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

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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Are we acting on failure or just failing to act?

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Collective Impact in Action: Thinking Differently and Embracing Paradox

In the September 2014 issue of Engage! I profiled a new article co-authored by John Kania, Fay Hanleybrown and Jennifer Splansky Juster of FSG entitled Essential Mindset Shifts for Collective Impact, which is included in Collective Insights on Collective Impact a new resource published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review. 

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Heretical Propositions

 Money can mean a lot of things for those who have it. It can feed us, open doors,  and keep us safe and warm. For those who have a lot of it -- we call that "wealth" --  it also provides influence and power. Those who make policy are those in power  and most of those in positions of power are making enough money to do more than  survive. In fact, onceyou have a certain amount of money and influence, one can  use both to create more wealth and power.

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Understanding Measures: Moving from Counting to Accomplishing

A tsunami of measuring things has hit our community efforts over the past decade. For the most part, this "run it like a business" mantrahas done little harm, but it also has not gotten us to the promised land of transformative change.

There have been critics on both sides of the exercise.  Some will talk about their belief that important things, by their very nature, do not lend themselves to be measured.  While others will identify the insufficiency of the measures chosen.  Still more have called it a distracting fad that takes providers away from the important work of good people doing good things.

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"The Least of These"

My life is haunted. Some of the things that haunt me are the ghosts of stupid things I have done over the course of my life. Many, though, are the spirits of compelling ideas that just will not let go of me.

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