Resource Library
October 02, 2020
The Fundamentals of Strategy
“Under uncertainty, traditional approaches to strategic planning can be downright dangerous.” This admonition from the Harvard Business Review was written well before Covid-19. What are the traditional approaches referred to in this article? They include any planning activity built on the assumption that we can predict, plan, and control the events and circumstances that stand […]
September 23, 2020
Looking Forward: Where Do We Go Next? (Part 3 of 3)
We all want to good in the world. But with all the issues that need our attention, how do we make sure that our efforts are not wasted? How do we identify those opportunities for involvement that are meaningful to us, and create a discernable impact? In other words, how does an individual find his […]
September 16, 2020
Looking Inward: What Have We Learned? (Part 2 of 3)
In part 1 of this series, we constructed a programmatic history and timeline of our organization in search of patterns or trends embedded within our aggregate program and resource decisions. The good news about the exercise is that there is only good news. The goal of the exercise is clarity: what we did, why did […]
September 08, 2020
Looking Backward: How Did We Get Here? (Part 1 of 3)
It is not difficult for a nonprofit executive director or CEO to describe the current strategic position of their organization. To test this, ask the three following questions: 1. What services do you provide, and for whom? 2. How are you different from others providing similar services? 3. Who pays to support your work? The […]
July 07, 2020
How Strong are Your Strategy Bones?
“The house don’t fall when the bones are good.” (The Bones, by Maren Morris) A crisis reveals our true colors. Misfortune lays bare the strength of our principles. Ambiguity tests our leadership. These aphorisms point to the belief that our behavior in trying times is more indicative of who we really are than is our […]
October 30, 2019
The Other Side of the Strategy Coin
Recently, I participated in a brief online discussion that was prompted by an article titled, “Why Strategic Planning Sucks the Life Out of Nonprofits”. (The author could have stopped after the first four words and made a much stronger point. But I digress.). A contributor to the discussion shared an exchange she had with a […]
September 03, 2019
Are Your SMART Goals the Right Goals?
It is human nature to short-cut our thinking by simplifying complicated or multi-dimensional ideas into bite-sized, digestible bits. Such is the case with SMART goals, an acronym for…well, that’s part of the problem: no one seems to know exactly what it stands for. A cursory search of the term “SMART goals” revealed some disorder in […]
August 22, 2019
The Physics of Conflict
We’ve all experienced the excitement of discovering that hidden gem of a book that seemed to come along at just the right time in our lives. One of those books for me is Organizational Physics: The Science of Growing a Business, by Lex Sisney. The book was published in 2012 and I stumbled upon it […]
August 14, 2019
Conflict Mediation in 3 Easy Steps
Well, “easy” may not be the best way to characterize conflict mediation. Often, the roots of conflict run deep, so deep that we may not fully understand what it is we are reacting to. Is it a clash of values? Differing perceptions of the same situation? Unmet expectations? When we find ourselves at odds with […]
July 18, 2019
Clarity. Consensus. Impact.
As an organizational development practitioner with 20+ years of experience, looking toward growth is engrained in my DNA. I reflect, investigate and aspire. And I help my clients do the same. Group facilitation. Conflict mediation. Strategy development. These are the skills that brought me to this phase of my practice, and I’m excited to continue […]