What Nike Can Teach Us about Nonprofit Values, Change Management and Trends
Summer brings us blockbuster movies, and this summer is no different. I for one cannot wait. One recent movie that I really enjoyed was “Air,” which tells the story of the rise of Nike and how its basketball division landed Michael Jordan as its ambassador. (It’s now...
Keys to Major Life Changes from Harvard & Ted Lasso
I have been traveling the country speaking about nonprofit megatrends and one thing is clear: the pace of change is leaving everyone overwhelmed and a bit disconnected. We talk a lot about change, but not enough about the other side of the coin: transformation. Change...
Which Nonprofit Strategic Plan Is Right for You?
While there are numerous books and websites on strategic planning, the process of developing a plan can seem prescriptive. But it shouldn’t be that way. Strategy for any organization can be tailored to set forth the ways in which an organization will negotiate its...
Addressing Nonprofit Challenges to Avoid Organizational Decline or Failure
Every nonprofit right now is feeling a bit unsteady. We have gone through a collective earthquake – with the initial shock and many aftershocks of the pandemic, which now include inflation and an economic downturn. It is natural to feel a bit “wobbly” in the face of...
Improve Your Nonprofit Financial Management with our Financial Sustainability Check-up
Tax Day was Tuesday, and, like it or not, it gets everyone, including social sector organizations, thinking deeply about finances. With the economic downturn and inflation, I spoke with one of our long-term partners, John Gillespie of Charles River CFO, about these...
How to Review Nonprofit CEO Performance
Governance expert John Carver was famous for saying “organizational performance is synonymous with chief executive performance.” In other words, if an organization is performing well, the CEO must be good. And if an organization is performing poorly, it is the CEO’s...
Is Your Nonprofit Ready for an Executive Transition? A Quick Guide for Nonprofit Succession Planning
In John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, he said: “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are...
2023 Nonprofit Trends: Re-centering our Cultural Norms
Last year, we lost one of my leadership mentors – Frances Hesselbein, who is best known as the transformative leader of the Girls Scouts. This led her to be noticed by Peter Drucker, who named her “the best CEO in America” and later his successor. I interacted with...
Top 10 Moonshot Goals for the Social Sector
As a futurist for the social sector, I am often asked about what to expect in the future. While there are many things I don’t know, there are some that I do. For example, I know the social sector has risen to the challenge and opportunity of the post-COVID world and...
Nonprofit Trends and Inspiration: Top 5 TrendSpotter Favorites of 2022
With so much negativity swirling around us, it is easy to let it color our view of the world. But as I told my students in our wrap-up class last week, we have a choice. If we let them in, negative news and interactions can convince us that the world cannot be...
