Gro(w)th Blog

It's What You Do!

2012-01-13T15:02:00.004-05:00

Lead. Manage. Facilitate. Strategize. Listen. Solicit. Measure. Work. Participate. Share. Talk. Challenge. Direct. Shape. Govern. Grow. Learn. Process. Evaluate. Mentor. Coach. Counsel. Recruit. Plan. Schedule. Write. Send. Create. Implement. Terminate. Cultivate. Thank. Visit. Draft. Clean. Nurture. Record. Update. Balance. Protect.

What Lingers In the Space

2012-01-02T13:23:00.011-05:00

It's been a rough autumn. And winter. I got pneumonia and have been really sick for some time now. What an interruption to my life. Lucky for me, I was able to identify the moment of infection...and even "Patient Zero." One shared retreat followed by four people out with the plague. Nasty!Ever since this retreat I have been thinking about germs. The things we cannot see or hear or smell

A Great Read!

2011-10-17T11:58:00.001-04:00

A terrific article, shared from www.ejewishphilanthropy.com that is well worth a read followed by a hearty a conversation with your board and staff.Ready...set...go!Nonprofit Leadership Needed October 17, 2011 by Todd Cohen Nonprofits need to lead, and quickly. At home and abroad, we face serious threats from multiple, cascading crises

A Letter to People Who Volunteer

2011-07-07T10:25:00.007-04:00

Dear Volunteer,Our organization thrives because of your hard work and commitment to our shared vision. You give your talents and expertise freely which enables us to thrive, provide valuable services, and save money (you also are core to our staying in legal compliance as a non-profit, but that sounds pretty cold...but thanks!). We couldn't do what we do without you. Really!Working with

It's (not) the Economy, Stupid!

2011-06-24T13:02:00.008-04:00

There is a common theme of blame and dis-empowerment in our culture today--"It's the economy"--that we use to let ourselves off the hook for failing to deliver on our goals. Blame the economy! I get that the economy is tough...really tough for many...and yet, there is a tendency to overstate the importance of the economy weighing us down so we do not have to address the truth of what might

Play to Win!

2011-02-12T08:40:00.006-05:00

Board of Directors, JCC of the North Shore, February 9, 2011About one year ago, it was reported in my community that the 100 year old Jewish Community Center was going out of business. Membership--the life-blood of the organization--was plummeting, philanthropy was down, the economy was killing the organization, the facility was in growing disrepair and lacked modernity, and a new YMCA in the

Systems and Values and Thoughts (oh my!)

2011-01-12T09:29:00.008-05:00

A post inspired by the blizzard out my window!I am intrigued by how challenged everyone is (it seems!) to get along, come together, make it work. When did the challenge become how challenging it is to be/work together and not the collective overcoming or resolution to the issue--the challenge--at hand? When did families begin to look like "casts" of a reality TV show and when did work groups

Shame in the New Year

2011-01-01T08:56:00.006-05:00

I remember reading once how "to do" lists should be renamed "shame" lists. All we really do is commit what we think we will do to paper, don't do any of it (often because the list is so long and overwhelming), and then we go do some shaming activity to make ourselves feel better for failing to accomplish anything on the list! Sound familiar?At no time is this cycle more prevalent than at the

A Week In Review

2010-12-17T07:53:00.009-05:00

End of the week thoughts and queries on several themes as informed by my week:If you have a job in this horrific economy, what are you doing to keep it? What about the job--or having the job--makes you grateful? What about your employment status makes you complacent?If you are looking for work, what are you doing that truly sets you apart from ordinary, or in many cases, sets you apart from

We Can Do Better

2010-12-02T09:40:00.023-05:00

This fundraising campaign called BuyLife, for the organization calling itself "Keep a Child Alive," leaves me cold! Everything about it strategically and tactically is just wrong. Wrong! It's not clever, edgy, ironic. It's just bad.A simple breakdown of the campaign: A wide range of celebrity-type people will cease all fan contact (being promoted as a "sacrifice") through their social

Sacred Cows

2010-11-04T16:50:00.012-04:00

I have been to India twice. Once as a college student studying abroad and once for a summer with my then ten-year-old son to retrace my steps thirty years earlier. I love India for many simple and many more complex reasons. It is a country that has been home to me and where I have roots.One of the most life-changing experiences I had as a college student in rural India was living with a cow

Fire away!

2010-10-07T15:43:00.006-04:00

A local discount store had this content on the cover of its recent sales circular in the newspaper:"I appreciate complaints.I really would like to know what you think of our stores...how you've been treated, the quality of our merchandise, the fairness of our prices, the good deals you've scored, the times you've been disappointed...for without your feedback, we can't make things right...for you

Simplify

2010-09-28T08:05:00.005-04:00

It doesn't have to be complicated! Really...really!Often the resolutions to our challenges are right in front of us. It would appear--especially for those of us affiliated with the work of non-profit organizations--that it is our belief the resolutions, in order to be effective, have to be more complex, detailed, tested, expensive, debated, focus-group approved, consensus made, stakeholder

Word for the Day

2010-09-15T15:44:00.002-04:00

What are you grateful for? What does gratitude feel like for you? For me, gratitude is more than offering "thank you"...yet that is a start. What does an expression of gratitude look like to you? What gets in the way of offering gratitude? Or acknowledging gratitude? Or receiving gratitude? Think of a gratitude that you wish to offer. Got it?Now go do it!

Discovery

2010-09-06T08:19:00.012-04:00

I am my family's historian. It is a self-appointed position that I love. I am the keeper of the family tree database, a process that began over 35 years ago on scraps of paper and index cards and is now tracked on an elaborate database. I scan old photos that are then appended to individual records. I get mysterious documents and photos translated from their original languages (usually

The Pursuit of Joy

2010-08-24T12:03:00.009-04:00

I have a new acquaintance (quickly becoming a friend) who is a talented, educated, experienced, skilled professional in her non-profit field. She is fantastic. And she has been stuck in a rut professionally. I know she is a success--meets her goals, contributes positively to the cause and culture, leads--but she would describe her existence as joy-less. Something is missing.It took some time.

Tough Times

2010-08-17T10:27:00.010-04:00