Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good is a new book by Ann Mei Chang and I am pleased to highly recommend it. The book takes general concepts from The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries, and applies them to the social sector. Here are the three core guiding principles of the book: *Think Big. “Be audacious in the difference you aspire to make, basing … [Read more...] about Lean Impact: Guiding Principles
vision-setting
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
No Risk Strategy
When I share examples of strategies from other organizations with people, I often hear “that sounds risky.” I respond “Absolutely!” There is no such thing as a “no risk strategy.” Certainly some strategies are riskier than others, and we need to be responsible about the amount of risk we take. However, I think that most organizations err on the side of playing it too … [Read more...] about No Risk Strategy
Passion for Excellence
On my last night of a three week trip to China (work & fun), my wife and I had the opportunity to dine at the Spring Moon restaurant in the historic Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. It’s a wonderful venue with great food, but the Manager is what caught my attention. Everything he did was done with zeal, care and attention to detail. He prepared our tea with style and … [Read more...] about Passion for Excellence
A Constant State of Urgency
The leaders I talk with – whether they are in corporations, nonprofits, or government – tell me that most of their days are frenzied. They feel like they are in a “constant state of urgency” – going from one fire to another. This is the issue that Steven Covey was addressing in his book First Things First as he suggested that leaders need to spend less time on what is … [Read more...] about A Constant State of Urgency