LEAP UPDATES
Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes. 
--Peter Drucker
Welcome to the archive of monthly Leap Updates from Mario Morino and Lowell Weiss. The final Leap Update was published in March of 2022.
Can Government Play Moneyball?
The Atlantic Monthly‘s annual July/August “Ideas Issue,” which hit newsstands this week, features an article that could help the nascent performance movement go mainstream.
“Can Government Play Moneyball?” was written by the high-powered bipartisan duo of Peter Orszag (former budget director under Obama) and John Bridgeland (former director of the Domestic Policy Council under G.W. Bush). It’s a provocative article that is sparking debate—and even some anger—about how little the federal government pays attention to performance and results when it allocates precious taxpayer dollars.
Mnogo srece
No, that subject line isn’t a typo. It means “good luck” in Serbian. Why is a guy who often mangles his native tongue trying Serbian? Read on, my friends. Serbia has come a long way in the 14 years since the end of the Kosovo War. Although ethnic tensions still run high, last month Serbia…
Because I Said I Would
This month, I want to introduce you to Alex Sheen, an inspiring young man who serendipitously popped up on our radar a little over a week ago. A friend reached out hoping the Leap team could offer Alex some advice on the nonprofit he has just formed. Alex, 27, lost his dad last September. “He…
Geeking Out for Good
As I noted in Leap of Reason, data systems are not the decisive factor in whether organizations make the leap to high performance. But when you have a leader who is relentless in pursuing impact and has a sense for how data can support that pursuit, you’ve got a very powerful combination. Exhibit One: Michael…
Be Skeptical, Very Skeptical
If you’re an old coot like me, you’ll undoubtedly remember the great advertising tagline “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” I feel exactly that way about New York Times columnist David Brooks. I don’t always agree with him. He’s a conservative; I’m a progressive. But I’m always impressed with his wisdom. It’s clear that Brooks…
Quotes From Leaders Like You
“You’re taking someone else’s money to get into somebody else’s life to try to make a difference. You better be showing you can make a difference!”
