This is the second installation of three blogs on the great new book by Ann Mei Chang, Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good, which I highly recommend. Chang’s three core guiding principles in the book are Think Big, Start Small, and Relentlessly Seek Impact. Today we are focusing on Start Small. Once you Think Big about the difference you want … [Read more...] about Lean Impact: The Value of Starting Small
Decision Making
Creating an Ethical Culture
Few people spend their lives purposing thinking about how they can violate the law and/or ethical standards for their own gain. Yet - well-meaning and well-informed people are ethically malleable; they can end up making lapses in judgement. And this is not just confined to the business world. Nonprofit leaders are certainly subject to these breakdowns in … [Read more...] about Creating an Ethical Culture
The Importance of All Stakeholders
You might think that only the “senior” people in your organization feel like they have a “stake” in its current operations and future. You would be wrong. I have heard all of the excuses. “They don’t know enough about the substance of the issues to provide input.” “They don’t really care.” “We already know what they think.” Wrong, Wrong, and Wrong. There are … [Read more...] about The Importance of All Stakeholders
Do you have time to “think?”
Thinking seems to have become a luxury. Time management experts recommend scheduling “meetings with yourself,” so you will have time to think. But many of us try to cram in 40 hours worth of work into a 45-minute window. How can we dedicate time to thinking deeply, which allows us to more creatively solve problems? I’ve been learning more about neuroscience lately, and … [Read more...] about Do you have time to “think?”
Collaboration vs Consensus
In many workplace cultures, the process of pursuing consensus for nearly all decisions is creating inefficiency and frustration. With the best of intentions of including others and gathering wisdom from throughout the organization, “consensus” has become the default decision-making process in many places. Certainly, consensus has its place in organizational … [Read more...] about Collaboration vs Consensus