The close of a strategic planning process often feels like crossing a finish line. In reality, it’s the starting line for what comes next. A good plan gives direction. But direction alone doesn’t build capacity, communicate value, or sustain momentum. Those next steps depend on how well an organization can see, name, and use its […]

Life is not quiet where I live. Between roadwork, utility crews, and the occasional roofing project nearby, there’s often a steady hum of noise in the background of my home office. Some days it’s manageable. Other days, I can feel the interruptions fracturing my focus before I even sit down to work. The same thing […]

When you think about sustainability, you probably think about money: how to raise more of it, diversify where it comes from, and make it last. But your organization’s sustainability also depends on something less visible and just as powerful: your ability to build agency inside your team. That agency grows out of intellectual capital—the collective […]

Growth is one of those words that everyone nods along to as a goal. It sounds obvious—who wouldn’t want their organization, team, or self to grow? But in my work with nonprofits, I find that when a board or leadership team says, “we should grow,” the real work begins. Growth is not a single destination. […]

Nonprofit leadership is a role of constant decision-making. Decision fatigue is real. The fear of making a bad decision is real. And the overwhelm of being expected to know what to do—and how to do it—day after day is draining. Even when we show up with energy, joy, and hopefulness, decisions can wear us down. […]

I came to work this morning with the word hope on my mind. Talk about an intangible! Let’s play with the word and how it has meaning for leaders—not only as a personal disposition but also as an asset that can be developed and shared across a team. I’ve taken emotional intelligence tests before, though […]

Photo by Randy Tarampi on Unsplash When I sat down to write this morning, the word that came to mind was: centering. Immediately, I was anything but centered. My mind split in two directions—do I write about centering from the emotional intelligence perspective, or about centering the intangible assets of an organization? Maybe that confusion […]

After the analysis of the survey responses was complete, I found myself in a similar state of curiosity that I’d been in before the survey. There were more questions about intellectual property, management, and strategy that hadn’t been answered. Some of these questions for the basis of my ongoing study and work as a consultant. […]

Today’s survey data is all about whether nonprofits leverage their intellectual property assets to secure investments, like grants or donations. I don’t know of a single nonprofit that couldn’t use more. More money, that is. Money, as one type of asset accomplishes one critical thing: buying resources (talent, supplies, awareness) that enables achieving organizational objectives. […]

My pre-survey reading also highlighted the less obvious marketplace opportunity of recruiting and retaining people talent (Bingham and Spradlin, 2011). Showcasing intellectual capital assets to prospective board members and employees is a way to demonstrate expertise and strong operational skills. For recruiting board members, it’s a way to differentiate a nonprofit from others in the […]