Dreaming of Video Storytelling
I recently discovered the Daily DoGooder, and I cannot. stop. watching. The site serves up a seemingly bottomless platter of fresh-picked video goodies: short clips that aim to “change the world one video at a time.” The issues range from marriage equality and environmental sustainability to international movements like World Water Day. After I watch a film, like the one below, I’m instantly eager to join the movement. Then I watch the next video, and again I’m completely moved. Thinking Versus Feeling There’s something intensely powerful about video as a...
Read MoreLeadership’s Biggest Challenge
This week Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!, banned employees from working from home. The resulting firestorm has called into question Mayer’s leadership ability, but the conversation always seems to come back to whether women have a place above the glass ceiling. So here are the facts: women in leadership have a distinct edge. A 2011 Harvard Business Review survey of over 7,000 leaders, women scored higher than men in 15 out of 16 categories of leadership competencies, including taking initiative, driving for results and championing change. According to Forbes magazine, women are better at...
Read MoreGood to Great in the Social Sectors
One of the unique approaches of the ComLead Grad Program is that it emphasizes finding many ways to approach the same problem. When last year’s blog author took the Non-Profit Management seminar class, she shared how the Five Faces of Genius model helps leaders in the social sector. In the same class this semester, we’re looking at another extremely influential model in the context of non-profit work. Jim Collins’ iconic Good to Great has a place on every corporate manager’s bookshelf. His lesser-known monograph, Good to Great in the Social Sectors, explores the path good non-profit...
Read MoreRecession-Proof Giving
“Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Ghandi said. His call to put our ideals into practice has been taken up by many nonprofits, inspiring new recruits to make a difference by teaming up with non-profit organizations. The command takes on new meaning in the midst of the recession that has hit non-profit organizations hard. Americans, especially students, don’t have very much change – let alone big checks – to dole out to deserving organizations. We can’t always give our change, but, like Ghandi said, we can be it. Americans are just as able – and probably more willing...
Read MoreThe Perfect Pitch
This Monday, classmates in the Special Topics in Non-Profit Management class gathered to decide which of the 27 local organizations we would select as our service learning partners for the semester. To help us choose, each organization took five minutes to introduce themselves, pitch their project and win us over. 27 organizations. Eight students… Tune in Tuesday at 9 for the new hit reality show from the makers of Survivor. Well – maybe it wasn’t that dramatic, but the stakes were high. The organizations we selected would have our no-strings-attached assistance for 4 months. As...
Read MoreThe Art of Asking
Asking the right questions to think creatively. High turnover. Low profits. Stale ideas. Organizations sometimes face chronic problems. Moving forward when it feels like our wheels are spinning is all about asking the right questions. Often the right questions don’t address individual organizational problems at all. Instead, they take a broader look at the organization’s environment, goals and assets. The right questions don’t ask, “how do we solve this problem?” but rather, “what is the best way to serve our customers or achieve our goals?” I was recently on a team that...
Read More
