Category Archives: Positioning for the future

Today was a very weird day…

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Jonathan Smith

My nephew rang me to tell me my brother, his dad, died this morning. I was getting ready for work. I hadn’t even had breakfast. … at this point, I need to make it clear, I’m not writing this to get lots of … Continue reading →

Posted in Achieving your vision and mission, Positioning for the future, Quality, Two-way communication | 2 Comments

Coalition to abolish ACNC and repeal charity definition

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Jonathan Smith

Speculation about the future of the ACNC came up at a recent Board meeting, and again at a business gathering on Friday. No need to speculate any more, the Coalition has stated it will roll back the establishment of the Australian Charities and … Continue reading →

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Red tape

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Jonathan Smith

‘Reducing red tape’ has been a hot topic between not-for-profits and government agencies over the last couple of years. The Western Australian Government has been driving a ‘free market‘ approach to encourage NFPs to be more entrepreneurial and innovative in … Continue reading →

Posted in Achieving your vision and mission, Decreasing costs, Positioning for the future, Quality, Two-way communication | Leave a comment

Customer service cultures

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Jonathan Smith

Last year I had a couple of experiences highlighting why social researchers suggest people are becoming disengaged and cynical about government, and also why people often say rude things about public servants. To me they are very powerful examples of … Continue reading →

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The only six businesses in the world?

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jonathan Smith

In the ongoing search to understand business and help organisations be more effective, I’m currently researching a framework to describe the fundamental nature of all businesses in the smallest logical number of categories. I’m thinking of this as the ‘periodic … Continue reading →

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Social capital and young people – new research

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Jonathan Smith

Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) has released a research report today, 5 October 2011, looking at measurement of social capital in young people. This may be relevant to anyone working to help youth overcome an inheritance of socio-economic disadvantage. Some … Continue reading →

Posted in Positioning for the future, Quality, Two-way communication | 1 Comment

Risk management: Part 3

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Jonathan Smith

Look back at earlier posts on risk management: [Part 1] [Part 2] Part 3 Risk management vs risk avoidance In some circles, especially in non-commercial sectors, ‘risk management’ is commonly confused with ‘risk avoidance’. And you don’t have to be a genius to … Continue reading →

Posted in Decreasing costs, Increasing revenue, Positioning for the future, Quality | 2 Comments

Risk management: Part 2

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Jonathan Smith

More on risk management: [Part 1] Part 2 [Part 3] Risk management plan One common approach to risk management is to create a risk management plan. The process of creating such a plan can be fun, as a whole bunch of … Continue reading →

Posted in Decreasing costs, Increasing revenue, Positioning for the future, Quality | 3 Comments

Risk management: Part 1

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Jonathan Smith

Risk management and other buzzwords ‘Risk management’ has joined the growing lexicon of management terms being bandied around to make the speaker sound impressive and knowledgeable, while the original meaning has been steadily eroded. When people start latching on to … Continue reading →

Posted in Decreasing costs, Increasing revenue, Positioning for the future, Quality | 2 Comments

Measurement 101

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Jonathan Smith

I love measuring things. Maybe it’s because I was deprived of good quantitative data during my formative years studying a liberal arts degree. Or maybe it’s because the first thing I ever seriously tried to measure was my own work … Continue reading →

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