Playing to Win for Social Sector Organizations

Dreams that never come true.  Pie in the sky visions.  Missions that creep. There is something for everyone. We can do it all.  Too much politics and too many personal conflicts.

These are all common problems in nonprofits.

Nonprofits tend to continue to do the same thing the same way — which is insanity.  That’s why for the month of November, I’m sharing a clear, easy to execute Leading To Win approach to more effective leadership, stronger strategies and better execution for nonprofits.

As part of this series, I want to share an article my colleague Roger Martin published on Medium about strategy for “social sector organizations”.

A fortunate few, usually very large non-profits, like the Gates Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, the Ford Foundation, are adequately or generously endowed.  These organizations are the exception, not the rule.

The reality of the predominant business model for nonprofits is that most of these organizations are in a continuous day-to-day struggle to raise enough money to provide enough services and cover organization and operating costs. This reality demands realistic goals, a highly focused strategy with clear choices and priorities, leadership effectiveness, management efficiency and flawless execution.

In our next article, we will interview Fidel Vargas, President and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the nation's leading provider of scholarships and services for Latino students - and one of the largest and most successful nonprofits in America. We will take a look at the public/private business model that is working for the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) and The Bay Park Conservancy (BPC), and look at the challenges ahead for higher education in America through the lens of Mitch Daniels, president of Purdue University, and more.

Tune in on Thursday for the next Nonprofit November feature.