I knew a manager once who liked to start the day with her team by saying “What’s on fire!?!” It was said enthusiastically, expectantly – almost hopefully. There is a certain “jazz” that some people get from addressing an “emergency” situation. But trying to “motivate” your team on a regular basis by inflicting panic on them is not a winning management style. Unless you … [Read more...] about Management via Panic
Leadership is Fragile
I am blogging today from Columbus, OH, home of one of my alma maters, The Ohio State University. Later today I will be doing a one day workshop based on the Mission Impact book entitled “Clearing Hurdles to Innovation & Strategy” for about sixty-five nonprofit executives from Central Ohio. Usually when I visit here, the buzz is about football or basketball. But not … [Read more...] about Leadership is Fragile
When More Duct Tape Won’t Do It
A number of years ago I was flying to Rockland, Maine with a couple friends and we needed to take a small puddle jumper for the final leg of the trip. Before we took off, the pilot got out a ladder and went over to the wing near the window where we were sitting. Then he pulled out some duct tape and applied it to something we could not see on top of the wing. Duct tape … [Read more...] about When More Duct Tape Won’t Do It
“Now Let’s Go Fail”
I have heard six different commencement speeches during the past couple of days. They were all very good, but the best one was from an undergraduate student (now a new graduate) from the Smith School of Business at Maryland, Manas Kulkarni. The theme of Manas’ message was “Now Let’s Go Fail.” You can hear the entire speech at this link and fast forward to the 54 minute … [Read more...] about “Now Let’s Go Fail”
Should Nonprofits Run Like a Business?
As a professor in a business school who is a former nonprofit CEO and consultant to nonprofits, I am often asked: “Should a nonprofit be run like a business? Easy answer, “No.” A nonprofit should be run like effective nonprofits are run. However . . . . . There is a lot we – in the nonprofit world – can learn from business best practices. Far too many nonprofit … [Read more...] about Should Nonprofits Run Like a Business?