We want to hear from you: +1.910.617.2984
Increasing Organizational Capacity for Mission-Driven Organizations
Practical frameworks we use in the field.
Two-minute reads and insights.
Rhythm of business
Takeaway: A lightweight monthly/quarterly cadence keeps teams aligned as priorities shift.
You don’t need an offsite, just a repeatable ritual and a visible board.
Use it when: Always use it. Plans drift, grants/board cycles collide, or handoffs can slip, your rhythm keeps your team aligned.​
​
​
Rolling 4: quarterly planning
Takeaway: Look one quarter back and four ahead to stay adaptive without bloated annual planning.​
​
​
Great managers, great outcomes
Takeaway: Coaching, clarity, and inclusion beat command-and-control. Google’s research remains the fastest way to level up managers.
​
Use it when: You need a pulse check on how you manage, new managers inherit teams, or performance varies wildly across programs.
Link: https://reworkblog.com/identify-what-makes-a-great-manager/
​
​
Strategy 'kernel'
(from the guru of strategy, Richard Rumelt)
Takeaway: If you don’t have a diagnosis, you don’t have a strategy. Nail diagnosis → guiding policy → coherent actions.
​
Use it when: Richard Rumelt is the leading thinker on strategy. Good Strategy Bad Strategy is the very best resource for orgs wanting to develop and implement a strategy. And since everyone’s busy, here's a TL;DR.
​
​
DACI + 70% heuristic
(decision-making)
Takeaway: Assign roles (Driver, Approver, Contributors, Informed) and move with ~70% of the info when a decision is reversible.
Use it when: Decisions swirl, approvals bottleneck, or “consensus” slows everything.
Link: https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/daci
​
​
Meeting hygiene
(are your meetings missed opportunities?)
Takeaway: In one study, poorly run meetings were associated with reduced productivity and innovation and a higher rate of employee turnover. Fortunately, with a thoughtful approach, meetings that stimulate creativity and inspire action aren’t so hard to come by.
What is the purpose of a Meeting?
1. Analysis/Idea Generation: Highly complex situations require root cause analysis; meetings are the best way to do this, gain an understanding of a problem, and create consensus.
2. Assign To-Do’s: Structured meetings provide an excellent means of building agreement around roles and responsibilities.
3. Make Decisions: Prioritization is critical since resources typically fall short of demands. Identify the most important items as quickly as possible.
4. Build Relationships: Getting people face-to-face provides the glue that can pull people together and get them to work more cooperatively. Frequently managing conflict can result in increased effectiveness.
What is not the purpose of a meeting?
1. Persuasion: Probably the worst reason for holding a meeting is to convince other people to change their behavior or try to build consensus.
2. Exchange Ideas: The most common reason for meetings, the free exchange of ideas, is also one of the worst reasons. Coming together face-to-face is a very expensive way to exchange information, so...
​
a better justification for meeting is to address questions about clarity, prioritization, and agreement.
​
We have a tool that can help you lead more productive meetings.
​
​
Change that sticks
(LEGO)
Takeaway: Reduce complexity, focus the portfolio, reconnect with core users; pace the change.
Use it when: Turnaround energy is high, and so is the risk of making a mistake.
Link: https://www.theceomagazine.com/business/company-profile/rebuilding-lego/​​
​
​
Fundraising signals
(giving landscape)
Takeaway: Giving grows with markets, but donor counts/retention lag, capacity building around small-donor pipelines is critical.
Use it when: Budgeting revenue or debating major-donor vs. small-donor focus.
Links: