Managing For Mission

​A few decades ago, management thinking started to embrace the idea of purpose. The first edition of this book marked an important step in this trajectory; it drew attention to the need for managers to relate the concepts of ‘purpose’ and ‘missions’ to strategy, culture and leadership. In the years since, purpose and missions have become business imperatives – not only in terms of remaining competitive but as core in the attempts to have a sustainable impact on the world. The second edition of Management by Missions is an open access book based on substantially more research carried out over fifteen years, involving more than 200 organizations around the world. All of this research supports that the practical models and ideas offered in the book have been tried and tested and actually work in practice. With case studies, anecdote and new research findings, the authors present the main tools of the MBM method (shared missions, missions scorecards, interdependency matrix, missions-based objectives and integral assessment) and the type of leadership needed to implement it. The ideas presented in this book mark a path towards a new management methodology for the XXI century and a new way of understanding the work that managers do.

Managing As Mission pushes the boundaries of what it means to be a nonprofit manager by making the case that managing, as a reflection of the organizational mission – the cornerstone of any nonprofit – can bring about the change nonprofits were created to achieve: a better world for all. This book contains real-world examples, interview excerpts from nonprofit managers and directors, and a series of self-reflection and organization-wide tools to develop managers and managing as a mirror of the mission. Themes within this book include: a discussion of the history of nonprofit missions; management tasks and approaches; aligning values; building working relationship and trust; and creating organizational structures and interactions that mirror the organizational mission. It is written in an informal first-person style, utilizing humor that will, hopefully, allow the reader to see themselves in the examples and stories.

Managing for Mission lays out the fundamentals of leading a faith-based school to mission excellence. Its central insight is that four models operate within the school: apostolic, pedagogical, community and business. Effective leaders must understand them all and assure that each is functional within itself and supports the other three. Drawing on over 30 years in Jesuit school leadership, Peterson provides a framework for understanding the four dimensions of the school in a new way, gives practical advice about how to harness their power, and points to critical junctures where the separate models must function as a whole. The book is intended to assist administrators, aspiring administrators and board members both within and outside the Jesuit educational realm.

The only nonprofit management book you must have-in an exciting new edition As a nonprofit manager, you have to be more effective and more efficient than ever to win funding and support to ensure your organization pursues its mission, meets community needs, and maintains its budget, while juggling the demands of funders, clientele, boards, staff, and community. This Third Edition of Mission-Based Management provides comprehensive, hands-on guidance that addresses your unique concerns as a nonprofit manager and policy-maker Addresses the effects of SOX, organizational transparency, new technologies, technology planning, and marketing in today's environment Is written by a nationally recognized expert who has trained thousands of nonprofit managers in hundreds of seminars on the best practices in nonprofit management Includes in each chapter a recap and a list of questions for group discussion More than ever before, as a nonprofit manager, you want and need practical guidance on how to do your job and run your organization more effectively and efficiently. And more than ever before, Mission-Based Management, Third Edition provides the definitive answer.

Why human skills and expertise, not technical tools, are what make projects succeed. The project is the basic unit of work in many industries. Software applications, antiviral vaccines, launch-ready spacecraft: all were produced by a team and managed as a project. Project management emphasizes control, processes, and tools—but, according to The Smart Mission, that is not the right way to run a project. Human skills and expertise, not technical tools, are what make projects successful. Projects run on knowledge. This paradigm-shifting book—by three project management experts, all of whom have decades of experience at NASA and elsewhere—challenges the conventional wisdom on project management, focusing on the human dimension: learning, collaboration, teaming, communication, and culture. The authors emphasize three themes: projects are fundamentally about how teams work and learn together to get things done; the local level—not an organization’s upper levels—is where the action happens; and projects don’t operate in a vacuum but exist within organizations that are responsible to stakeholders. Drawing on examples and case studies from NASA and other organizations, the authors identify three project models—micro, macro, and global—and their different knowledge needs. Successful organizations have a knowledge-based culture. Successful project management guides the interplay of knowledge, projects, and people.

