Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity - Mario Marino

A great website, book, videos, and supporting materials from Mario Marino. For a man of reason, his humility dedication, selflessness and passion carries the day. He remembers where is he from (mother cleaned offices, father was a blue collar worker.) He also remembers how he was so successful (business discipline.) He wants nonprofits to be accountable not to "the damn funders" but to the constituency the nonprofit serves, as measured by benchmarks that provide meaningful indications of progress. What Mario makes clear is that these meaningful indicators should be developed by the organization, internally, and should reflect what really counts as winning, in the eyes of those closest to the work. Mario is not, as he says, commenting on the game from the skybox. He is a coach, teaching core skills to nonprofit managers, for the benefit of the community served. The skills he teaches are skills he has mastered and lived. His point about money is that it is scarce, and should be used to maximal effect.

Comments

[Cygnis Media]

Mario Marino makes a strong case for why nonprofit need to be clearer about their goals and more rigorous in gauging their progress. The main message of his book centers on the importance of nonprofits having a clarity of mission, driven by a performance culture, in order to maximize the benefit to those they seek to serve. The book, a quick and compelling read, is extremely relevant for anyone involved in engaged philanthropy, especially foundation leaders and nonprofit consultants seeking to help nonprofits become more effective and efficient. Our foundation is incorporating the key tenants of this book to guide the development of a disciplined approach to managing our own progress to achieve intended outcomes, and we encourage other funders with an interest in strategic philanthropy to do the same. Mario and his team of practitioners provide a real world guide for nonprofit leaders seeking to sustain and grow their mission impact.

[phil]

Thank you for the testimony. The key move, it seems to me, that Mario makes is to remind us that we serve the public, and should hold ourselves accountable to that, which means we should be able to give an accouting. He leaves it open as to what metrics make most sense. And suggests that they be developed internally by those who are fully engaged, as the metrics that would truly reflect progress. In effect, "Tell us when to cheer."