October 31, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
Breakthrough Thinking for Nonprofit Organizations: Creative Strategies for Extraordinary Results
by Bernard Ross and Clare Segal
Bernard Ross and Clare Segal, directors at the Management Center, a nonprofit consulting and training organization in London, drew upon their experience advising Amnesty International, Greenpeace International, and the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to craft this book, which urges organizations to use more-imaginative techniques in their fund raising, service delivery, and program development.
Creativity is vital, the authors say, because “good, in performance terms, isn’t good enough anymore for nonprofits.” The needs of those who use services are increasing, the authors explain, and competition for funding and other resources is growing stiffer.
One chapter explains several ways to encourage staff members to be creative, such as using idea-generating exercises, combining unlikely concepts to create what might be a new product or service, and avoiding language that discourages innovative thinking. The authors say nonprofit groups should strive to be “learning organizations” that encourage employees to take risks, learn from experiences (both good and bad), and develop “organizational wisdom.”
The book also includes tables that show how companies such as Hallmark, 3M, and Microsoft generate creative thinking, and suggests how such practices could be applied in nonprofit organizations.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94103-1741; (415) 433-1740 or (800) 956-7739; fax (415) 433-0499 or (800) 605-2665; http://www.josseybass.com; 268 pages; $28; I.S.B.N. 0-7879-5569-8.
