Archive for the ‘CEO Thoughts’ Category

Nonprofit leaders should be able to work with many different kinds of people. A lot of my staff at Soles4Souls is young. We have a mix of Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millennials. When you have that level of diversity, there are some important things to keep in mind about leading a (Continue reading…)

Released last summer, Woody Allen’s film, Midnight in Paris, got imaginations spinning with the story of an American writer (played by Owen Wilson) enchanted with the idea of living in Paris in the 1920’s. Through some creative storytelling, Allen transported his hero to that era where he picked the brains (Continue reading…)

Sometimes being the CEO of an organization is inspiring and rewarding, but sometimes you find yourself in the wrong headspace and it quickly becomes stressful and overwhelming.  Today started off as one of those days for me.  After getting word late last week that a very close friend of mine (Continue reading…)

From time to time young leaders come to me for advice. They want to know what I wish I had known early on, what made the difference for me, and what I would change. Here are a few practical things that I think are important for young leaders to know. (Continue reading…)

Last month on Mashable, Neil Patel recalled Robert Cialdini’s book Influence in a post detailing 6 practical ways organizations can be more persuasive with consumers on social media. Here are Cialdini’s six points with some practical application for the nonprofit leader. Reciprocation. Donors want to see where their money is (Continue reading…)

ReseachSense highlights 15 points for maximizing the potential for the nonprofit year-end appeal. Here are five that I know are key: 65% of your donors look at your website before they write the check or donate online-Is your website ready? Typography, layout, and visual appeal–these are details that matter. A (Continue reading…)

I tend to think that leaders get bored with methods way before the engaged donor and supporter does. We’ve been thinking, planning, and doing the same things for so long we’re no longer thinking creatively or achieving breakthrough results. In reality, we’re tired of the “tried and true” methods and (Continue reading…)

Cutting budgets is all the rage in the nonprofit landscape. My fear is that nonprofit leaders are setting themselves up for failure while trying to win the affections of a few, noisy dissenters. I recognize that I have a little different perspective because I come from a business background. That (Continue reading…)

If it wouldn’t offend a bunch of people, I would host a funeral for the rubber chicken nonprofit fundraising dinner. That concept is tired, old, and doesn’t work. No one gets excited about it. Chances the people who contribute at those events might even donate more if they didn’t feel (Continue reading…)

I heard a long time ago that an organization is only as strong as its weakest link. I have found that to be true my entire career, both in business and in nonprofit leadership. I recently recorded a video to share some of my thoughts about building a great team. (Continue reading…)