and excuse me, certified Para triathlon and open water swimming coach.

00:06:06.320 --> 00:06:31.240 Tommy DiMisa: mental health, hotline, volunteer hashtag ending the stigma gang you know it, hashtag ending the stigma together. So we're going to get into hopefully, we talk about some of the mental health stuff that's going on out there decades of experience as a CEO trustee, board member or president, donor, etc. Etc. You've done the work in the space, and I only, etc. Etc. Because I want you to tell the story, not me, to tell your story. So really, we've talked about this, you and I earlier this week.

00:06:31.660 --> 00:06:34.560 Tommy DiMisa: and I want to know

00:06:34.760 --> 00:06:40.669 Tommy DiMisa: how you got to where you are. I always know there's you know I was never. I'll tell you a funny story.

00:06:41.110 --> 00:07:01.639 Tommy DiMisa: I will attempt to tell several of those this morning, but this particular one I used to buy comic books and put them in a plastic thing and close them, and I've never opened them. I've never read a comic book in my life, right? So I don't want to say. I used to like read comic books, but I used to collect comic books. And I'm aware of all that marvel movies and the stuff that comes out right.

00:07:01.670 --> 00:07:19.179 Tommy DiMisa: And there's always that Genesis story right? Like, I want to make it like a comic book. This is so silly, Tommy d comic book and the Genesis story. Where did the nonprofit sector Connector come from? Mick Collins. I'm sure you're you're working on it right now. Mick Collins, my buddy, overpaid for processing. He always likes to chime in during the show.

00:07:19.570 --> 00:07:46.399 Tommy DiMisa: What is the Sophia Shaw story. How does it happen? You know we'll get into how that evolves, into what plan perfect is, and I'm sure that's going to be informed by all of your experiences and what you saw in the nonprofit sector, but an Art History Major University of Chicago, Mba. In finance from the Kellogg school of management, you know, at Northwestern. How did you get there, Sophia? Please take it away. This is about you, not me.

00:07:46.960 --> 00:07:58.590 Sophia Shaw: Great. Well, I 1st want to start by thanking you for having me on the show, and also thanking the nonprofit resource Hub for welcoming my co-founder of plan, perfect Adam

00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:17.620 Sophia Shaw: Wolford and I to your group. We felt that the group is really wonderful. And when you found it online, we thought, wow! We would love to be part of it. So thanks everybody for having us and embracing us, even though we're not from New York and Long Island, but my son's at Nyu, so maybe I'm honorary for that

00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:22.150 Tommy DiMisa: You know what I think. We, you and I plan. We might run into each other later this spring. I think

00:08:22.150 --> 00:08:22.650 Sophia Shaw: I hope

00:08:22.650 --> 00:08:23.169 Tommy DiMisa: So, when

00:08:23.170 --> 00:08:28.700 Sophia Shaw: I don't think I'm quite ready to root for the mets, but I do. I do. You know I do have friends now who do

00:08:28.700 --> 00:08:47.850 Tommy DiMisa: And I. Well, now you have 2 friends. You told me a friend went down to Houston. We were talking the other day for the other opening day like the road opening day. But I want to say, I'm going to Google something real quick, right? Live on a show. We're just going to Google stuff. Yeah. Shout out to Google, they don't sponsor the show. But you probably all have heard of it before. I wonder when the cubbies are going to be at Citi Field is what I'm Googling

00:08:47.850 --> 00:08:49.570 Sophia Shaw: Right. That would be fun.

00:08:49.570 --> 00:08:56.155 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah. So I got it right here, super quick gang. Tell me you're doing a show. Yeah, I know. But we're networking, too. So

00:08:56.930 --> 00:09:01.670 Tommy DiMisa: May 9, th and May 10th and May 11, th

00:09:01.930 --> 00:09:20.579 Tommy DiMisa: the Cubs will be in queens. I'm just saying I don't know what that means. And then the metsies are out in Chicago, which is a cool, what a cool city they're out in Chicago, September end of the end of the season. 2324, 25. I don't know. You and I will text later. We'll figure this out

00:09:20.580 --> 00:09:20.900 Sophia Shaw: Okay.

00:09:20.900 --> 00:09:26.849 Tommy DiMisa: Maybe he'll be on Strong Island or in that other island Manhattan, you know, visiting with your son in the spring, anyway, let's get into it. So

00:09:26.850 --> 00:09:45.229 Sophia Shaw: Okay. So you know, with Linkedin and Google, we all know each other's stories. Now, it's so easy. So when we were just having a quick chat before this call. You said something last night that really moved me. You you've mentioned this hero story

00:09:45.230 --> 00:09:47.510 Tommy DiMisa: Yes, we talked about it yesterday. That's right. Yeah.

00:09:47.510 --> 00:09:53.280 Sophia Shaw: We did. And so, as I was thinking about coming on the show today, I thought, Well, why don't we just

00:09:53.760 --> 00:10:18.329 Sophia Shaw: sort of throw away some of the rules of the bio. I also felt in listening to your show and getting to know you a little bit, that you're really so present, and invested in not only philanthropy, but making the world a better place and bringing people together. So I thought I might just start with the hero story in a different way. In that I feel like maybe some of the people in their mid fifties on the line will

00:10:18.710 --> 00:10:42.649 Sophia Shaw: will recognize this. But this whole, our Gen. X. We we really grew up in much more of a latchkey world. Our parents were in many cases both working, or there was sort of a freedom of revolution, freedom, revolution of our moms. And I think what the result was is, a lot of us were really left alone. A lot of.

00:10:43.040 --> 00:10:55.960 Sophia Shaw: and so I feel like my origin story, or my hero story starts off with spending a tremendous amount of time alone. As a child not not lonely, I mean, I can entertain myself forever, but

00:10:56.200 --> 00:11:13.799 Sophia Shaw: but alone, and my career then maybe builds off of that I felt fairly alone through being young, and my mom moved a lot and my parents got divorced. My mom moved to the Caribbean. We sat on a beach by myself a lot. I mean it, like.

00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:35.030 Sophia Shaw: you know, learned how to scuba dive by myself, and I mean it was. It was a, you know, kind of an interesting, interesting, youthful experience, and it even in college I felt like I was kind of roaming around a little bit till I met a woman who's now really my best friend, and she became. She's like you. She's a person connector.

00:11:35.550 --> 00:11:51.629 Sophia Shaw: And she really showed me that I didn't need to be the solo actor in the world, that I could find a way to connect people together, and until then my ambitions professionally were to be. I had this dream of being an admiral in the navy.

