Breakthrough Thinking for Nonprofit Organizations

This groundbreaking book will help nonprofit managers think in newand creative ways about how they define and meet the challengesthey face--and how to rise above standard practices to lift theirorganizations to greater performance levels. Using examples of bestpractices from innovative organizations in both the corporate andnonprofit worlds, Breakthrough Thinking for NonprofitOrganizations offers a mix of "how-to" advice and case studiesthat will guide readers on a new road to creativity. This book willfundamentally change the way nonprofit professionals think abouthow they do their work--and usher in a new era fornonprofits.

2003 Terry McAdam Book Award Winner http://www.allianceonline.org/publications/mcadam_past_winners_1.page Tables, Figures, and Exhibits.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

The Authors.

Introduction: The Change Environment: Why GoodIsn t Good EnoughAnymore.

1. Where Are You Starting Your Breakthrough From?StrategicDecisions-Simple Choices.

2. Second Wave Thinking: Moving Toward RadicallyDifferentPerformance.

3. Setting Breakthrough Goals: Moving Beyond StretchGoals.

4. Unlocking Potential: The Strategic Role of CreativityandInnovation.

5. Releasing Creativity: Unleashing the Power ofYourIntelligence.

6. Creating a Smart Organization: How to Help YourOrganizationLearn.

7. Mapping the Possibilities: Organizing Your Thinkingfor theHigh-Payoff Idea.

8. Balancing Creativity and Innovation:How You Can Get to theBreakthrough.

9. Challenging Mind-Sets: Getting Rid of theCreativity andInnovation Killers.

10. Driving the Change: What You Can Do to EnsureYour BreakthroughStays on Course.

11. Working in the Breakthrough Organization:How to Change the WayYou Work to Prepare forBreakthrough.

Conclusion.

Select Breakthrough Thinking Booklist.

References.

Index. "With refreshing insight, they provide specific steps andactivities to help your company think truly outside the box."(Stage Directions Magazine, April 2003)"Ross and Segal provide case studies from a range of countries andsettings. What's inspiring and useful is the way they make theseexamples of creativity and imagination relevant and useful to you."
¾Jennie Thompson, international consultant and former boardchair, Resource Alliance, Washington, D.C.
"Fundraisers at every level will find Bernard Ross and ClareSegal's ideas on how to improve their fundraising exciting andstimulating."
-- Cathlene Williams, Ph.D., senior director, education andresearch programme, Assiociation of Fundraising Professionals

"As head of the private sector and public affairs service of amajor U.N. organization, I need to constantly look for newmanagement and fundraising ideas on how to tackle the majorchallenges we face to alleviate the suffering of the refugees wecare for. This book is full of outstanding ideas on how to improveour day-to-day performance. I have only one piece of advice togive: Do not go to bed tonight without having read this exceptionalbook!"
-- Pierre Bernard Le Bas, director of the private sector& public affairs service, UNHCR

Bernard Ross is a director of The Management Centre, the United Kingdom's largest nonprofit management consultancy and training organization. He has worked in nonprofit management for twenty years and has tested his methods with organizations such as Greenpeace, Save the Children, the Red Cross, and others.

Clare Segal is a director of The Management Centre. She works extensively with organizations in Europe and the United States on marketing, coaching, and communication skills.

Breakthrough Thinking for Nonprofit Organizations is based on a simple but challenging idea: "Good performanc" is no longer good enough for nonprofits. In a world of increasing demands that must be met, nonprofits must set and achieve breakthrough goals. Bernard Ross and Clare Segal show nonprofit managers and board members how to transform their thinking and improve their performance to meet the needs of the people and causes they serve.
With practical advice, exercises drawn from their successful workshops, and examples of best practices from companies such as 3M, Hallmark, and Microsoft— as well as from the most innovative organizations in the nonprofit world— Ross and Segal show nonprofits of every size how to tap into creativity and transform that creativity into innovation. Exploring why and how some organizations achieve extraordinary results, the authors offer the practical advice and tools that readers need to emulate those results in their own organizations. Because methods and approaches differ depending on individuals and organizations, the book is organized so that readers can pick and choose the specific tools or techniques that work best for their own situations. The wide range of case studies includes both best practices and worst disasters, so that readers might avoid the mistakes of others and apply the principles of others successes. The authors show how to set breakthrough goals, identify sources of creativity, overcome creativity-killing mindsets, turn creativity into innovation, and sustain a high-performance culture.
Breakthrough Thinking for Nonprofit Organizations offers a veritable "ideas toolbox" for managers who want to achieve significant and inventive change in their organizations, whether in fundraising, service delivery, or overall performance. This groundbreaking book will help nonprofit managers think in new and creative ways about how they define and meet the challenges they face--and how to rise above standard practices to lift their organizations to greater performance levels. Using examples of best practices from innovative organizations in both the corporate and nonprofit worlds, Breakthrough Thinking for Nonprofit Organizations offers a mix of "how-to" advice and case studies that will guide readers on a new road to creativity. This book will fundamentally change the way nonprofit professionals think about how they do their work--and usher in a new era for nonprofits.

"If you're a board member or chief executive, then this book is a mine of really inspiring ideas on how to do things differently? and better."
? Judith O'Connor, CEO, Boardsource (formerly NCNB)

"Ross and Segal bring a fresh and refreshing insight into organizational performance. This book is especially useful to anyone looking ready to step up their fundraising ideas."
? Mal Warwick, president and CEO, Mal Warwick and Associates

"If anyone can show you how to love change and look forward to it, it's Bernard Ross. With wit and wisdom, he sets out the agenda for managing organizational change in the coming decade."
? Ken Burnett, author, Relationship Fundraising

"If you're looking for new ideas that really work and draw on the very best international practice, this book is an outstanding work."
? Stewart Crocker, CEO, Resource Alliance, London

"Ross and Segal provide case studies from a range of countries and settings. What's inspiring and useful is the way they make these examples of creativity and imagination relevant and useful to you."
¾Jennie Thompson, international consultant and former board chair, Resource Alliance, Washington, D.C.
"Fundraisers at every level will find Bernard Ross and Clare Segal's ideas on how to improve their fundraising exciting and stimulating."
— Cathlene Williams, Ph.D., senior director, education and research programme, Assiociation of Fundraising Professionals

"As head of the private sector and public affairs service of a major U.N. organization, I need to constantly look for new management and fundraising ideas on how to tackle the major challenges we face to alleviate the suffering of the refugees we care for. This book is full of outstanding ideas on how to improve our day-to-day performance. I have only one piece of advice to give: Do not go to bed tonight without having read this exceptional book!"
— Pierre Bernard Le Bas, director of the private sector & public affairs service, UNHCR