After thirty years in the non-profit sector, I often find myself questioning, not what we do, but how we label what we do — and how those labels often limit us. The best example of that concept, I believe, is the label “Annual Fund.” It seems as if, for as long as there have been …

Research shows the impact spirit in the workplace can have for individuals and organizations. Here are five key outcomes that everyone can benefit from: Boosts morale. Engaging in practices that support spirit in the workplace can uplift the spirits of everyone involved. Influences satisfaction. Since spirit in the workplace encourages each individual to bring their …

It’s common that a client will want to start strategic planning by “updating the mission statement.” After all, that’s what a lot of experts suggest. Mission statements get a lot of attention from writers and consultants. Many of them assert that the statements should be highly inspirational and easy to read. They give examples of …

Usually I end my posts with a quote to provoke further exploration of these Customer-Centric concepts. Today I am starting with one because I believe your Customer Experience map should be considered your key strategy to elevate you above your competition. Onboarding is a critical element of this strategy. “A strategy is, at its core, …

Mindful Proclamations: Studying Failed Movements Last week, I got a call from a consultant who lamented the “failure of all those management movements.” As usual in these conversations, the caller went on to explain how his particular idea was what leaders and managers really needed. That type of lament seems increasingly common in the literature …

Last week, I did a workshop among nonprofit CEO Executive Directors. Some of them expressed great frustration at the exorbitant compensation of CEOs of very large, in-building nonprofit capacity for-profit companies. They mentioned that many of the company’s products were very poor quality anyway. One participant offered a rather novel assertion that the pay of …

The issues surrounding Goldman Sachs highlight many of challenges facing the business ethics industry. There has been a public furor over the integrity of certain industries, such as finance, even though the leaders of those companies can state categorically that they acted legally, and ethically, within the guidelines they have worked within for some time. …

Tomorrow is the first day of the Social Enterprise Alliance’s annual Summit, a national conference that features a wide variety of presentations, workshops and networking in this field. This year’s Summit is being held in San Francisco. More information is available at www.se-alliance.org. If you can make it to the conference, great, I know you …

As mentioned previously, overcoming the myth of the "paper trail" requires building a performance culture.

Many social enterprises in the US come from the nonprofit sector, and a common way to measure nonprofit social enterprise is through earned income. Generally earned income refers to selling goods or services in exchange for a quid pro quo payment. In other words, you only get paid if you deliver the goods. Based on …