"No Monopolies on Good Thinking"

A college friend of mine and I once watched an intramural basketball game, waiting for ours to begin, when he shared a comment with his unique deadpan wit. He pointed to a team that was hopelessly outmatched and -- with perfect timing – observed, “they may not be very skilled, [dramatic pause] but they are slow.” 

Not skilled, but slow. That’s how I feel many days, and particularly now, as I’ve waited 10 or so days to announce that the Sorkin Center at Compass is up and running.  We had our first intensive training session in DC, bringing together a huge number of board chairs, board members, and executive directors from leading nonprofits in the region for a day of shared learning about what great boards and great board members look like in the nonprofit sector. 

This work is vital and inspiring for three separate reasons. First, it honors the memory of, and – more importantly – perpetuates the vision of, Jerry Sorkin. Jerry was a mentor and friend to countless people across the corporate and nonprofit world. He believed to his core that great leadership – from the board level down – was vital to strong organizations and enterprises. And strong for- and nonprofit organizations are vital to a healthy society.

Second, consistent with the mission of Compass, the work reinforced the value of bringing perspectives from outside the nonprofit sector to the task of running and building great organizations. It’s well understood at this point that many nonprofit organizations could benefit from the measurement orientation, financial and operational discipline, and focus on scaling strategic advantage that characterizes the best for-profit organizations.  Effective board members can bring these attributes to bear in ways that sustain and accelerate attainment of nonprofit missions.

Third, and least well understood, the for-profit sector has plenty to learn from high-performing nonprofits. And the experience gained from volunteer board service in the nonprofit sector can build skills rising and established leaders desperately need. Obviously, companies around the world have long understood the value of philanthropy and volunteerism as engines of employee engagement and community goodwill. But in setting up the Sorkin Center, we are also eager to highlight the benefits of nonprofit board service as skill-building for executive leadership. 

These benefits extend well beyond just seeing board/staff interactions and taking an enterprise-level perspective (which are both valuable unto themselves).  It’s safe to say leaders in the nonprofit sector have honed a variety of skills that a corporate or entrepreneurial career don’t teach nearly as well. 

-         Obviously – by necessity – the best nonprofit leaders excel at using mission and vision (not just financial reward) to motivate, align, and extend their organizations. (Being a running dog capitalist myself, I once crassly referred to an organization with great volunteer capability as “being great at getting people to work for free!”). 

-         By definition, nonprofits excel at engaging the communities in which they work. Skillful nonprofit CEOs are master coalition builders – finding and leveraging alliances and relationships in support of their mission. Often, they must balance competing demands on, and visions for, the spheres in which they operate. 

-         In managing their organizations and boards, nonprofit leaders must usually work with team members drawn from a much wider array of experiences and backgrounds than corporate leaders do. Inclusion – of diverse backgrounds, objectives and perspectives – is not a recently minted watchword in this sector.

These are just a few examples of many. But a sector replete with leaders skilled at motivating through mission, engaging communities, and forging inclusive organizations has a lot to teach. Particularly as customers, employees and communities demand accountability from companies across a broader ranges of outcomes.   

As Jerry was fond of saying – “I haven’t yet found a room a room where someone has a monopoly on good thinking.” In that spirit, it was wonderful to see the skillbuilding and dialogue across the day. So glad to be a part of this process, and so grateful to so many people for making it happen – especially my former CEB colleagues and the Compass team who planned and delivered the day.