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, […]

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.

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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 […]

Thanksgiving 2020

To quote just about everyone, 2020 has been a difficult year – one of struggle and deep loss. As we approach Thanksgiving, with and without family and friends to celebrate, may we embrace that for which we can be grateful.

Adaptability. Compassion. Creativity. Equanimity. Patience. Resilience.

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