In this article from Fast Company, a good book for leadership is noted, and though from the private sector, good leadership advice is universal.
An excerpt.
“As the cofounder of a magazine called Fast Company, I've always been struck by the slow-going rate of change inside most organizations. In the earliest days of the magazine, after we had a business plan but before we published the premiere issue, we convened a conference around the theme, "How Do You Overthrow a Successful Company?" It wasn't a gathering of hotshots eager to take on the corporate establishment. It was a gathering of big-picture thinkers and change agents from illustrious big companies who sensed that there were massive shifts on the horizon, but that there wasn't a commitment among their colleagues to reckon with what was coming.
“It was a great conversation, ahead of its time in many ways (this was 1994), and the outlook was grim. Roger Martin, now dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, warned that "the role of big companies is to turn great people into mediocre organizations." Richard Pascale, the best-selling author and sought-after consultant, compared knowledge about how organizations renew themselves to the quality of medieval medicine. "We are," he said of people leading change programs inside big companies, "like earnest doctors with willing patients engaged in utter bullshit." Mort Meyerson, the much-admired CEO and philanthropist, then at the helm of Perot Systems, compared leading an organization in fast-changing times to "floating in lava in a wooden boat." His plea to the group: "We need a new model to reach the future."
“What a difference 15 years don't make. Are those misgivings any less relevant today than they were back then--or the prospects for genuine transformation any less bleak? My goal in Chapters One and Two has been to present a range of settings in which troubled organizations figured out how to learn from the past, and break from convention, to make deep-seated change. I hope you'll agree that these organizations are unleashing innovations that will shape their future, and the future of their fields, for years to come. But the real value of exploring stories of transformation at these organizations is that they can equip you to write a more compelling story for your organization.
“If what you see shapes how you change, and where you look shapes what you see, then my hope is that seeing what these leaders have achieved will help you achieve your agenda for reform and renewal. Specifically, my hope is that it will allow you to reckon with the five truths of corporate transformation. Because the truth is, the work of making deep-seated change in long-established organizations is the hardest work there is.
“Here, then, in an effort to steel your resolve and distill the book's major themes and core messages, is a Practically Radical Primer--ten questions that define the challenges of change at a time when change is the name of the game. The organizations and leaders with the most persuasive answers are the ones most likely to win. Good luck as you work to change the game.”
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Good Reading
Governing notes several good books for leaders of public organizations.
An excerpt.
“I'm often asked for reading suggestions for public officials looking to get up to speed on innovative management. So here is my list of essential readings, just in time for last-minute holiday gift giving.
“I'll start by tooting my own horn. If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, co-authored by yours truly and William D. Eggers, recently made the Washington Post bestseller list. The book provides an enjoyable look at what makes big government initiatives successful. Filled with tools for public officials, the book makes it easier to avoid the hidden traps that loom on the journey to success, and it's a nonpartisan and constructive look at how to make government work better.
“Though not specifically geared for public officials, Switch by Chip and Dan Heath is another highly readable look at what makes organizational change possible. Not only can the book help you bring changes to an entrenched bureaucracy, it just might help you stick to your diet, too.
“For those looking to instill a culture of innovation in public organizations, The Public Innovator's Playbook by Eggers and Shalabh Kumar Singh is a great overview that offers a systematic approach to the challenge. Full of real-world case studies, it explores the conditions that make innovation part of an organization's DNA, rather than just a one-time phenomenon.
“Government innovation is also the topic of Leading Public Sector Innovation by Christian Bason of Denmark's MindLab group. With clear writing and concrete examples, Bason demonstrates how public officials can embrace a new way of thinking -- despite some challenging obstacles. Bason's hands-on experience at MindLab makes the book extremely practical. As problems grow more complex, the innovation culture described in the book becomes increasingly important
“For those involved in social services, The Power of Social Innovation by Stephen Goldsmith looks at how a new breed of entrepreneurs both inside and outside of government are changing the way we think about helping troubled neighborhoods. The book offers powerful examples of transformational change.”
An excerpt.
“I'm often asked for reading suggestions for public officials looking to get up to speed on innovative management. So here is my list of essential readings, just in time for last-minute holiday gift giving.
