Welcome to the Wishnick & Associates blog! There is lots to read, based on experiences from my 16 years working with nonprofit, mission-driven organizations. I have written about strategic planning, capacity building, executive leadership transition, boards of directors, and more – lessons learned, effective principles, tips, and advice. My intended readers are nonprofit chief executives, board members, nonprofit staff (especially those aspiring to leadership roles), and anyone with an interest in myriad organizational issues. My hope is that through these blog articles, I can pass on a bit of the inspiration I get from my clients. Please let me know what you think, or if you have ideas for a future post … and do share these posts with others who may be interested. While I have moved to writing on a more occasional basis, there is a lot here to think about. Thank you for stopping by!
5 Ways to Shake up Your Board Meetings
We all know the feeling: The essential but sometimes routine business that makes up the board meeting agenda can sap board members’ energy. Before you know it, board members are looking at their watches, thinking about their next meal, and planning their great escape. This doesn’t have to happen! Break the tragic cycle of board meeting monotony with these 5 ideas.
1. Keep the Mission Front and Center
Encourage your board to connect the work they do with the organization’s mission. Your mission is at the heart of what staff and executive leadership do every day, but it’s easy for board members, who may have only occasional contact with the organization, to lose sight of it. In the case of one of my clients, the board recited the mission statement at the opening of each board meeting. (more…)
Don’t Miss Out: Why You Need to Engage Diverse Stakeholders in Strategic Planning
Don’t Miss Out: Why You Need to Engage Diverse Stakeholders in Strategic Planning
One of the most interesting and meaningful steps in the strategic planning process is engaging stakeholders, both internal and external. The insights you gain by eliciting a range of perspectives about your organization contributes to the creation of a high-impact strategic plan.
Who Are Your Stakeholders?
Internal stakeholders – namely, the board of directors and staff – have an intrinsic interest in the success of the organization they know so well. Each of these stakeholders has a unique and central voice in the planning process.
3 Reasons Why the Strategic Planning Process Is as Important as the Plan
If you have ever been involved with your organization’s strategic planning process (and I’m assuming you have), you may have had concerns about the overlay of activity on an already high-tempo organization.
However, there is wisdom to the time commitment required in strategic planning. The process of creating the strategic plan necessitates a deep and extended encounter with the organization’s mission, vision, and goals – as well as meaningful interactions among the stakeholders.
Beginning with my first strategic planning engagement, I knew the process was as important as the resulting plan. Being a process person by nature, what could be better?
How the Process Pays off – an Illustration
Let’s fast-forward through the entire strategic planning process to the time when the board of directors has officially adopted the plan. (more…)
Thanksgiving 2023
Greetings,
This year, I celebrate 20 years of Wishnick & Associates. Wow!
I am profoundly thankful for the opportunity to work alongside exceptional nonprofit leaders – chief executives and boards. I have benefitted immensely from my consultant colleagues and deeply appreciate all the referrals, shared resources, and free-flowing conversations. I am truly blessed by the loving support of my family and friends.
Thanksgiving 2022
At this time of year, I always reflect on what I am grateful for. And always, there is so much.
What initially comes to mind is that it seems as if there has been a grand exhale. Although Covid still lurks, earlier this month, I had the exhilarating experience of attending a client’s gala and feeling the energy in the room. The board, staff, participants and their families, and devoted friends had boundless enthusiasm for the organization and were delighted to share it. It was a reminder of past in-person events and held the promise of what we are all yearning to recoup. (more…)
Thanksgiving 2021 – What’s Next!
Thanksgiving 2021 – and I have so much for which to be thankful. I am profoundly grateful to engage in meaningful work with clients, to benefit from rewarding relationships with colleagues and friends, and have the support of a loving and growing family.
Through wide-ranging conversations with clients, prospective clients, colleagues, and others, a theme has emerged recently: What’s Next. First one client, then another invoked this call to action. No one is treating it as a question. Nonprofits are declaring their intent. Organizations are reexamining how and what they do what they do related to staff and those in the communities they serve. As individuals and nonprofits, we have learned so much from our ability to adapt and be creative. (more…)