Christians are called to be good stewards of time, talents, and treasures. Jon Hirst also urges believers to steward knowledge, an abundant resource few of us handle well. "There have been plenty of books and sermons telling Christians WHAT to think," says Hirst. "We need to explore HOW to think, and how to steward the knowledge we have to reach more people for Christ." "The Calling of the Knowledge Steward" introduces readers to Christian leaders who proactively steward knowledge today, as well as to ancient stewards found in the Bible. "Knowledge stewards excel at something all of us were created to do," says Hirst, "know and be known." Drawing on ancient spiritual disciplines and current best practices in business, Hirst issues an invitation and a challenge: "Christ is calling some of us to wade in where others fear to go, to master the mass of information, and to use it to address some of the important challenges we face."
How do you turn a really good idea into a really good question, and how do you turn this into successful research? Barbara Fawcett and Rosalie Pockett use their expertise as supervisors and researchers to provide you with the frameworks and the theoretical and practical guidance you need to design, carry out and communicate your research effectively. Using a range of examples that relate research to the real world, they demonstrate: how to develop research questions how to select appropriate theoretical frameworks how to integrate theoretical perspectives with empirical research how to gather and interpret data how to ensure that the research undertaken makes a difference. The authors’ user-friendly approach emphasizes the importance of participation, collaboration and inclusivity, and examines worldviews and understandings of knowledge in order to enable greater critical reflection. Chapters provide guidance on achieving impact with your research, and feature reflective questions to enhance your engagement with the issues covered. This text is the ideal companion as you set about transforming your ideas into robust research.
We are entering a new era—an era of impact. The largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history will soon be under way, bringing with it the potential for huge increases in philanthropic funding. Engine of Impact shows how nonprofits can apply the principles of strategic leadership to attract greater financial support and leverage that funding to maximum effect. As Good to Great author Jim Collins writes in his foreword, this book offers "a detailed roadmap of disciplined thought and action for turning a good nonprofit into one that can achieve great impact at scale." William F. Meehan III and Kim Starkey Jonker identify seven essential components of strategic leadership that set high-achieving organizations apart from the rest of the nonprofit sector. Together, these components form an "engine of impact"—a system that organizations must build, tune, and fuel if they hope to make a real difference in the world. Drawing on decades of teaching, advising, grantmaking, and research, Meehan and Jonker provide an actionable guide that executives, staff, board members, and donors can use to jumpstart their own performance and to achieve extraordinary results for their organization. Along with setting forth best practices using real-world examples, the authors outline common management challenges faced by nonprofits, showing how these challenges differ from those faced by for-profit businesses in important and often-overlooked ways. By offering crucial insights on the fundamentals of nonprofit management, this book will help leaders equip their organizations to fire on all cylinders and unleash the full potential of the nonprofit sector. Visit www.engineofimpact.org for additional information.
Accelerate your real-world, social impact by driving systemic policy changes As Co-Founder of Global Citizen—an international education and advocacy organization with the mission to end extreme poverty worldwide—Michael Sheldrick has worked with governments, businesses, foundations, the artist community, and everyday citizens to distribute over $40 billion around the world over the past decade. Now, in From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World, he delivers an inspiring and insightful discussion on how to implement social impact by driving policy change. This book reveals key characteristics of successful policy entrepreneurs - visionaries bridging the gap between promises and real-world outcomes. They are practical implementers who put impact first, resisting the urge to pursue the instant dopamine boost that comes from simply winning arguments at all costs. They are connectors and networkers who build diverse coalitions and broker win-win solutions to address our current implementation crisis. An indispensable guide for individual changemakers, philanthropists, corporate social responsibility (CSR) practitioners, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) professionals, policymakers, corporate foundations, and higher education students, From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World, features: An overview of pressing challenges to avoid, including an obsession with winning arguments at the expense of results, demands for unwavering tribal loyalty, and a counterproductive aversion to negotiation. An eight-step playbook offering tools to master policy entrepreneurship, foster cooperation, build bridges, and drive policy implementation beyond stagnation, conflict, and polarization. Diverse policy entrepreneurs and examples spanning historical movements like the Transatlantic Slave Trade and FDR’s New Deal to contemporary battles for climate justice, coal community transitions, and grassroots gender equality efforts. At its core, this uplifting book instills hope that change is achievable despite our divisions. It showcases how individuals at all levels pursue systemic policy change through united voices, cooperation, and solidarity. Sheldrick equips readers with the tools to craft impactful narratives that can inspire countless more success stories, reinforcing the idea that we are not prisoners of fate and that actual change begins with us.
