The Yin and Yang of Growing Your Cause: Incremental Improvement and Breakthrough The best way to grow your nonprofit or cause is to do two seemingly opposite things at once. First, incrementally improve the things— the programs, revenue streams, branding, public relations—that are already working well. Or at least seem to have […]
You’ve already know about the 80/20 rule so this is a reminder—because four-out-of-five times it will help you focus on what’s important. In 1906 economist Vilfredo Pareto was studying land ownership in Italy and found that 20 percent of the people owned 80 percent of the land. The remaining 80 percent of […]
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” — Mark Twain Many big efforts happen like this: Get clarity on what you want to do, define your goal Make a plan to reach […]
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” — Albert Einstein By Tom Peterson The “rover” we earthlings sent to explore the next planet over was named through a contest by sixth-grader Clara Ma: Curiosity. But it was seven thousand adults who spent five years to make the mission happen. The $2.5 billion […]
By Tom Peterson This morning’s headline: Solar-powered plane completes round-the-world journey Do you have an ambitious goal for your life? Does your cause have one? If you do and you faithfully pursue it, it will change your life, or that of your organization. Most do-good organizations don’t have an audacious goal. Instead, they do […]
By Tom Peterson Years ago, waiting with my younger son in the elementary school auditorium for the holiday program to begin, I ask what he learned in school that day. “VCCV,” he says. “VCCV? What’s that?” You know, Vowel, Consonant, Consonant, Vowel. He looks at a banner on the auditorium wall that reads […]
What could possibly go wrong? The cobra effect The colonial British overlord in charge of Delhi, India, wanted to rid the area of venomous snakes so he offered a bounty for each cobra killed. Everything has side effects: the medicines we take, the products we use— and an edict about deadly snakes. […]
By Tom Peterson In 2011 Artist Candy Chang used her creative powers to connect her New Orleans neighbors to their own dreams and to each other. Dealing with depression related to the unexpected death of a loved one caused Chang to reflect on what really matters in life. She turned the side of an abandoned […]
By Tom Peterson “Don’t reinvent the wheel,” we’re told. Don’t waste time re-creating something already created. Someone else has gone through the trouble to invent almost anything we use. We didn’t invent soap, the dog leash or the smart phone or the custom of saying “You’re welcome” when someone thanks us. But […]
By Tom Peterson A former teacher, Lily Eskelsen García is now president of the National Education Association. Representing public school teachers, the NEA is the country’s largest labor union. One day she found herself sitting next to a talkative businessman on a plane. He’s telling me where he’s going and what he’s […]
