June 13, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business
By Nancy Lublin
Although more and more nonprofit organizations are embracing business strategies, Nancy Lublin, chief executive of Do Something and founder of Dress for Success, says that companies can learn valuable lessons from charities on how to do more with less, especially in today’s harsh economic climate.
Unlike corporations, nonprofit groups must develop their images with little money and research. The best charities, Ms. Lublin writest,states, can summarize what they represent in just a few simple words, citing Unicef’s tagline of “Believe in zero,” its mission to ensure no child dies a preventable death. Ms. Lublin advises companies to do what charities do: ask model themselves after nonprofit groups by askinghaving employees to try an array of ake on ainhabit a variety of positions, just as charities often have employees to doing multiple jobs and workby working in small offices that force them to interact with one another and spark creativity.
Ms. Lublin writes, “Zilch is what drives us to be more innovative, more passionate, more creative. Stop whining about your budget cuts and start asking yourself what you would do if you had zilch. You’ll be surprised to discover just how powerful that is.”
Publisher: Portfolio, 375 Hudson Street, New York, N.Y. 10014; (212) 366-2272; fax (212) 366-2952; http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishers/adult/portfolio.html; 235 pages; $25.95; ISBN 978-1-59184-314-6.
