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02/23/2026

Building the process is the fun.
Following the process is the work.

Most frameworks fail because of poor management, not poor design.
Implementation, ex*****on, and accountability matter.

02/17/2026

Administrative overhead.
Shout out to author Cal Newport for the term.

It’s all the little business that rains down on you when you add a project or join a team. When you are tasked with doing something, often you underestimate the amount of time it will take because you don’t think about the meetings, the emails, the check-ins, the myriad of ways we as humans concoct work about work.

This hit home recently as I wondered why my output had gone down, even though my time spent working went up. A quick glance at my past calendar and inbox offered the answer. Meetings and emails. Meetings and emails about meetings and emails. Texts about meetings that referenced emails. Attachments to emails that were supposed to be discussed at meetings, but weren’t, so they engendered more meetings. And then time blocks set aside to prepare for the meetings, contribute to the shared docs that now crowd-source both agendas and minutes of meetings… And what about meetings to report on the work that we didn’t do since the last meeting but promise to do by the next one? Yes, a meetings to talk about what we didn’t do but should have. That’s the worst.

We are creating work about work. Administrative overhead.

Managers beware.

02/09/2026

Accountability starts with shared agreement as to who is doing what when.

If your meeting notes lean towards verbs—a bunch of action words listing what needs to be done—but no one’s name and / or no date, you are setting your team up for failure.

Noun: who is going to do the work
Verb: action word describing the work
Prepositional Phrase: (by) when, the date you need the work done

Without this clarity, two weeks from now, when you go back and wonder why something hasn’t been completed yet, you’ll be layering on poor communication issues and challenging team dynamics on top of missed deadlines.

**Remember diagramming sentences in grammar school? Noun-Verb-Adverb (Adverbial Phrase)**

02/02/2026

Eat your vegetables.

What part of your job do you like (or do) least well?
You are probably not doing enough of it. Maybe not even the minimum required.
It’s normal to set aside the things you don’t like. But eventually, it catches up with you.

We all have preferences, and that’s okay. But as managers, we have jobs to do. Take a quick look at what you’ve been focused on and what you’ve put to the side. It’s a new month—a new opportunity to reallocate your time and plan to take care of some of those bits that need attention.

“I’ve got a lot on my plate” includes the vegetables.

01/26/2026

Are your meetings feeling like a merry-go-round? Same conversations, same issues, same problems. Going round and round and getting nowhere.

You need an accountability tracker.

Spoiler alert: it’s not a software. It’s you.

Only a strong manager can keep people accountable for decisions and keep the process moving forward.

Without that, you’re destined for a ride on the merry ground: flashy, noisy, perpetual motion, going nowhere.

01/19/2026

Assembly lines get a bad rap. In more white collar situations, we prefer to call it “workflow.” But at the end of the day, it’s collaboration requiring consistent hand-offs from team member to team member.

Too often we celebrate the individual producer. Rarely do we acknowledge that even the so-called individual is part of team. Work came before, work will come after—done by someone else.

As a manager, you manage the entire workflow, not just one point along the assembly line.

01/12/2026

When something goes wrong, we are quick to ask “who dropped the ball?

An equally important question is “who threw them the ball?”
Or even “did we remember to throw them the ball?”

Workflow is a process. One to the next to the next to the next… When something goes amiss, it could be related to a mishap at any point along the way.

Your job as a manager is to make sure the passer AND the receiver are on their game.

01/05/2026

It’s time.
You knew this was coming. Two weeks ago we reflected. Last week, we celebrated. Today, we plan for what’s ahead.
“Resolutions” is a tricky word because it suggests changes that require steely commitment to change. Leave that aside. List goals, instead. It’s okay to include some stretch goals, but really you are looking for priorities—achievable plans that will help you focus yourself and your team. Write them down, share them, tweak them, socialize them.

It’s a new day, A new week. A new year.
Let’s get out there and change the world.

12/29/2025

Last week we invited you to reflect. This week we invite you to celebrate.

What are the Top 3 things you achieved in 2025 as a manager?

Whatever they are - THAT’S AWESOME! Good for you. Tell someone! If any of them included other people, give them a high-five. If you need to reach out with a thank-you, now’s the time.

There are always challenges to nonprofit and management work. But there are opportunities as well. Even victories. Shine a light on them when you have the chance!

(Don’t worry, you can set goals next week. This week is about accomplishments.)

12/22/2025

Even managers need to take time to reflect.

Before you jump into what we did and didn’t get done this year, eating the stage for what we will and will not do next year, take a moment.

Get in a cozy chair.
Clear your mind.
Let thoughts drift in and out as you think about the past 12 months of work.
Be generous to yourself.

These last two weeks of the year are a gift. And even if you are still crazy busy with end of year, reduced staff, holiday prep, and unrelenting community need, set aside some quiet time.

The transition between this year and next deserves a pause. And maybe a cup of tea.

12/18/2025

Juggling programs, people, budgets, boards, and strategy?

You’re doing the best you can without enough structure. But things are still getting dropped.

Each month, I share tools to help nonprofit leaders manage the work behind the mission. The 6+4 System for Nonprofit Management is the framework those tools come from — all in one place. A single workbook that pulls together the 4 Foundations and 6 Elements all in one place.

If you’ve found the toolbox series helpful, you’ll love this workbook.

Juggling mission and management is exhausting. We can help.

🔗Learn about our 6+4 System for Nonprofit Management on Substack
npptools.com/6plus4Substack

📕Purchase the workbook on Amazon
npptools.com/6plus4Amazon

12/15/2025

How do you know it’s good?
A big part of management is delegating work and developing team members. And sometimes that involves work you don’t actually know how to do yourself. Happens all the time.

But you have to find a rubric. It’s not enough to say the work is done. You and the team have to know if it’s good before you can figure out how to get better at it.

Your job is to help the team get there.

If you can’t point toward the standard for what IS good, your team will never get there.

“I did it” is a far cry from “I did it well.”

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