Joseph E. Murphy, CEO of the Masonic Villages, spoke to business students on Friday, Sept. 26 as part of the M&M Mars Executive Lecture series. His lecture focused on how using a specific business model to run non-profit organizations relates to Elizabethtown College’s motto, “Educate for Service.”
Murphy currently oversees operations at the various branches of the Masonic Villages. The Masonic Villages are located in five areas within Pennsylvania: Dallas, Warminster, Lafayette Hill, Sewickley and Elizabethtown. The Elizabethtown site is the 10th largest Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in America. Masonic Villages is also the 22nd largest non-profit retirement community in the nation.
The mission of the Masonic Villages is to assist individuals, families and children in realizing their potential through the values of Freemasonry. They provide assisted-living services such as nursing care, retirement living and personal care to seniors who cannot afford other help. The Masonic Villages also offer programs to non-senior citizens such as education services, outreach, rehabilitation, hospice care, day-care centers and wellness programs for colleges and larger communities.
Murphy emphasized several values necessary to run an organization. Ethics is the first important factor. “You need to know there are people you can trust,” Murphy said. He also addressed the significant moral principles in choosing an occupation or company based on its morals. “It’s important to take care of the small things,” Murphy said, adding that teams are always helpful for an organization to run smoothly. “If you can build a team that trusts you because of your ethics, if you can also trust them … you can do amazing things,” he stated.
Murphy incorporated various elements of business, such as entrepreneurship, into his business model. “In order to be successful, we need people in our organization who are constantly focused on, ‘How can we possibly enhance our mission?’” Murphy said. He also stressed the importance of a bottom line. In business, this refers to the net income of an organization or company. A positive bottom line goes to stockholders and firm partners. In non-profit organizations, it goes toward the mission.
“If you’re not focused on doing things appropriately from a business perspective, you’re not going to have a strong mission,” Murphy said. The right combination of business procedures can satisfy the mission, which he said is the most important part of a not-profit organization. “Some people may say that mission is flubbed … I don’t think it is,” Murphy said.
He pinpointed an ability to adapt to change as being an important factor for success in for-profit and non-profit businesses. “Life gives us opportunities for growth [which are] disguised as challenging circumstances,” Murphy said. “As opportunities come to us, they help us to move forward.” Organizations need to grow in order to keep up with an ever-changing marketplace. Murphy addressed the importance of making software changes as they emerge. “Technology is going to be a key component in staying efficient,” Murphy said. He also discussed the need to employ new leaders as generations pass.
Flexibility is an important factor in an organization’s ability to succeed in the long run. Every day, people need to adapt to change as it occurs. “If you’re not willing to make change in a quick fashion, then make the analysis and move on, it’s going to be very difficult to be successful,” Murphy said. Tight budgets set by a poor economy may become a challenge to many, but can be an opportunity to some. The key is for organizations to encourage their employees to work hard without changing their mission.
Murphy also noted that the final key is recognition and celebration of success. In any organization or business, every person and operation counts. “It’s important to check on the small things,” he said. An engaged team of employees relies on constant assessment to keep them motivated, and organizations rely on the appropriate expansion of services and ideas to stay running. Motivators need to identify, evaluate and implement interior and exterior strategies to support the organization’s mission.
Commitment to employees and residents can benefit the impact an organization has on its community. The challenge that most non-profit organizations face is being able to grow and expand into the community while staying true to their mission and beliefs. Murphy hopes to expand the Masonic Villages in their respective areas, but he notes the challenge in staying flexible among outlying obstacles.