"There is one thing all radically successful people have in common: their ferocious drive and hunger for success makes them never give up."
- Bernard Marr, business author

In a recent blog post, Bernard Marr gave several examples of business leaders who have persevered to become wildly successful. On his list he included such people as Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Gates. He pointed out that all had experienced multiple failures before hitting the jackpot.

This got me thinking about those who work in the social sector. I wondered who might qualify as a "radically successful" person in that world. Marr's list didn't include anyone from this group. And, as I thought about possible candidates, I considered how best to decide who qualified. All of the individuals touted by Marr had generated vast wealth as a result of their perseverance. That measure just wouldn’t cut it for those working in the social sector. 

So, I decided to base my selections on those who had never given up, and ultimately had a huge positive impact on the world. Impact is not so easy to measure, but I think we can all agree that we know it when we see it. So here is my initial stab at a list of “radically successful” people from the social sector:

Enhance your leadership…

After 22 years in the fields of volunteer program management and nonprofit administration, I’m often asked by colleagues in the sector for advice on how they can improve the volunteer program in their organization. Before responding, I ask them questions about the roles they have for volunteers, how they recruit volunteers, how volunteers are “on-boarded” to the organization, who supervises them and how, and how successful they are at retaining volunteers.

The feedback that I then give almost always follows a consistent theme – “Your program has the potential to be dramatically improved if you stop needing and using volunteers.” This usually elicits some looks of shock and surprise until I elaborate further and explain that I’m not proposing that they cease to engage the community in their work through volunteerism but, rather, that they modify how they think about volunteers in their organization. The simple, but profound, key is to change the semantics – to talk in terms of “wanting” and “engaging” volunteers rather than “needing” and “using” them.

During the introductions in my workshops, I always ask participants to share with me two or three adjectives that describe how they felt as the result of a particularly rewarding experience that they have had as a volunteer. A small sample of the positive words they have shared include: empowered, humbled, motivated, grateful, awed, helpful, effective, connected, valuable, and inspired. Not once…

“We have so many board members, we’re having trouble reaching decisions.”

The time it takes to reach consensus on a board of directors is often directly proportional to the size of the board. It’s simply more efficient to present, review, discuss and decide as a group when the number of members is manageable.

Ironically, a nonprofit that succeeds in recruiting a large number of board members with a passion for its mission can reach a point of diminishing returns, notwithstanding the valuable input each board member brings, because the time needed to give each member a say on every major decision lengthens (sometimes in an agonizing way) the time needed to reach those decisions. One way organizations can improve this process, without reducing the size of the board and the participation of its constituents, is by forming an executive committee.

An executive committee can be given the authority to act on behalf of the board only between meetings of the full board, or might be tasked with considering important matters prior to their presentation at the regular board meeting. Another option is to give the executive committee authority to act with the full power of the board in emergencies.

Whatever the structure and purpose, a clear statement in the bylaws or a resolution by the full board is needed to provide definition and guidance. Here is an example:

Creation of executive committee:…

Board members sometimes stand in the way of what their nonprofit needs most. I’ve written before about the meaningless at best and destructive at worst distinction between “overhead” and “program” dollars. Unfortunately, both board members and donors can sometimes overlook the actual costs of a nonprofit's work and its critical need for investment money in the organization.

Fortunately, board members can break this pattern by helping their nonprofit uncover, plan for and fund the staffing, technology, expertise and systems required to make the organization more effective. Board members need to put their weight behind organization building. And they can start by giving their nonprofit these five priceless gifts:

1. Permission to talk about real costs. Don't wear your staff thin by asking them to work with less. Rather than insisting your executive director cut budget on salary, technology, or expert support, consider discussing the true costs of your organization's work and how best to achieve your ambitious goals. Taking a proactive approach on long-term sustainability, will help your organization thrive and make a greater impact.
2. …

What’s a nonprofit executive to do when all the forces of nature, politics, and the economy conspire to thwart organizational (program and resource) development?

The answer lies in leveraging the crisis strategically for the opportunity that lies within the eye of the storm, in daring to lead beyond expectations and risking professional comfort.

Yes, a unique and seismic convergence of economic (the Great Recession and its aftermath), political (Congressional stalemate on the national budget and sequestration), social (demographic shifts and changes in attitudes and values regarding social responsibility), and technological (the democratization of social media and alternative forms of charitable expression) have taken a financial and programmatic toll on nonprofits. Today’s storm is unlike those of past economic downturns in both scale and duration.

In other words, times are rough for nonprofits, and every indication is that they are going to get even rougher and more challenging. These dramatic changes in the marketplace have broad implications for organizational governance and for the viability of the conventional nonprofit business model. 

A number of long-standing organizations have fallen by the wayside. Some are gone because of failures of governance, others because of funding cutbacks they could not withstand, others for their inability to adapt to a highly competitive marketplace. Still others remain at…