92% Fail by February, But (4DX + AI =😊2026)

With so much uncertainty, I wanted to find a way to add value to you, non-profit leaders. I figured I'd create these Weekly Emails I call Monday Motivational Minute because Mondays are historically the roughest days, and a minute . . . well because you're very busy people. In these, I'll add creative, quick, actionable takeaways for you to try (All in a minute read). No pressure, no need to respond, read at your leisure or unsubscribe if it doesn't add value.(Challenge Accepted ☺️)

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Happy New Year!

It's January 5th and you're already feeling that overwhelming pressure on your shoulders, aren't you? No rest for the weary 😩 

Every nonprofit leader knows that suffocating weight when the board asks "What's our big goal for 2026?" and like Harry Potter, you're supposed to conjure an ambitious target while figuring out HOW to achieve it with limited staff and tight budgets.

The reality is, you set an ambitious goal in January. By March, you're buried in operations. By June, you've forgotten what the goal was. By December, you're scrambling to explain why you fell short again.

FYI: a whopping 92% of people give up on their New Year's goals by February. Not because they lack ambition, but because they lack a system that bridges setting goals and actually achieving them, that's why I don't look like Michael B. Jordan 😣....yet.

Enter The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX), the framework that I've obsess over, for my businesses which I have not seen apply to nonprofits.

But have no fear, I gotchu.

What is 4DX and Why Does It Work?

The Problem: You drown in the "whirlwind", urgent daily tasks taking over 80% of your energy while strategic goals sit neglected.

The Solution: 4DX protects your strategic goals from the whirlwind.

I don't want to sound all lecturey, but for those of you that appreciate great frameworks..

The 4 Disciplines:

1. Focus on the Wildly Important Goal (WIG)-

Choose ONE goal that solves your other problems for example, ..from 180 recurring donors to 260 by Dec 31, 2026. Not ten priorities; ONE. When everything is important, nothing is.

2. Act on Lead Measures-

Track 2-3 activities you CAN control (donor calls made, grants submitted) instead of results you can't (total donations raised).

3. Keep a Compelling Scoreboard-

Whatever gets tracked, gets accomplished. Make progress visible. When teams SEE if they're winning, they play differently.

4. Create Accountability Cadence-

Weekly 15-minute meetings where team members commit to actions and report results.

Why This Works: Organizations using 4DX are 4x more likely to achieve strategic goals because the system fights human nature's tendency to prioritize urgent over important.

Actionable Task: Define Your 2026 WIG and the 3 Important tasks, with one prompt.

Copy-paste this prompt into AI:

"Act as a world-class executive coach for nonprofits with experience leveraging the 4DX framework for NPOs. Interview me one question at a time to build my 2026 Wildly Important Goal (WIG). Start by asking my mission and my biggest frustration from 2025.

After you have enough information, deliver a complete detailed 4DX plan with:

A WIG written as ‘From X to Y by Dec 31, 2026’

Exactly 3 lead measures I can control (weekly actions)

A simple scoreboard table I can paste into Google Sheets

A 15-minute weekly accountability agenda with roles and script

Keep it realistic for a small nonprofit with limited staff and budget.”

Answer honestly, then implement. Tweak if needed. Great prompting is a dance with AI.

Remember: Your passion for the cause matters, but your system for executing it matters more. Focused systems turn 'we hope to help' into 'we consistently transform.' That's not just process that's power.

P.S. Know another NPO leader holding it all together with grit and grace? If you find value in this, pay it forward. Forward this their way. We’re not meant to lead alone, and together, we go farther.

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Regis Arzu (he/him/his)
[email protected]
ETS AI Consulting | CEO
347.748.5078