Thursday, August 30, 2007

More Leadership Summit Nuggets...

No pictures for this post, and I don't know how to put links into my blog so you can go see pictures of folks I mention. Please, somebody, call me and teach me!

So Michael Porter is a professor at Harvard, teaching Strategy and Leadership. I would so love to take classes from him. He's fairly Vulcan in his logic, and I loved it! Not what you would call a fluffy fellow.

He talked about using our resources wisely, with strategic planning, leaving emotions out of the mix. "How do you do well at doing good?" He says that with all the energy and money we spend on helping people, we don't get the results that we should. Boy, that struck a chord with me. When I hear about MILLIONS or even BILLIONS of dollars being poured into a needy area, yet the needs remaining unmet, it kind of makes me sick. All that means to me is that the effort to help is being led and managed poorly and probably making a few people very rich.

I hardly know how to whittle his points down, there are so many good ones. But they are quite specific to a large organization needing to be very intentional and deliberate about choosing where to make a difference and then doing it well.

I'll mention 4 pitfalls he gave: 1. Under-utilizing volunteer capabilities 2. Don't have engineers raking lawns 3. Lack of Focus 4. Creating too many programs

Five things that get in the way of strategic planning: 1. Lack of clarity and concensus on our goals 2. The services are driven by passion, not value and effectiveness 3. No attempt to measure performance 4. Limited attention to cost 5. Inability to stop anything

Are you bored to tears? Over or under-whelmed? I found him compelling - what does that say about me? (I'm open to observations!)

That's enough for today. Time to get back to pancakes with fresh peach sauce for dinner - special request from the Todd-Man. Maybe I'll add blueberries...

2 comments:

Meggan said...

for todd, in regards to "blueberry lies"[Somewhere in his past he got the idea that in order for a pie to be REAL it has to have a from-scratch crust.]

"'Real' isn't how you're made, it's a thing that happens to you.
-Rocking Horse from The Velveteen Rabbit"

love, meggan
tell michael his smile looks fabulous

Meggan said...

Zona,
You have posted a lot since you got back from Colorado and since I checked in last. im glad that you were given food for thought at the leadership event. Interesting how that all comes just when what you were leading gets taken away from you. NOt to dwell on a negative situation, but I wonder what is going on with you God and ministry in the future. Thanks for posting. It is not the same at all at being close to you physically but I like the connection, even if it is electronic. Talk to you later.

love

eric