Easy answer, “No.”
A nonprofit should be run like effective
nonprofits are run.
However . . . . .
There is a lot we – in the nonprofit world – can
learn from business best practices. Far
too many nonprofit executives dismiss many “business practices” because they
think that nearly everything businesses do is “tainted” by the profit motive,
and therefore “wrong.”
This is short-sighted thinking. We can study business best practices and then
figure out if and how they fit the nonprofit world. Some may not fit. But plenty practices fit perfectly.
How about the importance of making data driven
decisions, or managing our finances effectively, or using sound human resources
practices? This is just a short list of business best
practices – but they are also nonprofit best practices.
Dan Pallotta’s TED Talk, “The Way We Think About
Charity is Dead Wrong,” (check out the link here) in which he encourages the
use of business thinking for the nonprofit world, is going viral in the
nonprofit world lately. I don’t agree
with everything he says, but he is rattling a lot of cages and getting people
to rethink some key assumptions.
Don’t assume that all business practices are wrong
for nonprofits. The whole concept behind
the Mission Impact book was to take business
best practice in the area of strategy and retrofit it for nonprofits. We can learn a lot from businesses and – as I
frequently tell my business friends – they can learn a lot from us as well.
For more
ideas on how you can lead breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog
and check out my web site at www.SheehanNonprofitConsulting.com You will find free resources you can
download, including a Breakthrough Strategy Workbook that you can download at
no cost. You can also check out my book,
Mission Impact: Breakthrough
Strategies for Nonprofits, and buy it if
you are interested. And you can follow Sheehan
Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.
Business is one of the most great way to make a money or profit but many businesses which are non profitable business.
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