Failure is always an option... For more than 50 years, NASA's Mission Control has been known for two things: perfect decision making in extreme situations and producing generations of steely-eyed missile men and women who continue that tradition. A key to that legacy of brilliant performance is a particular brand of leadership, especially at the working level in Mission Control. Take the ultimate insiders look at the leadership values and culture that created the best team on this planet. Paul Sean Hill was responsible for NASA's Mission Operations support for manned space flight from 2007-2011. In this candid book he shows that the secret to Mission Control's success has never been rocket science and that the real practice of perfect decision making can be applied to any organisation or team. By demonstrating how his Mission Control team nurtured a culture which has delivered impossible wins for decades, Hill provides a guide for all leaders to boost their company's performance at all levels. Whether failure means cost and schedule overruns, quality reduction, loss of market share, bankruptcy - or putting someone's life a risk, how we lead can determine whether even small mistakes are dealt with or are left to snowball out of control and destroy an enterprise. Discover how to take leadership from the Mission Control Room to your boardroom and beyond, and achieve this out-of-this-world leadership environment in your team.

From the co-author of the New York Times bestseller Team of Teams, a practical guide for leaders looking to make their organizations more interconnected and unified in the midst of sudden change. Too often, companies end up with teams stuck in their own silos, pursuing goals and metrics in isolation. Their traditional autocratic structures create stability, scalability, and predictability -- but in a world that demands rapid adaptation to a new reality, this traditional model simply doesn’t work. In Team of Teams, retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal and former Navy SEAL Chris Fussell made the case for a new organizational model combining the agility, adaptability, and cohesion of a small team with the power and resources of a giant organization. Now, in One Mission, Fussell channels all his experiences, both military and corporate, into powerful strategies for unifying isolated and distrustful teams. This practical guide will help leaders in any field implement the Team of Teams approach to tear down their silos improve collaboration, and avoid turf wars. By committing to one higher mission, organizations develop an overall capability that far exceeds the sum of their parts. From Silicon Valley software giant Intuit to a government agency on the plains of Oklahoma, organizations have used Fussell’s methods to unite their people around a single compelling vision, resulting in superior performance. One Mission will help you follow their example to a more agile and resilient future.

A Christianity Today 2015 Book Award Winner Is your organization in danger of Mission Drift? Without careful attention, faith-based organizations drift from their founding mission. It's that simple. It will happen. Slowly, silently, and with little fanfare, organizations routinely drift from their purpose, and many never return to their original intent. Harvard and the YMCA are among those that no longer embrace the Christian principles on which they were founded. But they didn't drift off course overnight. Drift often happens in small and subtle ways. Left unchecked, it eventually becomes significant. Yet Mission Drift is not inevitable. Organizations such as Compassion International and InterVarsity have exhibited intentional, long-term commitment to Christ. Why do so many organizations--including churches--wander from their mission, while others remain Mission True? Can drift be prevented? In Mission Drift, HOPE International executives Peter Greer and Chris Horst tackle these questions. They show how to determine whether your organization is in danger of drift, and they share the results of their research into Mission True and Mission Untrue organizations. Even if your organization is Mission True now, it's wise to look for ways to inoculate yourself against drift. You'll discover what you can do to prevent drift or get back on track and how to protect what matters most. "No organization is exempt from the danger of drifting away from its original mission. In Mission Drift, Peter and Chris provide solid guidance for remaining laser-focused on core values--from the board level to daily organizational culture. This book is a timely message for any organization working hard to remain Mission True." --Wess Stafford, president-emeritus, Compassion International "Peter Greer and Chris Horst have identified one of the deepest challenges any leader faces: how to ensure that an organization stays true to its mission, especially when that mission becomes countercultural." --Andy Crouch, executive editor, Christianity Today "Essential reading for twenty-first-century believers if we are to gain new vision, unity, and strength. Mission Drift is spine straightening, mind clearing, and courage inspiring. This book is true-north wisdom for leaders--and a gift of hope for the world God loves." --Kelly Monroe Kullberg, founder, The Veritas Forum and author, Finding God Beyond Harvard "Many of us in leadership have learned--often painfully--that our mission needs to be built into every aspect of our organization, from leadership to receptionist, from hiring to implementation. We can't afford not to follow the lessons in this valuable book." --Richard Stearns, president, World Vision U.S. and author, The Hole in Our Gospel "Keeping an eternal perspective is essential in our work. Mission Drift gives a clear message inspiring and challenging us to intentionally keep Christ at the center of all efforts." --David Green, founder and CEO, Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. "Written with clarity, boldness, and urgency, the authors provide insight into and examples of the causes and solutions to drift using the stories of real organizations...A must-read! Recommend this book to every business and church leader."--CBA Retailers+Resources "This book is a must-read for leaders, easy to read, practical, engaging and inspirational. The principals outlined not only apply to major corporations, but also to any organization, church and even to one's own personal life. Mission Drift . . . will be well worth the effort and time, and you will find yourself wanting to begin implementing what you've learned to safeguard your organization from drifting away from its mission."--Foursquare.org