00:11:51.630 --> 00:12:11.020 Sophia Shaw: It was only because when I was living in Barbados the Uss. Eisenhower came to port, and we got a ride on us like I'm going to be the solo Admiral of the Navy. I'm going to be a marine biologist. So then I felt at that point. No, I don't need to do that. I want to be

00:12:11.020 --> 00:12:13.370 Sophia Shaw: part of the world, part of the world

00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:33.930 Sophia Shaw: and gravitated to the nonprofit sector, and I've never left it. I've had just a couple little jobs in for profit and started this company. But other than that, I've been trying to go on the road of finding how to make people feel good about the world, feel good about themselves, feel good about touching other people, whether that is

00:12:34.060 --> 00:12:37.000 Sophia Shaw: just metaphorically, or even holding hands

00:12:37.000 --> 00:13:02.660 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, yeah, I was in a meeting yesterday. First.st Thank you for all that at the Caribbean Barbados scuba diving so much that the evolution. I'll call it my word, if I may. That evolution of I'm a solo act like I saw you up on. I don't know what they call it up on like the Intrepid? Or what did you say the Eisenhower, like up on the break, or is it like up on top like like, I guess that is a if you think of it like that is a leadership spot. But it's also a solo spot, you know.

00:13:02.660 --> 00:13:09.949 Tommy DiMisa: up there alone, right and interesting, and and your friend and and sounds like mentor. In some ways

00:13:10.060 --> 00:13:25.470 Tommy DiMisa: it's so great how we could shove each other in a positive way. I have a business partner in one of the projects we do called the professionals and animal Lovers show, and I don't think she'd be upset because she says this in person, but I have pushed her out of her comfort zone so many times.

00:13:25.580 --> 00:13:36.449 Tommy DiMisa: and I think it's a blessing that I get to do that, because you know what life begins outside of your comfort zone. I say it all the time. Right? I was on a meeting yesterday

00:13:36.810 --> 00:13:57.310 Tommy DiMisa: doing the typical Tommy d thing. It was a networking thing, you know, the whole schmooze right. And and this woman was like, Oh, my God! You know you left me in the like being cute. You left me in the waiting room while you guys already started the meeting. I go. No, no, not at all, no! And I go. Let me give you a virtual hug. And I gave her, and she gave herself a hug. And it was like this thing. And you talk about like holding hands and connection and

00:13:57.800 --> 00:14:21.569 Tommy DiMisa: dude. I love to give people hugs, but I'm also cognizant of. Hey? Are we hugging, do you mind? Can I give you because we got to be mindful, because not everybody wants you up in their world up in their space. Right? Even if you are the nonprofit sector connector. Not everybody wants to hug me. I don't understand. I do understand. Of course I do. But I'm mindful. Yesterday, 2 days ago, I'm taking a photo with somebody, and I said, May I? You know, may I do the arm around the shoulder?

00:14:21.570 --> 00:14:28.129 Tommy DiMisa: We have to be thoughtful about what people want? There is our personal space right? However, there is so much

00:14:28.130 --> 00:14:43.230 Tommy DiMisa: when it comes to touch man. I just need a hug. A lot of the time I need that love man grab people, hug them if they want to be hugged, don't just grab people and hug them. I mean, it's a whole nother deal, but like do that because it's loving, and it's compassion. And you know.

00:14:43.310 --> 00:14:52.629 Tommy DiMisa: I believe we're all always evolving and growing and learning so like when you say lonely versus being alone.

00:14:53.050 --> 00:15:05.290 Tommy DiMisa: I love to be alone right, and I absolutely love to be with people right, but like there's a time and a place for all of it. I was just on a call with a friend of mine this morning

00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:07.329 Tommy DiMisa: going through some stuff.

00:15:07.850 --> 00:15:31.300 Tommy DiMisa: and I said, Listen, I'm not telling you that you should meditate. I'm not telling you that you should run on the treadmill. I'm not telling you that you should walk your dog, but there's something there, you know. I have friends who who really get their meditation, you know, running 5 miles in the morning, whatever that thing is like, do that because if anybody tells me that they can't meditate, and they know me, and I do meditate. I don't want to hear it.

00:15:31.300 --> 00:15:51.590 Tommy DiMisa: I'm I'm a wild man, right, but I can get quiet and silent. So what I'm just trying to say is, you said so much there the alone versus lonely I got to ask you. I mean my big question, really. And we're gonna we'll split for a moment. We'll come back. You can answer when we come back, though I love to tease everybody. Keep them right on the edge of their seats.

00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:59.130 Tommy DiMisa: Barbados, man, I thought it was. I live on an island man, but like not like that. I just want. How long did you live there before we go to break

00:16:00.118 --> 00:16:02.989 Sophia Shaw: My mother lived there so about 4 years

00:16:02.990 --> 00:16:05.659 Tommy DiMisa: So okay. So you weren't living there for the whole 4 years

00:16:05.660 --> 00:16:07.339 Sophia Shaw: No, I was in boarding school

00:16:07.340 --> 00:16:08.819 Tommy DiMisa: Okay, you got it alright. So we

00:16:08.820 --> 00:16:11.259 Sophia Shaw: It was a wonderful experience. But yeah.

00:16:11.260 --> 00:16:12.849 Tommy DiMisa: It's a whole nother story, too. So we got

00:16:12.850 --> 00:16:14.120 Sophia Shaw: Whole. Another story. But yeah.

00:16:14.190 --> 00:16:34.959 Tommy DiMisa: We're gonna talk, Barbados. We'll talk boarding school. I've never gone scuba diving before, you know. There's a story my grandparents used to have this house out here on Long Island. They had a built-in pool, and my dad's cousins came by one time with scuba gear, and they scuba dove in the pool. That's the whole story, everybody. I had nothing else for that story for you, but that's what I know of scuba diving. That's how much scuba diving. I know

00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:52.290 Tommy DiMisa: we're going to take a quick break. We're going to go to commercial. When we come back. We're going to talk Barbados. We can talk nonprofit. We're gonna talk about evolving gang. We're going to talk about growing and just continuing to touch and feel and see what the world has to offer, because it is really cool. By the way, let's go mets. We'll be right back

00:18:33.550 --> 00:18:56.890 Tommy DiMisa: Mean, we're talking about baseball, talking about Barbados. We're talking about evolution, you know. I hear on the commercials. Sam Lebo is the conscious consultant, right? I hear professional serving community. That's what we do here on talk radio down. Nyc, there's just so much going on, man Sophia. I shared the website because we're going to get into the company at some point soon. But talk to me about

00:18:57.400 --> 00:18:58.710 Tommy DiMisa: Barbados like.

