Face Time

James Surowiecki’s article “Face Time” (The New Yorker) about Yahoo’s decision to end its then-revolutionary practice of allowing employees to telecommute virtually has been mentioned frequently in the media over the last weeks, and indeed among our circles here at The Numad Group, where even our company name is based on the notion of “the new nomad” (as The Economist referred to virtual telecommuters like us). As happens frequently when I read articles regarding business management decisions, when I read this article my mind immediately jumped to how these decisions relate to (or not) nonprofit management decisions. 

The turnaround trap

When I recently read James Surowiecki's "The Turnaround Trap" (The New Yorker) about the work of J.C. Penney's C.E.O., Ron Johnson, in trying to turnaround the then fading company, I was not planning on writing this entry. However, as I scanned through the article, I began to recognize that Surowiecki's commentary about what makes or breaks a new strategy for a business holds true for nonprofit organizations as well.

Crowdfunding: Three simple reasons

Regardless of whether in our professional organizations or in our personal lives, time and time again we all find ourselves asking how to best make ends meet. When it comes to your nonprofit organization, making ends meet relies on getting your audience to engage beyond simply recognizing that you are working toward a good cause.  In most cases we all know that you have a good cause, and if you were to ask a stranger on the street they would probably agree. The question we all struggle with is how to get your audience to go beyond saying you have a good cause to actually donating towards that cause. A very legitimate answer to that age-old question, I believe, is crowdfunding.