March 12, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
NEW BOOKS
You’ve Gotta Have Heart: Achieving Purpose Beyond Profit in the Social Sector
by Cass Wheeler
Cass Wheeler, chief executive of the American Heart Association since 1997, writes that the goal of this book is to show how organizations can increase their effectiveness by 5 percent or better over current projections. That might mean 5 percent higher revenue, 5 percent better staff retention, or 5 percent more people served, he writes, but groups should always aim for bigger and better results.
Mr. Wheeler organizes his book around five key philosophies he has adopted over the course of his career: Nonprofit groups exist for a purpose beyond profit; they must adopt approaches from the business world; credibility is everything; leaders should surround themselves with the best people; and “soft” resources such as trust, relationships, and communication can bring in hard resources such as cash. Those themes and Mr. Wheeler’s experience at the heart association shape each of the book’s 10 chapters.
For example, in the chapter “Breaking Out the Big Brass Brand,” Mr. Wheeler writes about how nonprofit groups should embrace marketing and advertising as a for-profit business would. That’s what the heart association did with its “Go Red for Women” campaign, which was created by a for-profit marketing agency and brought $40-million in contributions to the organization.
“In this day and age nonprofits have no other choice but to think of their constituents as customers,” he writes. “If we do not embrace the notion that we have customers, we will lose out on the many for-profits and nonprofits that do.”
Publisher: American Management Association, 600 AMA Way, Saranac Lake, N.Y. 12983; (800) 262-9699; http://www.amanet.org; 240 pages; $24.95; ISBN 978-0814409909.
