http://www.nonprofitsassistancefund.org/blog/2008/12/16/the-stockdale-paradox/ Nonprofits Assistance Fund shares thoughts and insights on nonprofit management and finance Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:53:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://www.nonprofitsassistancefund.org/blog/2008/12/16/the-stockdale-paradox/comment-page-1/#comment-11890 Kate Barr Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:18:07 +0000 http://www.nonprofitsassistancefund.org/blog/2008/12/16/the-stockdale-paradox/#comment-11890 Such great perspective, Claudia. Your comment about the loneliness and burden of leadership really hit a nerve and inspired an entry that will be posted today or tomorrow. Such great perspective, Claudia. Your comment about the loneliness and burden of leadership really hit a nerve and inspired an entry that will be posted today or tomorrow.

]]> http://www.nonprofitsassistancefund.org/blog/2008/12/16/the-stockdale-paradox/comment-page-1/#comment-11860 Claudia Dengler Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:09:09 +0000 http://www.nonprofitsassistancefund.org/blog/2008/12/16/the-stockdale-paradox/#comment-11860 A very timely comment. Being at the helm in a large organization through two previous recessions during what was, in the main, 30 years of uninterrupted growth for the nonprofit health and human services sector, I can say with conviction that even when things do bounce back they don't return to their original form. Things are changing. The good news is, that this turbulence facilitates change. Difficult and sometimes overdue changes are helped along by economic stress. Opportunities to make a leap sometimes present themselves too...a merger, consolidation a sudden infusion of resources for an important project - think stimulus. And on the personal side, if you thought you were lonely at the top before...even the most transparent leader will find they have to hold information close, thinking deeply, often privately, about the full weight of their impending decisions. It's a time to reflect, for sure, but it is also a time to act...to understand and rediscover the core of the organization's mission, redouble the commitment to that which you are uniquely capable of providing, remove those activities that are not essential to your success, to your future and, in all likelihood, are not the areas where you are doing your best work. A very timely comment. Being at the helm in a large organization through two previous recessions during what was, in the main, 30 years of uninterrupted growth for the nonprofit health and human services sector, I can say with conviction that even when things do bounce back they don’t return to their original form. Things are changing. The good news is, that this turbulence facilitates change. Difficult and sometimes overdue changes are helped along by economic stress. Opportunities to make a leap sometimes present themselves too…a merger, consolidation a sudden infusion of resources for an important project – think stimulus. And on the personal side, if you thought you were lonely at the top before…even the most transparent leader will find they have to hold information close, thinking deeply, often privately, about the full weight of their impending decisions. It’s a time to reflect, for sure, but it is also a time to act…to understand and rediscover the core of the organization’s mission, redouble the commitment to that which you are uniquely capable of providing, remove those activities that are not essential to your success, to your future and, in all likelihood, are not the areas where you are doing your best work.

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