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MDMS 2012 - Quotes, Ideas, and Themes

Posted March 12, 2012 9:07 PM by Brandon Kline

Thank you to all the attendees of this year's Mission-Driven Management Summit! The event, held March 6-8th at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, brought together speakers and organizations from around the world to hear case studies and participate in interactive sessions designed to help make the connection between strategy and execution, as well as reach peak performance within an organization.

I was reflecting back on the summit this weekend, and I wanted to share a few of the quotes, ideas, and themes that I found particularly motivating and insightful. If you attended the conference and would like to share one of your takeaways, I'd like to encourage you to post them in the comment box below.

  • "The 'what' is important, but the 'why' is what makes the difference." -Eduardo Carrerra. (The "what" refers to what the organization is trying to accomplish, and the "why" refers to why an organization decided to pursue it.)
  • "Executives must complement their intuitive leadership skills with systems that help implementation" –Dr. Dave Norton
  • "If you don't have a crisis, create one." This quote from Monica Niemi relates to helping develop a sense of urgency within an organization.
  • Organizations need to have the discussions that enable them to make decisions.
  • The Boys and Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico told their employees that they were serious about increasing communication and teamwork. In order to follow this message up with action (a theme from their presentation), they took down all doors within the office.
  • "Run like a business, but manage like a nonprofit." –Tom Loughlin
  • Does everyone in your organization have a copy of the strategy map?
  • "A transparent approach is necessary for change and success." –Ken Berger
  • "Management is a technology" – Dan Pink. (Just like technology has evolved over the years, so should your management practices)
  • Great organizations create a common language around their strategy
  • The above quotes, ideas, and themes are just a few that stood out to me over the course of the three days. They demonstrate the diversity of the MDMS's speakers' experiences as well as the depth of their commitment to their organizations and mission-driven organizations, in general.

    Our hope is that, through this summit, each of the attendees was able to learn from those around them, become reinvigorated to continue perfecting the link between strategy and execution, and as a result, increase the impact of their own organization. Thank you again to everyone who made this event both inspiring and educational!

    If you attended the summit, but still have unanswered questions regarding one of the topics covered, or your organization's strategy, please feel free to contact us.