00:18:58.900 --> 00:19:27.669 Tommy DiMisa: what is that like? I mean, just, I always see these people like we go to vacation, to these places. And I go. People actually live here like people like live here like people like, I have a friend of mine, Dr. Dorothy Martin Neville. She's great. She's got an incredible story she's up in in. She's from southeast, Boston, South Boston, and she was at none. She was a flight attendant air. What do we call them? Folks now who work on the plane like flight attendant stewardess is what she was. That's what we called it

00:19:29.294 --> 00:19:42.380 Tommy DiMisa: and she lived in like Grenada, maybe, for like or she was like married to like the President of Grenada, for like a couple years, like people live in these places. Tell me about your mom living in Barbados real quick. Just a quick story

00:19:42.380 --> 00:20:07.209 Sophia Shaw: Real quick people. I mean, people live obviously all over the world, which is something that I think as Americans, we we don't spend enough time thinking about, you know. And my mother at the time worked for the Us. Agency for international development. Usaid. It's been in the news a lot, and so she was really pursuing her. Her life's dream is to was to have a

00:20:07.210 --> 00:20:24.380 Sophia Shaw: career, and she had raised my brother and me when we were little, but she she wanted to do her thing. I don't blame her. So she moved down there and and then I spent a lot of time going from, you know, when when we were on vacation or in the summer, I worked at the Usaid office. I was the receptionist

00:20:24.380 --> 00:20:25.050 Tommy DiMisa: Oh!

00:20:25.405 --> 00:20:43.320 Sophia Shaw: You know. So when people would come to the door, they would, you know, I would announce them on the PA system. Everyone has to remember there was no internet, no cell phone. It's a totally different world. I had a switchboard that I had to push the buttons, and I had to say. That was one of the jobs I wasn't really good at.

00:20:43.320 --> 00:21:04.879 Sophia Shaw: It wasn't really good. At another job I had right after college, which was working in the Art Institute of Chicago Jewelry desk, you know, trying on jewelry for people and trying to get them to buy it. I couldn't wasn't good, but we're holding in on the 2 jobs that I didn't do. Well. But I did have the career that's on Linkedin

00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:07.939 Tommy DiMisa: The show is not called. How did you fail like that's

00:21:08.740 --> 00:21:22.660 Tommy DiMisa: and I joke with you. But because, listen, I love about. We got to talk about failing just in general, because we find out what we're not good at, and either we want to pour in and get better at that, or we go. Let me go over here where I'm really filled with bliss, and I'm in flow, and let me go do that right.

00:21:22.660 --> 00:21:46.600 Sophia Shaw: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And through the trials and tribulations of those internships which I really encourage every young person to have a number of those trials and tribulations of doing jobs that either they really love. But maybe they're not well equipped to do going forward, or that they really don't like and know that they need to definitely avoid this in the future.

00:21:46.600 --> 00:21:54.789 Sophia Shaw: You really find out a lot about yourself. But I, over time graduated from those experiences to really being in the very, very large

00:21:54.790 --> 00:22:10.089 Sophia Shaw: nonprofit sector. I got lucky in my jobs, and my 1st really big job was at a auction house in Chicago. I became the I was started in the mail room. I was the head of shipping.

00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:21.697 Sophia Shaw: so I the the trucks would come in with all of the the objects for consignment, and we'd unload the trucks. I worked with 9 guys we had

00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:36.770 Sophia Shaw: uniforms that were, you know, got dirty all day, and and then I would do all the ship manifests. I call the trucking companies and that auction house experience was tremendous in my 1st leadership experience because I started as this, you know, this

00:22:36.910 --> 00:23:00.810 Sophia Shaw: blonde girl and in a group of guys, and I was able to become over time the Vice president of the property department. And that's where I 1st really understood how to work across. Difference. You know I grew up with privilege. Many of the guys on my crew didn't and we learned how to really work together. Whether that was just the

00:23:01.320 --> 00:23:06.590 Sophia Shaw: the organizing everything or actually lifting the really heavy furniture, and they would teach me how to do that.

00:23:07.520 --> 00:23:14.520 Tommy DiMisa: I have a couple of questions about that. 1st of all, this is the silly question, because I wanna did you guys wear jumpsuits like where it's like a onesie with a zip up

00:23:14.520 --> 00:23:23.469 Sophia Shaw: No, we wore these jeans, black jeans, and a green like man. Haze pains, t-shirt!

00:23:23.870 --> 00:23:25.629 Sophia Shaw: It's not flattery with a belt

00:23:25.630 --> 00:23:30.820 Tommy DiMisa: All right. So the reason I ask is so I grew up listening to all types of different music. And

00:23:31.170 --> 00:23:58.489 Tommy DiMisa: beastie boys was definitely somebody. My friend Crystal Luca, influenced me with the beasties. I was more like a tribe called Quest Cypress Hill, Nirvana, when that was like the thing, and I mean, I'm very like very, very varied, Tommy, but very varied taste in music, but like one time the beasties had like they just they showed up in like just jumpsuits. And it was. And I want now I want a jumpsuit I'm telling the world I want like a dickies jumpsuit zip off

00:23:58.490 --> 00:23:59.240 Sophia Shaw: I just didn't

00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:01.600 Tommy DiMisa: Tommy d on there! Why do you have

00:24:03.050 --> 00:24:09.576 Sophia Shaw: Botanic Garden. So I have the full length, you know, head to toe. I think it's Carhart

00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:10.360 Tommy DiMisa: Sure.

00:24:10.360 --> 00:24:29.419 Sophia Shaw: That I got because the Chicago Botanic Garden. So I was CEO of the Chicago Botanic Garden in Chicago, one of the most amazing gardens in the world, and in the winter all the crew would wear these super thick head to toe. And and I just. I needed one of those I needed

00:24:29.715 --> 00:24:30.010 Tommy DiMisa: That

00:24:30.010 --> 00:24:51.269 Sophia Shaw: Yeah. So I use it. I use it in Chicago for plowing snow, you know. Shoveling snow. I used it. I did a lot of conservation work in a place that my family had in the in the rural part of Illinois, and so we would cut down buckthorn and honeysuckle in the winter with chainsaws, and I would wear that to keep warm, and also to keep, you know. Keep safe

00:24:51.470 --> 00:24:52.140 Tommy DiMisa: Dude! What

00:24:52.140 --> 00:24:53.010 Sophia Shaw: And I have one.

