Board Responsibilities, Strengths and Impact Workshop Friday

January 4, 2012 in Blog, Events, Leadership, Social Sector, Speaking with 0 Comments

Your registration includes a 16-page workbook full of resources for a strengths-based approach to board leadership.

Social sector board members, get inspired Friday for a new year of mission impact at my workshop, “Board Responsibilities, Strengths and Impact.” At this low-cost Human Services Federation BoardTalk workshop, you’ll:

  • Get inspired with the mission impact you can create as a board member in 2012.
  • Learn to focus on abundance and strength, not scarcity and weakness, this year.
  • Refresh your knowledge of BoardSource’s 10 Responsibilities of a Social Sector Board Member.
  • Complete a matrix matching your board colleagues’ strengths to their responsibilities. You’ll see exactly the opportunities you have for taking your board from good to great.

At the workshop you’ll receive, and we’ll work through, a 16-page workbook full of resources for taking a strengths-based approach to board leadership, recruitment and development. Here are the details on the workshop:

  • Friday, January 6th, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • Lincoln Community Foundation Building (215 Centennial Mall South)
  • 5th Floor Conference Room
  • HSF Members: $5 / $10 with lunch
  • Non-members: $10 / $15 with lunch

To register, go to http://hsfed.org/boardtalkreg.php.

Do you want to lead the way toward big and lasting mission impact this year? It starts with you, the social sector board member. See you Friday.

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A good board is a victory, not a gift.

Cyril O. Houle, Governing Boards: Their Nature and Nurture

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The high cost of seeking product perfection

November 26, 2011 in Blog, Coaching with 0 Comments

Today I almost let perfectionism get in the way of improving my health.

I came across the Jawbone UP, an electronic bracelet that tracks your movements and displays fitness graphs and goals on your iPhone. It’s $99 and thus lies within that magical impulse purchase zone (for me, at least). So I almost impulse-purchased it, but then …

… perfectionism reared its purple head. Just moments ago, I was browsing with increasing glee UP’s drool-worthy features list. To wit:

  • Vibrating inactivity reminders. When I’m sitting too long and not taking breaks, as I am wont to do, it will gently remind me I should be taking better care of my spine, mind, and other important bits.

    • Continue Reading…

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If I have the choice between spending time with a $100,000 donor or a potential candidate for a senior role, hands down it’s the candidate.

The Leadership Deficit

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Three reasons to call them cause organizations, not nonprofits

November 14, 2011 in Cause Organizations with 0 Comments

Why should we stop calling nonprofits that and instead call them cause organizations? Three reasons: People, profit, and perspicacity.

While working with cause organizations, I’ve struggled with what to call them. Nonprofit is the dominant term here in the United States, and has the additional advantage of being short. Social sector organization is more accurate and positive, but it’s unwieldy. The solution (so far): Cause organization, for three reasons.

  • People: No one should be defined by what they don’t do. Do you want your identity to be that you don’t make a profit? I don’t want that for the amazing people I’m blessed to work with. The people I know are making a profit for society every day. Every day they’re doing what Bono says: Tearing a little corner off the darkness. So I’m not going to stand for defining people by what they don’t do, especially when that definition is wildly inaccurate. Which leads me to the second reason …
  • Profit: Folks, the old government grants and philanthropy business model is not coming back. Cause organizations must be generating their own revenue—I daresay, profit—as a portion of their overall revenue models. I don’t have time right now to cite the extensive evidence to back up this point, but trust me—it’s there, and it’s awfully solid. More on this in future posts.
  • Perspicacity: Alright, I’ll admit I was going for the alliteration first. But think about it, friends; perspicacity means sharpness of sight; acuity; insight. What are we in cause organizations for? The cause! It’s about the mission, folks. No other focus compares or will do with all the dark corners waiting to be torn.

What’s your preferred term for cause organizations? Why? Has your view changed over the years? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.

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At 80% ready, MOVE!

September 5, 2011 in Leadership with 0 Comments

Take quick action to avoid analysis paralysis and lead:

It is said–though probably apocryphal–that Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest explained his victories by his “getting there firstest with the mostest.” There is valid reasoning in getting there first. Life is about success not perfection. The first one into a market often becomes the leader, correcting imperfections later. Life-saving decisions and interventions are best done rapidly. Speed is often associated with intelligence when complex tasks are involved. You can’t be slow to pay the bets at a craps table in a casino. Try to improve your speed. Most people can identify an “i” even if it isn’t dotted. When you’re 80% ready, MOVE!

Source: Alan Weiss’ Monday Morning Memo, a quick hit on leadership and consulting best practices. Subscription recommended.

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Got online fans? Ask them for more

July 28, 2011 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Clover Frederick

Nonprofits, do you have a bunch of online fans liking your Facebook updates, retweeting your tweets and forwarding your newsletters? Ask them for more.

“If individuals are willing to share information, they might also be willing to share their time, talent, or treasure,” says nonprofit marketer extraordinaire Clover Frederick of the nonprofit marketing network. “Those people out there are willing to volunteer. They simply need to be asked.”

When and how will you be asking your online fans to do more? Share your ideas in the comments.

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Q&A: What else will you cover in your July 28 presentation?

July 26, 2011 in Cause Organizations, Events with 0 Comments

Nonprofit marketer extraordinaire Clover Frederick is giving a talk July 28 entitled, “Slacktivism: Turning Slackers into Activists.” I asked Clover to give me a preview of the talk, which she’ll deliver at the July luncheon of the excellent Lincoln Chapter of the American Marketing Association.

Clover is director of the nonprofit marketing network and Lincoln AMA’s Nonprofit Marketer of the Year. This is one of seven videos I’m featuring to preview her talk:

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What organizational capacity does a nonprofit need to use slacktivism to its best advantage?

July 25, 2011 in Cause Organizations, Events with 0 Comments

Nonprofit marketer extraordinaire Clover Frederick is giving a talk July 28 entitled, “Slacktivism: Turning Slackers into Activists.” I asked Clover to give me a preview of the talk, which she’ll deliver at the July luncheon of the excellent Lincoln Chapter of the American Marketing Association.

Clover is director of the nonprofit marketing network and Lincoln AMA’s Nonprofit Marketer of the Year. This is one of seven videos I’m featuring to preview her talk:

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In engaging slacktivists, whom should nonprofits focus on?

July 23, 2011 in Cause Organizations, Events with 0 Comments


Nonprofit marketer extraordinaire Clover Frederick is giving a talk July 28 entitled, “Slacktivism: Turning Slackers into Activists.” I asked Clover to give me a preview of the talk, which she’ll deliver at the July luncheon of the excellent Lincoln Chapter of the American Marketing Association.

Clover is director of the nonprofit marketing network and Lincoln AMA’s Nonprofit Marketer of the Year. This is one of seven videos I’m featuring to preview her talk:

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