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No Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Personal Transformation

Posted by Gonzalo Duarte on October 20, 2014

In the 1990s I was terribly ideological and saw the world in containers of political, economic, and social good and bad and fought to eradicate the bad and establish the good. I had three young children at the time and now like to console myself about that period by thinking I was sleep-deprived. Or maybe I was just oxygen-deprived.

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Rethink Who You Call an Expert

Posted by Kirsti Battista on October 17, 2014

Community Animator's Note: This blog was originally published on FSG's Strategic Evaluation Blog by Katelyn Mack on October 15, 2014. It has been re-posted with permission.

Have you ever been called an expert? If you are reading this post, chances are you have. It may have been by a colleague, a boss, a client, a professor…or maybe, by a parent. I’m not sure about you, but I sometimes get an uneasy feeling when I am referred to as an “expert.” People usually mean it as a compliment. In essence, there is some innate knowledge I have from my training or experience that they don’t have.

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Heart Work for #socialgood

Posted by Jo Cavanagh on October 16, 2014

Children are wonderful teachers.

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Sixteen Lessons Learned About Working in Collaboration

Posted by Kirsti Battista on October 15, 2014
From Mary Pickering and Robert Plitt - 2013
  • Collaborations SHOULDN’T be launched unless there is something that can be done together that can’t be achieved alone. There needs to be a clear assessment up front that working jointly – which requires time and effort from all participants – is going to improve outcomes.
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On Creativity and Collective Impact

Posted by Mark Holmgren on October 11, 2014

“I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking” 

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Let’s Stop Assuming Non-Profits Should Just Be Run Like a Business

Posted by Mark Holmgren on September 29, 2014

It is not uncommon for business leaders or entrepreneurs to suggest that charities need to behave more like business. Of course non-profit operations should be based on sound financial and management principles and practices, but I suggest blanket statements like “be more like business” ignore some fundamental differences between private and non-profit sector organizations. As well this default position of many business leaders is a tad insulting.

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