Outspoken About Outcomes for Nonprofits

(page 2 of 2)

“The truth is that we’re not good at this type of change in our sector,” Morino writes in the kind of refreshingly tough-love passage you find throughout Leap of Reason. “We often sacrifice the quality of our programs and services in order to protect those who aren’t doing their jobs well.”

Notably, Morino is no slave to data. In fact, he cautions nonprofit executives not to “drink the metrics Kool-Aid” but rather to use their common sense in embracing outcomes thinking.

A strong undercurrent of urgency runs through the book. With “the dire fiscal reality for federal, state, and local governments,” Morino points out, nonprofits that rely on public money are in for some very lean times. Even those that don’t receive government dollars will be affected as demand for their services soars.

Morino acknowledges that he doesn’t have all the answers, though he proposes some possible ways to move beyond “the years of incremental gains” and piecemeal commitment to measuring outcomes that nonprofits have exhibited so far. Among the most intriguing: creating a service-sector analog to the International Organization for Standardization’s quality benchmarks for industry, developing models for outcomes-driven collaborations, and encouraging performance-based funding.

Mostly, he seeks to spark a sector-wide dialogue around this essential topic that, in turn, will spur action. “My fervent hope,” Morino writes, “is that ‘managing to outcomes’ could serve as the banner under which many of us with diverse skills, talents, and offerings could come together to meet Drucker’s challenge and convert a promising movement into a potent force.”

I can’t imagine a more fitting tribute to the man who invented management.

Rick Wartzman is the executive director of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University.