00:24:53.010 --> 00:25:16.790 Tommy DiMisa: What is this show about like this? Would people would ask right now like, that's how we go. I get an idea in my head, and you actually have one here, and then I take it to another level. I'm like dude. How fun would that be if we go to the met game, and you wear your thing and I go buy a jumpsuit I like. I don't know why, man, it's just my brain. I see a bright red jumpsuit that, says Tommy D, like a gas attendant in like, you know, 1950, or something like that, like a

00:25:16.840 --> 00:25:27.719 Tommy DiMisa: zip up, anyway gang, they're like, what is he doing? See, that's what's great when it's your show, Sophia. I don't work for nobody. I could just have fun with my guests, and people keep coming back and listening, so I guess

00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:28.950 Sophia Shaw: I'm just following you here.

00:25:28.950 --> 00:25:29.510 Tommy DiMisa: It is.

00:25:29.510 --> 00:25:34.169 Sophia Shaw: I'm not. I'm not a great dancer myself, but I'm a really great partner to a good dancer.

00:25:34.170 --> 00:25:40.490 Tommy DiMisa: Well, I can't. I can't dance, but I try to sing sometimes. Anyway, I love it

00:25:40.490 --> 00:25:43.149 Sophia Shaw: My husband would tell me immediately. Do not sing along with him.

00:25:43.150 --> 00:26:03.470 Tommy DiMisa: Yes. Well, you know what. He's no fun then he doesn't know. It's not because, listen, it's not about everybody else. It's about you like. I want to play the Tommy D show, and that's that, and if you like, I have a daughter who is an incredibly talented singer, right? And I told her I was like, listen, can we have the same singing teacher? And she was like, No.

00:26:03.470 --> 00:26:21.329 Tommy DiMisa: no, I don't want to like share my singing, anyway, I'll try to get back on. I keep trying. Do you see how we're going today? This is just we're at. We're all over the place. This is. It's a plain hooky. Today I'm going to the met game. It's opening day. I told you that before. So I'm on a I'm on a hooky day. So I want to get into something you talked about, though. That

00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:25.829 Tommy DiMisa: privilege piece, you know. You say you you came somebody.

00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:41.720 Tommy DiMisa: Jesse says philanthropy out of focus. Yeah, no kidding welcome to the show. So you know, you talked about coming from privilege. And then you met people from a different socioeconomic situation when you were doing that work in the warehouse right

00:26:42.550 --> 00:26:58.650 Tommy DiMisa: not to be silly. But was, was that like, you know, we're not all exposed to what other people are dealing with, and what other people's lots in life are. Was that something that changed you? Just the dynamic of working with people from different backgrounds and different economic situations, things like that

00:26:59.180 --> 00:27:01.080 Sophia Shaw: Yeah, I think it also.

00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:16.329 Sophia Shaw: yeah, yes, because of their generosity toward me. I think. Because because we all we all had to work together to get a job done, you know. Another situation was that I was working at the Field Museum in Chicago.

00:27:16.330 --> 00:27:45.010 Sophia Shaw: and the Field Museum is it's like the American Museum of Natural History, one of the big Natural History museums in the world. And I was leading the exhibitions temporary exhibitions program. So we were creating exhibitions from all over the world. From China the Dead Sea scrolls will come. I mean, it was those organizing, and I got promoted. I was young. I was 30. Let's say I was 34, something like probably wrong. Some people go on Linkedin. They'll say, Sophia, that math doesn't add up. But I'm like, just call it what it is for now.

00:27:45.040 --> 00:27:52.750 Sophia Shaw: And I was promoted, and everybody who was reporting to me, or they were at least 10 years older.

00:27:53.020 --> 00:28:22.940 Sophia Shaw: and there was this teeny little staircase. I was walking up the day I was told I was being promoted, and I could hear them all talking about me at the top of the staircase, and they said, You know we can't. What we report to this woman. She 1st of all, she doesn't have any of the skills that we have. She's young. And and I said to myself, Oh, my! So I could either go back down the stairs, hide around the corner, you know, cry, or I could go up the stairs, and I went up the stairs, and I said, You know, guys, I get it. You're all you all have skills that I don't have.

00:28:22.990 --> 00:28:29.410 Sophia Shaw: So my job is not to do your jobs. My job is to help get rid of the barriers

00:28:29.410 --> 00:28:30.130 Tommy DiMisa: Right on.

00:28:30.550 --> 00:28:40.899 Sophia Shaw: For you to do your job, and if you could just put your faith in me for a bit to see if I can do it for you. We're going to be good, and and it worked out well, and those are some of the, you know, the happiest memories I have at work

00:28:40.900 --> 00:29:10.129 Tommy DiMisa: What leadership there, you know, just like leaning in, and 1st of all, going up the stairs instead of doing the other. That right there is great. There's that whole piece of visual going up the stairs, because many of us would have walked away and cried and go, and then prociferated on that for a week. Right? But you went after it as a leader, and he said, I'm here to reduce friction. I'm here to support you. Reduce friction, so you can do what you got to do and give me a shot right. And they and I assume they did give you a chance, and then you you excelled. And it sounds like it was a great team.

00:29:10.210 --> 00:29:25.830 Tommy DiMisa: That's you know, when we talk about this show, you know, there's so many tidbits on this program that people pull from. You know best practices, top tips, things like that that people can utilize in their world. I don't, you know. It doesn't matter if you're, you know, 10 years old.

00:29:25.890 --> 00:29:42.150 Tommy DiMisa: you know, as one of my children is, and playing 3 different sports that you can learn from this program, and it doesn't matter if you're 80 years old. And I was at a rotary club dinner last night, and the man who sat across from me was 81 years old, and I said, You know, shame on me, I said. You know, are you retired? He goes? No.

00:29:42.410 --> 00:30:00.799 Tommy DiMisa: he's 81 years old, and he's running an organization. And I go. Of course you are. Yeah, of course, that makes sense, right. But we can all continue to learn from each other. I want to get into some of the nuts and bolts, and we'll take one more break. We come back some of the nuts and bolts and some of your experiences. Certainly, aside from

00:30:00.800 --> 00:30:23.929 Tommy DiMisa: just having that jumpsuit, you had other things going on at the Botanic Garden, which I want to talk about the Botanic Garden, because, you know, we got the Brooklyn Botanical Garden over here, not far from here. But we got queens botanical site with all those cool things. I want to know what that actually looks like. Because when we hear nonprofit, it's like, Okay, that's social services, or the Mh, the mental health space or Idd individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities.

