Planning

A New Year's Resolution

As we approach our New Year’s celebrations, I’d like to suggest to you that an excellent New Year pledge is to improving your organization’s management capabilities. It starts with you! I expect that

Nonprofit Boards and Bad News

Some chief executives use board sessions to do a lot of cheerleading and pointing to all the accomplishments they’ve presided over. Since the chief executive serves at the pleasure of the board, it’s

Number One or Two—Or Not at All

Experienced strategic managers learn that if an organization cannot be number one or two in its “market” then it should evolve elsewhere. Below that level is a difficult place to sit. I call organizat

Succession Issues

When it is time for a CEO to leave, succession issues become pervasive within a nonprofit. The process of grooming possible successors can be divisive, often creating a distraction. Senior staff tend

Shrink the Problem

Nonprofits are founded to tackle tough issues and to solve challenging problems. But sometimes a problem is too large to be tackled head on, and a nonprofit can freeze up, uncertain of how it can be m

Nonprofits Can Be Ruthlessly Competitive

Nonprofits can be ruthlessly competitive and wary of one another. One reason is that nonprofits are constantly fundraising, and all the organizations in a given space tend to target the same donors or