Lessons for Nonprofit and Start-Up Leaders

Tales from a Reluctant CEO

By (author) Maxine Harris, Michael B. O'Leary

Publication date:

15 September 2017

Length of book:

196 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442276536

Lessons for Non-Profit and Start-Up Leaders: Tales from a Reluctant CEOuses the experiences of a real company, Community Connections, to bring to life the practical dilemmas that an organization founded on a mission and guided by a set of ideals must confront and solve if it is to thrive. With no business or financial background, Maxine Harris and her partner Helen Bergman grew a tiny startup into a $35 million business. Through trial and error, they learned how to manage finances, hire staff, overcome barriers, and adapt to changing business models. In Lessons for Non-Profit and Start-Up Leaders, Harris shares her insights, struggles, and mistakes with the goal of helping others who may be starting and running non-profit organizations. She spells out the ways in which creativity, tenacity, and the power of relationships helped her and her partner overcome barriers that often cause start-ups to flounder in their first years of operation. In a humorous and novel twist, the book engages the reader with a series of original fables, each tailored to introduce a business dilemma in the language of “make-believe.” Michael O’Leary provides commentary that places the stories and case studies from Community Connections into a broader context, making the lessons accessible to anyone working in the non-profit or startup sector.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Every Organization Has a Culture of Its Own: The Beginnings of Community Connections
How to Make an Idea Come Alive: Inspiration, Thinking It Through, and Making It Happen
Power, Authority, and Responsibility: Who’s in Charge Around Here?
Hiring: People to Help with the Work
Barriers to Solving Problems: There Must Be a Way Around This
Engaging the Outside World: Is Anyone Out There?
The Importance of Self- and Organizational Awareness: Taking a Hard Look
Preparing for the Future: What’s Next?
Conclusion

Harris, cofounder of D.C.-based nonprofit Community Connections, and O’Leary, a professor of leadership at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, team up to examine the challenges of establishing a new organization in this informative and thorough exploration. The authors take an unusual approach to their topic by starting each chapter with a fairy tale 'from our collective imagination' that colorfully illustrates a specific business hurdle, such as learning how to hire the right people, overcoming obstacles, or winning over stakeholders. These stories receive titles such as 'A Fable to Reach the Sky,' 'The Magic Ring,' and 'Crossing the Woods.' Each fairy tale is followed by a case study that shows how Community Connections dealt with the issue at hand. By using Community Connections as the sole source for their case studies, the authors impart to readers a solid understanding of how one organization met its challenges. While many business books provide examples from multiple companies in the name of breadth, seldom do readers have the opportunity to explore a sole organization in such depth.