“I'll start by tooting my own horn. If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, co-authored by yours truly and William D. Eggers, recently made the Washington Post bestseller list. The book provides an enjoyable look at what makes big government initiatives successful. Filled with tools for public officials, the book makes it easier to avoid the hidden traps that loom on the journey to success, and it's a nonpartisan and constructive look at how to make government work better.
“Though not specifically geared for public officials, Switch by Chip and Dan Heath is another highly readable look at what makes organizational change possible. Not only can the book help you bring changes to an entrenched bureaucracy, it just might help you stick to your diet, too.
“For those looking to instill a culture of innovation in public organizations, The Public Innovator's Playbook by Eggers and Shalabh Kumar Singh is a great overview that offers a systematic approach to the challenge. Full of real-world case studies, it explores the conditions that make innovation part of an organization's DNA, rather than just a one-time phenomenon.
“Government innovation is also the topic of Leading Public Sector Innovation by Christian Bason of Denmark's MindLab group. With clear writing and concrete examples, Bason demonstrates how public officials can embrace a new way of thinking -- despite some challenging obstacles. Bason's hands-on experience at MindLab makes the book extremely practical. As problems grow more complex, the innovation culture described in the book becomes increasingly important
“For those involved in social services, The Power of Social Innovation by Stephen Goldsmith looks at how a new breed of entrepreneurs both inside and outside of government are changing the way we think about helping troubled neighborhoods. The book offers powerful examples of transformational change.”
Monday, January 3, 2011
Tax Policy & Nonprofits
An article—Talking About Taxes, (pp.18-23)—in the current issue of the Nonprofit Quarterly tries to make the case that taxes should be raised to support nonprofits dependent on government, which instead makes the case of why government dependent nonprofits, especially those in the human service area, continue to fail.
Government does have a role in the nonprofit sector—encouraging and initial funding in some cases—but it needs to be a limited role rather than a permanent one.
The nonprofit sector works best when it remains true to its faith-based roots, expressed by Count Alexis De Tocqueville, who came to America in the early 1800’s, met with many of the founders and wrote one of the most perceptive books ever written about America. Here is but a small part of what he said about voluntary associations—nonprofits.
“Americans of all ages, all conditions, all minds constantly unite. Not only do they have commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but they also have a thousand other kinds: religious, moral, grave, futile, very general and very particular, immense and very small; Americans use associations to give fetes, to found seminaries, to build inns, to raise churches, to distribute books, to send missionaries to the antipodes; in this manner they create hospitals, prisons, schools. Finally, if it is a question of bringing to light a truth or developing a sentiment with the support of a great example, they associate. Everywhere that, at the head of a new undertaking, you see the government in France and a great lord in England, count on it that you will perceive an association in the United States.
“I have since traveled through England, from which the Americans took some of their laws and many of their usages, and it appeared to me that there they were very far from making as constant and as skilled a use of association.
“It often happens that the English execute very great things in isolation, whereas there is scarcely an undertaking so small that Americans do not unite for it. It is evident that the former consider association as a powerful means of action; but the latter seem to see in it the sole means they have of acting.
“Thus the most democratic country on earth is found to be, above all, the one where men in our day have most perfected the art of pursuing the object of their common desires in common and have applied this new science to the most objects. Does this result from an accident or could it be that there in fact exists a necessary relation between associations and equality?”
(Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 2000 translation by H. C. Mansfield and D. Winthrop. pp. 489-490)
Government does have a role in the nonprofit sector—encouraging and initial funding in some cases—but it needs to be a limited role rather than a permanent one.
The nonprofit sector works best when it remains true to its faith-based roots, expressed by Count Alexis De Tocqueville, who came to America in the early 1800’s, met with many of the founders and wrote one of the most perceptive books ever written about America. Here is but a small part of what he said about voluntary associations—nonprofits.
“Americans of all ages, all conditions, all minds constantly unite. Not only do they have commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but they also have a thousand other kinds: religious, moral, grave, futile, very general and very particular, immense and very small; Americans use associations to give fetes, to found seminaries, to build inns, to raise churches, to distribute books, to send missionaries to the antipodes; in this manner they create hospitals, prisons, schools. Finally, if it is a question of bringing to light a truth or developing a sentiment with the support of a great example, they associate. Everywhere that, at the head of a new undertaking, you see the government in France and a great lord in England, count on it that you will perceive an association in the United States.