Take advantage of a powerful visual management tool for teams as you work together and deliver great results. It's been used by thousands of teams for project success! 59% of U.S. workers say that communication is their team's biggest obstacle to success, followed by accountability at 29% (Atlassian). High-Impact Tools for Teams explains a simple, powerful tool that helps team leaders and members align and get clarity on exactly who is responsible for each part of the team's most important activities and projects. The tool is complemented by 4 trust add-ons that help teams build trust and increase psychological safety, so every member can be confident in sharing ideas or concerns about obstacles the team may face. It's a proven tool for project teams, based on years of research, and thousands of teams are already using the Team Alignment Map to run effective "get-to-action meetings", give projects a good start and de-silo organizations. Co-author Alex Osterwalder is the international best-selling author who co-created the Business Model Canvas, a strategic management tool used by 1 million+ industry leaders globally. Plan as a team and know who does what Uncover and proactively remove the most likely obstacles to any project Boost team member contributions Run more effective team meetings Get more successful projects With the guidance of High-Impact Tools for Teams, you can be better prepared as a team leader or team member to plan effectively, reduce risks, and collaborate with others. Your team will be accountable and ready to deliver results!
FOREWORD BY GUY KAWASAKI Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the Net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.
From Problem Solving To Solution Design Creating solutions to solve problems can often prove very difficult to accomplish, even for seasoned Solution Designers. Complex organizational problems have several stakeholders, endless variables, and a myriad of possible solutions. It's hard enough to figure out where to start, and even harder to realize what the perfect, mutually-beneficial solution is. With their combined tenure of over fifty years, J. Eduardo Campos and Erica W. Campos present their Solution-Designing expertise in From Problem Solving to Solution Design so that you can learn from their successes (and their failures) to craft sustainable solutions for complex problems. Specifically, you will learn how to implement the I.D.E.A.S. framework that they have been perfecting over the years, which includes five critical checkpoints that any Solution Designer must hit to create solutions that are successfully envisioned, negotiated with stakeholders, and implemented to last over time. - IDENTIFY THE ESSENTIAL PROBLEM AND PRIORITIZE YOUR ACTIONS TO SOLVE IT. - DESIGN SOLUTION OPTIONS ALIGNED TO YOUR GOALS. - ENGAGE YOUR STAKEHOLDERS IN THE SOLUTION AND INFLUENCE THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS. - ACT ON THE AGREED-UPON RECOMMENDATIONS AND EXECUTE YOUR GOVERNANCE MODEL. - SUSTAIN THE IMPLEMENTED SOLUTION BY CREATING A FEEDBACK LOOP. Treat this book as your field guide: it offers clear checkpoints for you to assist your organization in designing effective solutions for complex problems.
A practical guide to effective business model testing 7 out of 10 new products fail to deliver on expectations. Testing Business Ideas aims to reverse that statistic. In the tradition of Alex Osterwalder’s global bestseller Business Model Generation, this practical guide contains a library of hands-on techniques for rapidly testing new business ideas. Testing Business Ideas explains how systematically testing business ideas dramatically reduces the risk and increases the likelihood of success for any new venture or business project. It builds on the internationally popular Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas by integrating Assumptions Mapping and other powerful lean startup-style experiments. Testing Business Ideas uses an engaging 4-color format to: Increase the success of any venture and decrease the risk of wasting time, money, and resources on bad ideas Close the knowledge gap between strategy and experimentation/validation Identify and test your key business assumptions with the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas A definitive field guide to business model testing, this book features practical tips for making major decisions that are not based on intuition and guesses. Testing Business Ideas shows leaders how to encourage an experimentation mindset within their organization and make experimentation a continuous, repeatable process.
