From Books to Blogs: What We're Reading

"Netflix and Google Books Are Blurring the Line Between Past and Present," a great article for historians, curators, and archivists.

Leap of Reason:  Managing to Outcomes In an Era of Scarcity by Mario Morino (2011) This highly readable monograph is meant to spark the critically important conversations that every nonprofit board and leadership team should have in this new era of austerity.  Here's a sample:

“The vast majority of nonprofits do not have the benefit of good information and tools to determine where they’re headed, chart a logical course, and course-correct when they’re off.  They’re navigating with little more than intuition and anecdotes.  Only a fortunate few have a reliable way to know whether they’re doing meaningful, measurable good for those they serve. Nonprofits must reach clarity of what change they’re trying to create, acquire specificity on how they will accomplish that change, determine what information they need to track how they’re doing, and then use this feedback to make continuous improvements. Technology can help.  But more important is cultivating the right organizational culture and getting the right people in the right jobs to drive toward the right outcomes.”

Best news:  the Kindle edition is FREE!

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath (2010) This book describes how small changes can yield big results when one is tuned into the rational and emotional forces at play.  Like the Heaths other books, the lessons are delivered through engaging narratives of real-life examples. Balancing the Mission Checkbook is the blog of the Nonprofits Assistance Fund (https://nonprofitsassistancefund.org/blog), a Minnesota-based resource that offers financial management training, technical assistance, and information. The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High Performance Organization by Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith (2006) I read the the 1992 edition a few years ago and continue to revisit it when thinking about how groups work together. Whether is a committee, a staff work group, or the board of trustees, all are teams ripe for nurture. The blog Createquity (http://www.createquity.com) Described as "a unique virtual think tank exploring the intersection of the arts with a wide range of topics including politics, economics, philanthropy, leadership, research, and urban planning, Createquity is a hub for next-generation ideas on the role of the arts in a creative society," this is a blog I subscribe to and often dip into for interesting and eye-opening perspectives on the arts.