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Inspiring work with nonprofits

Posted March 12, 2012 2:50 PM by Ted Jackson

When we started Ascendant more than 4 years ago, we imagined "taking our talents" to the mission-driven sector. The concept was simple. We had been helping organizations execute their strategy for more than 10 years and they were creating great results...or returns for their shareholders. With Ascendant, we wanted to do the same with mission-driven organizations, or nonprofits. We just held our fourth Annual Summit, and it confirmed that we are doing the right thing.

This year, we had many inspiring presentations. ASME spoke about a failed business model and now, a few years later, growth and innovation. The City of Durham spoke about providing transparency to its citizens. The Office of Management and Budget shared how they are helping federal agencies manage performance. David Norton shared how nonprofits around the world are making a difference, in a big way, by leveraging performance management.

It was a great week. We had over 20 presentations over the course of the week. By the end of the week, I was very tired, but energized. We had closing presentations by two Hall of Fame organizations. One was Folkhälsan, a Finnish healthcare organization, and the other was the Boys and Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico. While we did not work with either company directly, their work is what inspires us to focus on helping nonprofits. Take a look at their video and get inspired at what a difference the nonprofit sector can make by focusing on performance management.