00:30:23.930 --> 00:30:44.949 Tommy DiMisa: It's also nature, it's conservancy and things like that. So I want to get into that when we come back, and then we will pivot that, as they say, into plan perfect, and some of the solutions that and why plan perfect even exists. So let's come back from that. We'll go. We'll go to Chicago, Chicago, my kind of town. That's not the lyrics. We'll be right back. Go to break

00:32:12.530 --> 00:32:13.490 Tommy DiMisa: All right, let's go.

00:32:14.470 --> 00:32:15.770 Tommy DiMisa: Let's go

00:32:15.910 --> 00:32:42.820 Tommy DiMisa: to Chicago. So one time one weekend my my cousin was living out there. He was living on a place called School Street, in Wrigleyville, and we went out there to visit him, and we went to a Cubs game, and we went to a Sox game in that weekend, and it was like, Wow, these are different places, and this is my drinking day. So I don't remember all the tidbits and details, because, gang, as you may know, hashtag ending the stigma together, whatever that stigma might be, not just mental health, but 14 years. I haven't had a drink.

00:32:42.820 --> 00:33:01.379 Tommy DiMisa: I think everybody needs to walk their own journey, do their thing, but I encourage you, if that's your thing, and you need to stop doing that because it ain't good for you. Then don't do it anymore. That's all that was easy. That's the pitch. So I want to hear about Chicago. Let's hear about the Botanical Garden, that whole story. Let's talk about conservation

00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:11.840 Sophia Shaw: Great chicago is just the greatest city and one of the the things that makes me the saddest actually in this the news world today is how

00:33:12.180 --> 00:33:32.710 Sophia Shaw: the news has taken this really big pot shot at Chicago and really highlighted the bad things that happened there which are happening everywhere so, and they always have. So Chicago is a great city. We have the. We're right on Lake Michigan, and a lot of people from the East and West Coast come to Chicago, and they say, What's that thing out there is that the ocean that's

00:33:32.710 --> 00:33:46.870 Sophia Shaw: the Great Lakes are the source of fresh water of the of the world. It is the whole world, but it is a very special place, and Lake Michigan offers the opportunity for people to swim, bike, run and really

00:33:46.910 --> 00:33:59.449 Sophia Shaw: connect people to nature. The Chicago Botanic Garden is actually about 19 miles north of downtown Chicago. It's 400 acres. So if you've been to Brooklyn, or the New York Botanical Garden, or

00:33:59.720 --> 00:34:23.950 Sophia Shaw: or Queens, the great Botanical Gardens in in New York. This is physically bigger. It's about the size and the scope of of the New York one in the Bronx because of it, has both. It has science, education, community programs. And this incredible visitor experience that welcomes over a million people a year. It's funny I haven't been in the shoes to talk about

00:34:23.949 --> 00:34:30.364 Sophia Shaw: it for a while, because I've been haven't been CEO for 10 years, but it's a great place to talk about

00:34:30.670 --> 00:34:40.489 Sophia Shaw: about conservation and connection to the world. I've been intrigued by listening to the ads here on your on your call about connection with spirit and

00:34:40.909 --> 00:34:49.690 Sophia Shaw: and and the a botanic garden, or whether it's just a big place like that, or whether it's a a flower on your windowsill

00:34:49.960 --> 00:34:59.739 Sophia Shaw: is tremendously grounding, and the the connections that we can make with with the land, with ourselves and with other people

00:34:59.780 --> 00:35:23.180 Sophia Shaw: in nature. I feel there's they're second to none. Talk about meditation. Maybe somebody isn't ready yet to start a meditation practice, I mean, like you and I have, but they are able to maybe turn off their phone for 20 min and take a walk in nature, and that's called Forest. You can do forest bathing really connect, to connect to people and plants

00:35:23.220 --> 00:35:51.389 Sophia Shaw: the Chicago Botanic Garden, among others, also has tremendous programs in community agriculture, community health working with health partners. So it was the. It was the happiest 10 years professionally until now, now that I've been working with Adam on plan. Perfect work, you know, the 24 7 kind of work. My kids grew up there, so to speak, you know, under, you know. Come into the garden. Oh, good story, there is. They were little. They were.

00:35:51.760 --> 00:36:08.839 Sophia Shaw: There were 3 and 4 when I became CEO, and I had to hand it to the the directors. The board which we could talk about boards of trustees later, directors. But the board to hire a a 30 again, 7 year old woman

00:36:08.840 --> 00:36:09.960 Tommy DiMisa: 2 young kids.

00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:11.240 Sophia Shaw: Tiny kids.

00:36:11.240 --> 00:36:11.810 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.

00:36:11.810 --> 00:36:15.859 Sophia Shaw: You gotta hand it to that group of men

00:36:15.860 --> 00:36:36.060 Tommy DiMisa: They saw something right and and you know, obviously, and and took a shot. But you know, interesting that you bring that up because we're now. It's the beginning of April. So we just came out of is it International Women's Month, or Women's Recognition month and things like that? In your own experience, you know. That is, I'll ask, is that

00:36:36.060 --> 00:36:54.030 Tommy DiMisa: empowering? Do you see that as a great story to tell to other young women coming up, and other older women going through different things just to you know you can have it all. You can run an organization. You can have your children. And again. It's all about organization, too, I guess. But can you talk about that? Since it came up

00:36:54.160 --> 00:37:00.709 Sophia Shaw: Right. I I think sure you can have it all. There is always going to be a cost

00:37:00.710 --> 00:37:01.150 Tommy DiMisa: Yes.

00:37:01.150 --> 00:37:26.518 Sophia Shaw: I mean, there is going to be a cost someplace. Something I've been really giving a lot of thought to, though, is things are moments in time. So when my plan perfect co-founder, Adam and I talk about wow, we're working 7 days a week right now. This is really a lot. It's it's intense. We're meeting on the weekends on Zoom and Co. Working there, and that's his word. I I'm not. You know the Millennial Co. Working word I'm trying to adopt.

00:37:27.020 --> 00:37:41.969 Sophia Shaw: you know, this is a moment in time. So yes, you can have it all if you really think of it. This is a moment in time. I'm CEO. I've got 2 little kids. I'm trying to to maintain good relationships with my my partner, my

00:37:41.970 --> 00:38:05.639 Sophia Shaw: my friends. But it is not easy, and you need real real help to do that real help from community. And you need to go back to the philanthropy and focus. This is where we really again, I had the ability running a big institution, making a healthy salary with the support of my board and 250 full-time people to have it all. But that's not what most women have. That's not what most

00:38:05.640 --> 00:38:28.979 Sophia Shaw: fathers have, or mothers or parent teams. They, you know they don't have it all because they are struggling to put food on the table, and they're struggling to keep themselves healthy and give their children a better life than they had. And that's why so many of these nonprofits that you feature on your show, Tommy, are so worthy of our of our investment, and so worthy of

00:38:29.720 --> 00:38:47.070 Sophia Shaw: having the kinds of plans that like that, we're trying to work on it in with the with the company we founded. You know the reason I I moved to the topic earlier about going to big organizations. I've always been in big ones is that I think we give a short shrift to the small

00:38:47.250 --> 00:38:48.900 Tommy DiMisa: A small nonprofit.

