Today, for the first time since having open heart surgery four months ago, I took a run. A jog really. Well, mostly a long walk, with a 2 mile light run tucked into the middle of it. In its moment, it was a big deal. And in fact, if we truly believe that leaps forward…
Category: Nonprofit Measurement & Impact
Limitations of Nonprofit Professionalization
Professionalism in the nonprofit sector is a moral obligation. If our work is worth doing, it is worth doing with efficiency and accountability. I have argued over and over that there is no integrity in the nonprofit sector unless we manage our organizations as well-run machines. Waste in our sector is devastating, and all too…
Drawing Together Both Sides of the Brain
A fantastic nonprofit professional I recently encountered described struggling to integrate two valuable parts of herself at work. She is a person of extraordinary work ethic and accomplishment. She works systematically and thoroughly, never missing deadlines or quotas and always remembering to “dot the I’s and cross the T’s. She is also incredibly creative. She…
Nonprofits and American Survival
Not long after the founding of the United States, Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville observed a propensity among citizens of the young American nation to form voluntary associations. These precursors of today’s nonprofit organizations were an essential part of making early America work. In striking numbers, people with common interests would ban together to reinforce each…