Author Archive
Nonprofit Burnout
I am always on the lookout for someone who is writing about things that I think are important to volunteer leaders of nonprofits.
Nancy Lublin has once again hit a nail on the head with her new column in Fast Company March 2010.
Read it and learn.
In addition to her suggestions to organizations: 1. Don’t be crazy. [...]
Nonprofit Technical Assistance
Have you decided to start a nonprofit?
Have you just got one started?
Where do you go for technical assistance?
What questions do you need to answer as a nonprofit entrepreneur before you organize a new nonprofit?
You can find a lot of information on boards and board training.
You also need to know about how to find, screen [...]
Management by the Many or Management by Email Group
Does the communication and decision making in your organization get hijacked?
A friend recently shared with me and an interesting observation:
In both emails,…, I think we have examples of what I might call Management by the Many, or Management by Email Group. In other words, anyone who has an agenda can simply put an email group [...]
A hiatus?
When is it a hiatus and when is it goofing off? I have been thinking about this ever since I realized I haven’t posted anything new in my blog since September.
At first I thought I was taking a hiatus because I was working on a couple of projects that used a lot of my time; [...]
Group Dynamics and the Board
photo credit: S amo
Group dynamics will make or break your Board.
An important part of functional group dynamics is understanding where you are and where the other Board members are on key issues. Without this understanding there can be no compromise or collaboration; no unity on issues.
You and your fellow Board members need to understand [...]
Board change and group dynamics
Every time someone new comes on your board, the group dynamics of the board changes. The group has to reform. It has to start over to some degree.
Bruce Tuckman developed and published in 1965 a 4-stage model of group development. He labelled the stages:
1. Forming: The group comes together and gets to initially know one [...]
Boards are for governance, committees are for results
Confusion
I have pointed out in a recent post that nonprofits need to reduce confusion by separating the governance and results function of the organization.
There is a knee jerk reaction when a nonprofit is formed to make those who sign as incorporators members of the board of the new corporation. Then the board, in order to [...]
Why Your Results Stink
Results stink. Volunteers don’t meet deadlines or don’t do what they committed to do. So, the committees are not getting results the board wanted.
Chaotic. Dysfunctional. Disorganized. Organization not operating effectively.
Take your pick. The result is the same. The mission to which you are drawn, to which your heart is connected, is not being accomplished.
If you [...]
Nonprofit: Start One, Lead One
I spoke at the Minnesota Mensa Regional Gathering ‘Last of the Aughts’ Saturday. The topic was:Nonprofits: Start One, Lead One.
I discussed a few key ideas I have.
Start
Don’t start a nonprofit if you can do it with a for-profit. Don’t start a nonprofit if you can do it some other way. The National Council of Nonprofits [...]
Remodeling Nonprofits
Chris Fuller, President, Performance Writing & Public Relations, just wrote about a situation in a discussion in a group we share. In his last job, one of his responsibilities was to serve as Executive Director of a foundation. It had outlived its usefulness. He was to either make something of it or shut it down.
He [...]
