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Blog

Weekly inspiration for building your nonprofit leadership skills.

Face the Elevator Door

Change is the medium of opportunity. At Applied Materials, my team came up with a concept we called “facing the elevator door,” as a way of thinking about opportunity. With shifting economic cycles, t

The Larger Goal of Doing Good

Success and financial independence are tremendous motivators in life. But as we celebrate the holidays, I like to remind my friends and colleagues that you can do well and at the same time pursue the

Where Strategy Meets Action

Implementation is partly about an attitude: Just do it. It’s when strategy meets a bias toward action and thoughtful completion. People tend to get comfortable with process and reports. The great valu

Tone at the Top

A board’s responsibility — whether at a nonprofit or a for-profit company — includes overseeing a healthy internal culture. While your board may have limited exposure to your establishment’s day-to-da

Focus on Your Local Community

At Applied Materials we were pioneers in recognizing the importance of companies paying attention to the communities in which they operate. We always kept a local focus and made sure we acknowledged o

A Humble Approach to Giving

I’ve been deeply engaged in philanthropy for more than two decades. Friends and colleagues often ask me how I assess the effectiveness of a nonprofit. I share with them that I have the highest regard

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