President
Burn baby burn
Nancy Lublin was right on the mark in a Fast Company article when she observed: The biz model [for nonprofits] destines us for burnout. We take people with big hearts and crush their souls; you sign on to help cure cancer and then leave because you’re just shilling rubber bracelets. You want universal literacy, but [...]
Support for new ideas
photo credit: smemon87 Discovery is wonderful. I have recently discovered how many people have some of the same ideas as I have. And I have a few strongly held ideas. Nonprofits are businesses. It is a positive sum game for nonprofit entrepreneurs, nonprofits volunteers and nonprofit staff to collaborate with others in nonprofits. Nonprofits are [...]
Volunteers: Care of
Many nonprofits treat volunteers like fingers for a leaking dike. They stick them into whatever role seems to have the most need at the moment. This is a mistake. Poor decisions about volunteer assignment, I believe, increases burnout and, more importantly, underperformance. A board member or committee member, who underperforms, accepts a responsibility but doesn’t [...]
Nonprofit Organization and Operation: A Hands-on, How-to Approach
I will lead two of these workshops. Each of these workshops meets once a week for four weeks. Inver Hills Community College Inver Grove Heights, MN beginning September 28, 2010 Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minneapolis, MN beginning September 29, 2010 Nonprofit Organization and Operation: A Hands-on, How-to Approach is designed for nonprofit entrepreneurs and [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