“I have since traveled through England, from which the Americans took some of their laws and many of their usages, and it appeared to me that there they were very far from making as constant and as skilled a use of association.
“It often happens that the English execute very great things in isolation, whereas there is scarcely an undertaking so small that Americans do not unite for it. It is evident that the former consider association as a powerful means of action; but the latter seem to see in it the sole means they have of acting.
“Thus the most democratic country on earth is found to be, above all, the one where men in our day have most perfected the art of pursuing the object of their common desires in common and have applied this new science to the most objects. Does this result from an accident or could it be that there in fact exists a necessary relation between associations and equality?”
(Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 2000 translation by H. C. Mansfield and D. Winthrop. pp. 489-490)
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Christmas & New Year Break
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Blogging will resume Monday January 3, 2011.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Local Nonprofits in Downturn
As reported by the Sacramento Bee, the impact on local nonprofits from the economic doldrums—especially those dependent largely on government—has been substantial.
An excerpt.
“The rough economy has left charities that provide help needing more help themselves.
“Several dozen Sacramento nonprofits absorbed revenue losses of more than $1 million last year, according to a Bee analysis of charity tax forms.
“The revenue declines not only have led to lost services for area residents but have resulted in lost clout for professional associations based in Sacramento and lost jobs as they have had to cut their own staffs.
"I think the woes we have are pretty common," said Michael Minnick, executive director of the youth services charity Sacramento ENRICHES, which will shut down after almost 15 years at the end of the month. "There's less and less money out there."
“Sacramento's nonprofit industry is large and diverse. It employs about 50,000 local residents and collects billions in revenue annually. It depends heavily on government grants, membership fees and donations. But governments have been cutting back, layoffs are reducing membership rolls and donors are struggling with their own financial problems.
“Of the 400 largest area nonprofits by annual revenue, about 340 have filed tax returns showing how much money they collected in 2009. Those 340 nonprofits saw gross revenues drop by roughly $150 million last year, or about 6 percent, according to a Bee examination of the returns.
“To put that figure in perspective, $150 million is about what the city of Sacramento spends each year on its Police Department.
“Several nonprofit officials said 2010 is shaping up worse.”
An excerpt.
“The rough economy has left charities that provide help needing more help themselves.
“Several dozen Sacramento nonprofits absorbed revenue losses of more than $1 million last year, according to a Bee analysis of charity tax forms.
“The revenue declines not only have led to lost services for area residents but have resulted in lost clout for professional associations based in Sacramento and lost jobs as they have had to cut their own staffs.
"I think the woes we have are pretty common," said Michael Minnick, executive director of the youth services charity Sacramento ENRICHES, which will shut down after almost 15 years at the end of the month. "There's less and less money out there."
“Sacramento's nonprofit industry is large and diverse. It employs about 50,000 local residents and collects billions in revenue annually. It depends heavily on government grants, membership fees and donations. But governments have been cutting back, layoffs are reducing membership rolls and donors are struggling with their own financial problems.
“Of the 400 largest area nonprofits by annual revenue, about 340 have filed tax returns showing how much money they collected in 2009. Those 340 nonprofits saw gross revenues drop by roughly $150 million last year, or about 6 percent, according to a Bee examination of the returns.
“To put that figure in perspective, $150 million is about what the city of Sacramento spends each year on its Police Department.
“Several nonprofit officials said 2010 is shaping up worse.”
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Donation Misdirection
It has always been difficult for donors to determine how effective and efficient the charities they support are, though over the past several years the online capability of investigation from many groups like Give Well, Charity Watch, Guidestar and Charity Navigator has helped considerably.
This article in the New York Times examines some donations that might be misdirected.
An excerpt.
“This holiday season, Americans will dig into their pockets for good causes. But these gifts will sometimes benefit charlatans or extremists, or simply be wasted.
