LEAP UPDATES

I gave a speech at the City Club of Cleveland (my hometown) at 12:30 EDT on Friday, April 27. You can watch the rebroadcast of the speech as well as read the prepared remarks. The speech seeks to lift up the Leap of Reason message—from one about outcomes assessment and performance management to one that…

I’ve got a classic chicken-or-egg challenge for you. For an organization to make “the leap of reason,” which comes first: courageous nonprofit leadership or courageous, results-driven funding? In my column this month in VPPNews—and in a speech I will deliver next month at the Cleveland City Club (we’ll send a link to the webcast when…

Recently a colleague was eating at a Smith & Wollensky’s steak house and saw a giant banner apprising diners that 2012 is “The Year of the Steak.” If Smith & Wollensky’s can unilaterally appropriate a whole year to market a product that my doc has all but banned from my diet, then there’s no reason…

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to follow the KISS principle—Keep It Simple, Stupid—more often. I’ll try to put that principle to use in this update, given how many developments in the Leap of Reason community we want to highlight this month. First, we want to share some concrete ideas for how boards, foundations,…

With this month’s update, we are pleased to share a detailed summary of the “Tough Times, Creative Measures” symposium Urban Institute hosted in October to exploreLeap of Reason’s key themes. The all-star participants shared great insights into the lack of support in the nonprofit community for data-driven management, human-capital development, and performance cultures. And they…