Yes! I want to be a high performer! Yes! I want to accomplish all of my goals! Sorry. You can’t have it both ways. What!?! Why? While it may seem like a contradiction – the only way to maximize your performance is to give up your desire to attain your goals 100%. Research on goals shows that the higher you set your goals, the greater performance you will have.* So, … [Read more...] about The Performance Paradox
Leadership
Management via Panic
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
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?
“Innovate or Die”
The importance of innovation is a major theme today among companies and nonprofits. In recent months, The Chronicle of Philanthropy carried a cover story on innovation. In that article, Amelia Franck Meyer, CEO of Anu Family Services in Hudson, WI was quoted as saying “We’re in an environment where it’s innovate or die.” Wow. Here are some recent thought-leadership … [Read more...] about “Innovate or Die”