Weaving Together Innovation, Risk, Strategy and Execution
“The plans say you’re responsible for this. Make sure you get it done by June.“ Too often, we treat planning and execution as two separate things. Leadership make plans; departments and workers are told to execute them. Meanwhile, those charged with execution don’t...
Your Board Needs Fodder to Think Broader
Did you read that article about risk leadership? What about that museum that lost $11 million? How did that agency get the government to move the needle big time? Being able to reference new research – or outrageous nonprofit behavior – is a great way to engage board...
Giving the Audience What They Seek
My colleague, Shoshana Fanizza, posted an interesting analogy in her blog, Specials for What They Buy. Shoshana specializes in audience development for theatres and performing arts, but her insights are definitely relevant to more than cultural institutions. Her...
The One Thing Strategic Plans Forget
Working on strategic planning with several organizations, I was reminded of the importance of execution - and this post from 2014. Here’s an updated version. Ahh, the glorious feeling of looking at the month after next on your calendar and seeing whole empty days....
Are You a Trusted Advisor?
Colleague Kay Keenan and I were having coffee this week, remembering times when we have spoken truth to power. Many people are advisors - consultants and coaches like Kay and myself, Interim Executive Directors, parents, teachers, co-workers. We are all in a position...
Sustainability or Mission: Discuss
In recent years, a lot of nonprofit board education has focused on sustainability. Discussions frequently focus on finances: How are we going to maintain our programs? What happens if we hit another recession, or if our major funder disappears? More sophisticated...
Let’s Cheat a Little More
Traveling from Wilmington to NYC is a great time to catch up on reading, and I used it to absorb an interesting mix of articles. Two apparently very different articles stood out as having a lot to say about the same thing: leadership and diversity. Does Diversity Harm...
Choose Your Own Adventure: 5 Steps to a Sustainable Strategic Plan
Photo Credit: Credit to Sharon Fullerton Photography. Life is like a “choose your own adventure” book. With each choice we make, our adventure changes. With one big difference. In a “choose your own adventure” book, we don’t know where the decisions will lead us...
Boards: What headwinds are your clients facing?
When you travel from New York to London, the shortest flight is about 6 hours and 45 minutes. When you return, the shortest flight is an hour longer. Flying east, we have tailwinds helping us along. Flying west, we’re pushing against headwinds. Every time we make a...
Weak Ties, Strong Boards, and Finding Resources
How well did you know the other people on your board before they (or you) joined? Were you good friends? Did you live near each other? Did you work together? If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll probably expect me to tell you – again – that boards need...
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