Tools are Just Tools In our first years, The IllumiLab’s work was focused almost exclusively on building tools nonprofits could use to measure their performance (logic models, measures, data collection tools, performance management plans, etc.). This was the pain point organizations experienced, and this was the service they requested. But we soon realized that without[…]
If we are too busy to plan, too busy to think, and too busy to reflect, we should stop and ask ourselves, “What are we so busy doing, and are we really committed to doing it well?” As Megan and I have been researching our Theory of Change, we’ve been digging into the literature on strategic,[…]
Culture Eats . . . Everything If you want to hear the most generic, meaningless string of buzzwords ever, ask a leader to describe their organization’s culture to a funder, potential partner, or employment candidate. Ok, maybe that’s a cynical over-generalization. Or maybe it’s not. It is legitimately difficult to identify and describe an organization’s[…]
Yes, this is one of those posts that aims to re-frame this crisis, to find a silver lining, to see the glass half-full. If you’re not in the mood for that right now, I won’t be offended. But please do come back and read this post when you’re ready to think about what’s next. In[…]
This is the third post in a series in which I implore nonprofits to do some critical reflecting and planning before they purchase, design, or modify their client databases. However, the same tips are helpful before you embark on any evaluation work or make changes to your data collection forms, tools, or processes, too. This[…]
In my last post, I offered a basic definition of organizational culture: the system of shared beliefs, values, and assumptions that govern the way people behave in organizations. Culture shapes how we communicate, make decisions, reward and incentivize certain behaviors, solve problems, make change, set direction, and on and on. Culture can Kill Change In[…]
Peter Drucker, the ultimate management guru, famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Most nonprofits will invest hundreds of hours if not tens of thousands of dollars to create strategic plans, while few approach their culture with the same level of intention. Consultants like me love to design and build things – plans, processes,[…]
A few months ago, I was inspired by an article I read from Inc. magazine, entitled “The One Position Not Many Companies Have, But Need” by Tom Gimbel. He asserts that leaders of growing companies – and, I would argue, nonprofits – lose touch with the ins-and-outs of daily operations and how the organization functions.[…]
In my last post, I argued that for continuous quality improvement work in nonprofits to be meaningful and make significant impacts on an organization, it must be: Intrinsically motivated Guided by our own definitions of quality Directed toward goals and driven to change Integrated, not siloed Applied and iterated In this post, I want to[…]
Why Should You Care about Quality Improvement? There is no shortage of well-meaning business leaders, public officials, and bloggers who think they’ve diagnosed what’s “wrong” with the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits are inefficient or poorly managed. Nonprofits need to think and act like businesses. Nonprofits aren’t innovative. I don’t get offended by or hung up on[…]