00:38:49.690 --> 00:39:12.950 Sophia Shaw: Sometimes. And these small nonprofits are really doing incredible work. And they're nimble and connected community minded. And and you know, really make up the framework. We can have the great Chicago Botanic Gardens, and the you know, the the ones in New York and the big museums, and those are wonderful. But where a lot of the magic is made in the world is with these little ones.

00:39:12.950 --> 00:39:25.008 Tommy DiMisa: And there's so many, and it's such a pyramid, too. And we think about like, you know, the majority of the organizations are are much smaller. I don't know. I'm not going to give stats right now, but you know a far majority of organizations are less than 10 million in revenue.

00:39:25.520 --> 00:39:43.899 Tommy DiMisa: and and I laugh because many, many more less than a million, you know, in in annual budget for organizations, and I featured many of those on the show. Here, let's dive into. I mean, listen. There's so much we can get into one quick question that I really want to get into plan perfect, and how you and Adam came up with this, and why it is a thing. But

00:39:44.040 --> 00:39:56.239 Tommy DiMisa: with the triathlon thing you just. It's funny how things happen, because I looked it up before, and then you said, there's so much to do in Chicago. Swim, bike, run, and I go. I just Googled. What is a triathlon? Because I remember there's like a thing with a rifle.

00:39:56.460 --> 00:40:09.910 Tommy DiMisa: And I said, I think this shooting in that. There's no shooting in a triathlon. That must be something else I made up. But swim, bike, run. So there's all that connection. Tell me about the triathlon, and then let's take that, or just your interest there and coaching, and then into the into plan. Perfect. Please

00:40:09.910 --> 00:40:29.340 Sophia Shaw: I think that the triathlon and the open water swimming is actually very related to plan perfect, and how we ended up here. I was going through a pretty big mental health crisis, and I feel comfortable saying that on your show, because it's something that you focus on when I was getting divorced from my kids.

00:40:29.340 --> 00:40:40.449 Sophia Shaw: Wonderful, Dad and I. And I was I was really in a bad place. It was really sad, and didn't know. I didn't know how to cope with those feelings.

00:40:40.490 --> 00:40:45.210 Sophia Shaw: and I decided that maybe I would. I would go try to go for a run.

00:40:45.960 --> 00:40:59.640 Sophia Shaw: Okay, I've never been for a run in my life. Never been athlete, whatever it was, I was 44 years old, let's say. I could not run my! I couldn't run 250 yards. I could I mean I could not do it. It was not happening.

00:40:59.770 --> 00:41:13.579 Sophia Shaw: So over the next 2 weeks I tried to run one mile, and it took me 19 min, and then I tried to read 1 1 mile every other day. I think that went on for a year.

00:41:14.300 --> 00:41:31.410 Sophia Shaw: and then I, at some point had no ambition of being an athlete in my, you know, late forties. No one even talks about the fact. You can become an athlete in your late forties and early fifties. I mean it, people think, oh, you can become an athlete when you're 10, like, you know your kids, but not like when

00:41:31.410 --> 00:41:31.960 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.

00:41:31.960 --> 00:41:32.705 Sophia Shaw: Old

00:41:33.530 --> 00:41:34.210 Sophia Shaw: And

00:41:34.210 --> 00:41:48.219 Sophia Shaw: and so I ran 2 miles, and then, a couple of years later, somebody said, Well, could you think you could run 5, and I tried 5, and I tried, and then I said to my husband, like, What's the longest distance you've ever run? He said. You know. 5 miles, I said, well.

00:41:48.340 --> 00:42:10.379 Sophia Shaw: I'm going to run 8 miles, and I run 8. And then somebody said, You get over to half Marathon. Anyway, you did it. You get the picture, and now I've got I've run 5 marathons, which has been fun, but the triathlon part. It's about the water, so the every the part of every triathlon that people don't people freak out about because it's swim and then bike and then run. Is this open water part?

00:42:10.650 --> 00:42:15.300 Sophia Shaw: You're going into open water. People are. It's not like swimming in a pool

00:42:15.300 --> 00:42:15.760 Tommy DiMisa: Alright!

00:42:15.760 --> 00:42:29.920 Sophia Shaw: And so in getting into that cold water, I felt this just reverse, this intense overcoming of so many of the sad, sad things.

00:42:30.200 --> 00:42:48.170 Sophia Shaw: and I did it for a bit myself, but then I had no real ambition to becoming a triathlete, and then I was at Kellogg and trying to think about my next step and trying to fuse together. This was during Covid. So remember, let's not all forget that Covid was a huge mental health disaster.

00:42:48.320 --> 00:43:14.289 Sophia Shaw: and I was talking to somebody and said, Well, what are you about trying some work with adaptive sports? And I hooked up with this incredible organization called dare to try which is the country's largest adaptive sports organization, working with Para Para athletes in Triathlon, and it changed my life, and I work in the clinics and work with people doing all sorts of sports, but mostly swimming.

00:43:14.470 --> 00:43:20.039 Sophia Shaw: And then I became involved with a great New York organization called Achilles International

00:43:20.492 --> 00:43:26.209 Sophia Shaw: and Achilles, you can see, I mean, I'm sure, if you go anywhere in New York City. You see the yellow

00:43:26.210 --> 00:43:34.910 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, I think. So I have a very good friend over at the Queen Center for Progress, Qcp. Which is, I'm pretty sure my friend Wendy Faf. Janaro

00:43:34.910 --> 00:43:57.989 Tommy DiMisa: does some work, Achilles. They are one of the Cp organizations. What you know historically, with the cerebral palsy organizations here on Long Island. We have Cp. NASA and Ucp. Of Long Island, etc. Etc. But I I just pulled up the website for dare to try. So it's DARE. 2 number 2, TRI, as in triathlon.org, there's so much here, we're gonna have to have you back because I got a million other questions about this.

