Stories, Not Bullet Points
We all tell stories, though not necessarily well. I like to think I’m better at it than most, but my too-deliberate-and-full-of-detail style doesn’t work with everyone. It particularly bugs my…
Read More Like Nobody’s Business
I often hear that nonprofits should be run more like businesses. There’s a prevailing sentiment that the realities of the market impart a kind of discipline on businesses that is…
Read More Small Potatoes
Back in the Soviet Union, you had to stand in three lines to buy potatoes. I know: I stood in those lines. I spent a semester in 1980 as an…
Read More Baby Boom and Bust
It’s not always fun being a Baby Boomer. Nobody calls us the Greatest Generation – those are our parents. We’re not the cool, creative generation – those are our kids.…
Read More White Space
In laying out a newsletter or designing a website, it’s smart to include plenty of white space. Staring at wall-to-wall words and illustrations exhausts us. We can’t take it all…
Read More The Guy on the Fifty Dollar Bill
Ulysses S. Grant had greatness in spades. He was the victorious general in the Civil War – and perhaps the greatest military leader in American history. He was a popular…
Read More Confessions of a Recovering Micromanager
The toughest lesson for nonprofit CEOs is learning what not to do. Most CEOs came up through the ranks and are devoted to the mission. They get their juice, their…
Read More Nothing To Be Afraid Of
I became much more comfortable with public speaking when I realized that the audience was rooting for me. Think about it. Someone stands up to address a group. It may…
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