“Partly that’s because religious giving — and a good deal of casual secular giving — isn’t vetted as carefully as it should be. Researchers find that religious people on average donate more of their incomes than the nonreligious, and Christians, Jews and Muslims alike write checks to charities that they assume share their values. Dangerous assumption.
“Some well-meaning Christians will support Feed the Children, a major Oklahoma-based Christian charity that describes its mission as providing food and medicine to needy children at home and abroad. By some accounts it is the seventh-largest charity in America.
“But the American Institute of Philanthropy, a watchdog group that also runs Charitywatch.org, lists Feed the Children as “the most outrageous charity in America.” The institute says that Feed the Children spends just 21 percent of its cash budget on programs for the needy — but spends about $55 to raise each $100 in cash contributions.
“Feed the Children also has been the subject of troubling litigation and investigations. The Oklahoman newspaper says that in 2007 the charity spent $1.2 million on a house used by the founder’s daughter, a charity executive until she was fired this year. It also said that Feed the Children once lent $950,000 to a framing business headed by the founder’s son, and that the charity has sued the son for allegedly helping strip a warehouse of $5 million in materials. The son has denied the allegations in the suit.
“In addition, the institute says that Feed the Children inflates the value of food and medicine to make it seem as if it does far more than it actually does.
“Tony Sellars, a spokesman for Feed the Children, shrugged off the accusations as a disagreement about methodology and said that the lawsuits were being resolved. “We’ve helped 200,000 families in America this year alone,” he said. “The opinions we value are those of the people we’re helping.”
“Meanwhile, American Jews sometimes support nonprofits that actually make peace for Israel less likely. A few days ago, the Hebron Fund had a gala fund- raiser in Manhattan, and some of those who attended probably thought that they were supporting Jews trying to live peacefully. In fact, the Hebron settlement is notorious for extremism and violence against Palestinians. (The settlers disagree, saying that the problems arise because Palestinians want to kill them.)”
This article in the New York Times examines some donations that might be misdirected.
An excerpt.
“This holiday season, Americans will dig into their pockets for good causes. But these gifts will sometimes benefit charlatans or extremists, or simply be wasted.
“Partly that’s because religious giving — and a good deal of casual secular giving — isn’t vetted as carefully as it should be. Researchers find that religious people on average donate more of their incomes than the nonreligious, and Christians, Jews and Muslims alike write checks to charities that they assume share their values. Dangerous assumption.
“Some well-meaning Christians will support Feed the Children, a major Oklahoma-based Christian charity that describes its mission as providing food and medicine to needy children at home and abroad. By some accounts it is the seventh-largest charity in America.
“But the American Institute of Philanthropy, a watchdog group that also runs Charitywatch.org, lists Feed the Children as “the most outrageous charity in America.” The institute says that Feed the Children spends just 21 percent of its cash budget on programs for the needy — but spends about $55 to raise each $100 in cash contributions.
“Feed the Children also has been the subject of troubling litigation and investigations. The Oklahoman newspaper says that in 2007 the charity spent $1.2 million on a house used by the founder’s daughter, a charity executive until she was fired this year. It also said that Feed the Children once lent $950,000 to a framing business headed by the founder’s son, and that the charity has sued the son for allegedly helping strip a warehouse of $5 million in materials. The son has denied the allegations in the suit.
“In addition, the institute says that Feed the Children inflates the value of food and medicine to make it seem as if it does far more than it actually does.
“Tony Sellars, a spokesman for Feed the Children, shrugged off the accusations as a disagreement about methodology and said that the lawsuits were being resolved. “We’ve helped 200,000 families in America this year alone,” he said. “The opinions we value are those of the people we’re helping.”
“Meanwhile, American Jews sometimes support nonprofits that actually make peace for Israel less likely. A few days ago, the Hebron Fund had a gala fund- raiser in Manhattan, and some of those who attended probably thought that they were supporting Jews trying to live peacefully. In fact, the Hebron settlement is notorious for extremism and violence against Palestinians. (The settlers disagree, saying that the problems arise because Palestinians want to kill them.)”
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Surgery & Blogosphere Absence
Emergency surgery right after Thanksgiving, and the subsequent recuperation will keep me from the blogosphere for a few more days.
Enjoy your weekend.
Enjoy your weekend.
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