00:43:57.990 --> 00:44:21.870 Tommy DiMisa: so I'll threaten you with a good time. You come back if you want to. So I wanted to ask you more about that. But what a blessing the thing that would scare me would be the swimming, too! Because, look, if I'm running I can stop and sit down. If I'm biking. I can stop and put the bike down. If I'm swimming, I can't freaking. Stop, man, because then you don't breathe anymore. When you go under the water that doesn't work.

00:44:21.870 --> 00:44:29.299 Tommy DiMisa: I think it's good good on them. Whoever came up with this they do that first, st you know. Is it always the swimming is always 1st in these things.

00:44:29.300 --> 00:44:38.559 Sophia Shaw: For the vast majority of them. And you can stop. This is the this is the key. This is the key. You can stop by going in what I call the starfish position. You lie on your back

00:44:38.690 --> 00:44:39.839 Sophia Shaw: like in a starfish.

00:44:40.560 --> 00:45:07.839 Sophia Shaw: and you just breathe, and you can just try this in your pool, whatever. It's very helpful for for anybody who's overcoming any kind of anxiety or depression. It's just to you can trust yourself. You can do it. I mean, some people think if they're too lean, or whatever you could just put something around your your belt, you know, belt or something, you can stand up, but it's really good for you. But all of these, all of these experiences together.

00:45:08.410 --> 00:45:18.963 Sophia Shaw: One day Adam and I were working together in different project, and we said, You know, there's nobody really out there helping these small to mid sized nonprofits.

00:45:19.680 --> 00:45:37.079 Sophia Shaw: figure out how to how to go forward, how to track, what they're doing, how to make a plan, how to how to figure out how to measure the metrics of their success in an affordable way. And that is, that's how that's how plan perfect was born. So you know, when you get to be a certain age like

00:45:37.220 --> 00:45:42.750 Sophia Shaw: I am, you know you can say your whole life has been leading up to something, and and that's how I feel right now.

00:45:42.750 --> 00:46:11.619 Tommy DiMisa: I love it. Hindsight is 2020. They say we're going to take a quick break real quick as we come back. I really want to dive into this product, what it does, how, how it helps teams, how it helps nonprofit organizations, how it's from a strategic planning. We hear that word, those words strategic planning all the time in the sector. But you all are making it. I'll just go with adaptable for smaller organizations since we're on that adapted thing. Let's take a quick break. We'll come right back and we will talk more on the organization plan perfect, and how it helps right back

00:47:49.920 --> 00:47:50.865 Tommy DiMisa: No.

00:47:51.920 --> 00:47:53.190 Tommy DiMisa: Sometimes

00:47:53.900 --> 00:48:09.649 Tommy DiMisa: sometimes when somebody writes a book, they they have like a subtitle, or they like the extra title like they make it like this is, you know, philanthropy and focus, where I help nonprofit executive leaders tell their story and amplify their message, and then it should say in parentheses, it should say.

00:48:09.650 --> 00:48:35.299 Tommy DiMisa: we always run out of time. We never run out of things to talk about. That should be like the subtitle of the show. So gang. If you're writing a book about Tommy D, that's what it should be called. All right. Strategic planning. Why is it important? Really? I mean this, the website, by the way, is planperfectco planperfectco. And I was just one of the things I was highlighting while we were break there, you know, while our name is plan perfect. We understand that even when things aren't going perfectly.

00:48:35.300 --> 00:48:43.900 Tommy DiMisa: they can still be going right. What matters is the journey and the thought you put into creating the best possible strategic plan for your organization.

00:48:43.920 --> 00:48:47.709 Tommy DiMisa: which is just as important as the final product. So

00:48:47.840 --> 00:48:56.049 Tommy DiMisa: so when perfection may not exist, plan perfect gets you close. I like this. So who is this for? And what is it

00:48:57.270 --> 00:49:03.210 Sophia Shaw: It is for small to mid size nonprofits who

00:49:03.590 --> 00:49:31.820 Sophia Shaw: are trying to do good work in the world. So that is, you know, that's a broad net. We're saying the website about 10 million dollars and under. But it can really work for any organization that has a pretty clear focus or has a clear understanding of where they want to go and what they want to do. We really empower nonprofits to plan for the future. And also and this is really important. Right now, adapt

00:49:31.820 --> 00:49:39.230 Sophia Shaw: change because if you just have a plan that you did because somebody told you you had to do.

00:49:39.820 --> 00:50:04.570 Sophia Shaw: and then it was a horrible process, and and it took too long, and it was too expensive. And you weren't tracking it. It's not. It's not leading you toward the future. And nor is it adaptable and agile when circumstances change, when Covid happens, when there are tremendous cuts in the sector, so our our working

00:50:04.880 --> 00:50:14.750 Sophia Shaw: theory. And what we are manifesting in the software of Plan perfect is that strategic planning

00:50:15.010 --> 00:50:16.809 Sophia Shaw: should not be painful.

00:50:17.020 --> 00:50:20.059 Sophia Shaw: It actually should be empowering and fun.

00:50:20.582 --> 00:50:42.039 Sophia Shaw: That strategic plans should be used as living documents not just presented and put in some cloud folder that nobody can ever find, because they get, you know, panic attack, looking through their files because they're not organized, and that somebody leaves, and the system crashes like that's not helpful to anybody.

00:50:42.150 --> 00:50:43.519 Sophia Shaw: They should be

00:50:43.670 --> 00:51:12.039 Sophia Shaw: like building momentum, not just filling in boxes. And I sometimes think we, in strategic planning or planning of any kind, even of life, planning or planning, where we're going to go on a trip or anything. We, we confuse complexity with sophistication, like, we really believe that clarity is what helps people move forward. So, having a good plan that is short and visible and updated

00:51:12.120 --> 00:51:32.190 Sophia Shaw: regularly, and that everybody on the board and on the staff can talk to is how decisions decisions are decisions are made and how we make impact, how we help those people that you highlight on your show and not just those people, but all of us

00:51:32.440 --> 00:51:37.820 Sophia Shaw: to to be a more healthy community

00:51:38.420 --> 00:51:41.569 Tommy DiMisa: When I thank you for all that, when I hear people say.

