Category Archives: leadership

The end of the line

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

One day in the not-so-distant future, you’ll get there.  The end of the line.  The top of your organization.  The top of your field.  Nowhere else to go, because you’ll have arrived. Most likely, that day won’t be within striking … Continue reading →

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A wasted day

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

Think about it: on a day when you swing for the fences, you might swing and miss. A miss means a complete miss, a whiff, an air-ball, and all the associated jeering (we think) from the peanut gallery.  Wouldn’t it … Continue reading →

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Barbara Grant – Management Practices for the Social Sector

Posted on November 14, 2012 by

I admit it, going into an all-day training called “Management Practices for the Social Sector” I was feeling, uh, skeptical.  I’d heard great things from colleagues who’d done the training, but I was suspicious. Man was I wrong. Barbara Grant … Continue reading →

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FDR and persistent experimentation

Posted on September 19, 2012 by

Acumen’s CEO Jacqueline Novogratz shared this with our team last week.  It’s from FDR’s 1932 Commencement Address at Oglethorpe University. Especially today, our task is to remake the world which we find before us.  We have no other option. Amazing … Continue reading →

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How do I learn?

Posted on August 7, 2012 by

Back in May I realized that Peter Drucker’s Managing Oneself was a cornerstone piece of writing that I need to reread annually.  Its simplicity of language belies a depth of clarity and analysis about what it takes to understand oneself … Continue reading →

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Action is

Posted on October 12, 2011 by

Action is staking a claim to something. Action is a means of taking ownership. When you move first (on a project, on an idea) you mark a territory as yours. You require others to say “hey wait a minute, we … Continue reading →

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IDEO.org is coming!

Posted on March 9, 2011 by

Big announcement!  The wonderful folks at IDEO (the design firm that created the computer mouse…yeah, the original one) are launching IDEO.org.  In their words, IDEO.org is “focused on spreading human-centered design through the social sector and improving the lives of … Continue reading →

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No resumes

Posted on November 10, 2010 by

I recently learned from an old friend who has a soon-to-be college-age son that, in addition to the test-prep tutors, that kids who now want to get into the best colleges have life tutors.  These are people who tell the … Continue reading →

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