00:51:41.820 --> 00:51:44.200 Tommy DiMisa: you know words have meanings, but they also

00:51:45.030 --> 00:52:08.399 Tommy DiMisa: create responses in our in our feelings. And when I hear strategic planning, sometimes it sounds like a daunting task. And maybe that's just because, contextually, that's what I hear people talk about. We had another strategic planning meeting we're make, we're we're doing our strategic plan. It's like, Oh, baby, are we building a you know, a skyscraper, or are we giving ourselves

00:52:08.400 --> 00:52:23.179 Tommy DiMisa: and correct me if I'm wrong? But an outline that is a living document that builds momentum, that we can go back to and tweak and erase and cross out and rewrite in the margins, which I think a lot of your program can do in a you don't actually need a pen and a pencil. But

00:52:23.440 --> 00:52:37.060 Tommy DiMisa: that sounds more to me like, you know, like whether it be a life plan for me as a human being or a life plan for our organization, as it relates to development, sustainability, succession planning all that stuff we can write in pencil

00:52:37.170 --> 00:52:38.160 Tommy DiMisa: right? Like

00:52:38.160 --> 00:52:48.780 Sophia Shaw: Right? Right? We can. We can. And you know, even even a show like this, which you know, Tommy is really fun to be on because it's free, flowing and full of energy. We planned this

00:52:48.780 --> 00:52:49.290 Tommy DiMisa: Yes.

00:52:49.290 --> 00:52:58.419 Sophia Shaw: We? We talked a couple of months ago. We put it on the calendar. Your team followed up with me. We. We talked yesterday we plan this. This is not just life.

00:52:58.420 --> 00:53:22.129 Sophia Shaw: There is a tremendous amount of spontaneity to life, thank goodness, but you have to have some kind of plan in place. So our software helps. You create that plan. You create an account with us, and you can do a whole interview, a survey function of the people, your constituents, your stakeholders, your board, your people you serve, you can get to hear what they think through a really beautiful

00:53:22.130 --> 00:53:47.090 Sophia Shaw: interactive tool, doing interviews, surveys. There's an AI component to that. Then you can create your plan. So the the large language model is something that is enclosed to our software that I helped program with Adam. So it's all of the information that I learned over the course of the years. I led the big nonprofit program at Kellogg business school.

00:53:47.487 --> 00:53:50.270 Sophia Shaw: It allows you to review the plan

00:53:50.470 --> 00:54:14.010 Sophia Shaw: and allows you to share it on your website and allows you to track it. So track. It's a light project management tool. You can send it to your board in advance. We're trying to be. We're trying to be there for for the the nonprofit leader and their board in the same way as you're here for the nonprofit sector, or I'm there in the water when somebody needs to starfish

00:54:15.830 --> 00:54:32.129 Tommy DiMisa: Hearing a lot about that. From what you're saying, I don't know if my dog's voice is coming across. You hear the Cheeto in the background. Is he going? That is okay. So I it's like, when the elephants in the room you got to call it out when the Cheetos in the attic. You got to call it out because I'm hearing him. I didn't know if everybody else was. So. Thanks, Cheeto

00:54:32.422 --> 00:54:50.279 Tommy DiMisa: but I I think what I'm hearing from you is coaching support. Right? You say, in the water, you say what we do on the show, propping up, supporting, helping. Stand up these organizations. I want to get to this quick piece about the Board, and how involved the board members are in this process generally, and and with plan perfect

00:54:50.660 --> 00:55:16.499 Sophia Shaw: Right. The the board should absolutely be part of the process, as one of the key fundamental responsibilities of any board is to to help guide the strategic plan. I mean this, the executive director is is leading to implement it, but the board has to be on the same page, or else you can't get any support around it, or or fulfill the goals of the organization and one of the Board's ultimate responsibilities. In addition to

00:55:16.790 --> 00:55:30.079 Sophia Shaw: providing financial oversight and protecting the assets. The fiduciary roles of the board is to make sure that a strategic plan is in place, and that the the leader, the paid leader is executing on that plan, together with their staff

00:55:31.020 --> 00:55:38.700 Tommy DiMisa: So have you seen many of the organizations that and and we're gonna run out of time. But what many of the organizations

00:55:38.830 --> 00:55:45.949 Tommy DiMisa: that you engage with Early on? Had they the smaller ones? Had they not had any strategic plan in place

00:55:46.310 --> 00:56:09.109 Sophia Shaw: Some of them have had no plan. So actually, I met a young man from Prairieland adaptive at a Paratriathlon clinic last summer, and we started chatting, and he was our 1st customer, and he went from 0 to a real program. And then we have other people who come in with a plan. They know where they're going, but they want to use plan perfect for tracking. So looking at their metrics and yeah, impact going forward

00:56:09.110 --> 00:56:26.749 Tommy DiMisa: So really, it could really serve at different levels. It could be an organization that understands strategic planning. Maybe they have an outside consultant, or you know, and they want to use the product we didn't really get into. Go through the nuts and bolts of the product. If somebody wants that, do they go to Planperfect Co. Do they reach out to you or Adam? What's the best way to connect

00:56:27.018 --> 00:56:43.660 Sophia Shaw: Yes, and the go to the website. There are links there to schedule Demos with us. We'd love to have Demos all day share with you what we have, and we're also happy to give a a 10% discount on the pretty affordable prices as it is now to anybody who mentions hearing hearing our talk on your show today.

00:56:43.660 --> 00:57:08.370 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, my God! It's like hashtag, Tommy D. And you get a discount gang. I love that. I love it. Well, listen! I'm so jazzed that you're my friend now, I mean the nonprofit resource. Help brought us together. But I have pages of notes. I take notes while I, host the show. Yes, gang take notes. It's how I remember stuff. But even if I don't read them by the actual act, I was trying to teach my son this the other day act of taking them. It puts them in. I don't know what it's called, but it puts them inside of my.

00:57:08.370 --> 00:57:31.919 Tommy DiMisa: We'll look it up later, we'll google it. But the thing about it is, I've taken so much notes because I feel very connected to you in so many different ways. We've had so so many cool parts and tangents in this conversation, and I believe if I say life begins outside your comfort zone, I believe my life begins inside of the tangent zone similar to the twilight zone. But it's called the tangent zone. Hey, Tommy D. Let's make another show. We'll call it that

00:57:32.080 --> 00:57:53.700 Tommy DiMisa: Sophia Shaw. Thank you for being here. Thanks for all you're doing in the world. Thank you. Shout out to Adam, shout out to the whole team at the nonprofit resource Hub, Allison, Lafalita, our executive director, Kellyanne, you know and thank you. And you know my team always does good on opening day. So let's go, metsies. Let's have a great 2025 who knows? Later in the season we might see the Chicago Cubs and the Mets playing some baseball together.

00:57:53.700 --> 00:57:54.670 Sophia Shaw: I love it, I would love it

00:57:54.670 --> 00:57:59.950 Tommy DiMisa: That everybody make it a great day, Sophia. Thanks for being here. I'll see you guys next week

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