Coming soon · Book Profile
Managing the Non Profit Organization Practices
Peter Drucker argues that non-profit institutions—America's human-change agents—require rigorous, purpose-built management focused on mission, performance, people, and self-development rather than on the profit-driven tools borrowed from business.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
Managing the Non-Profit Organization is Peter Drucker's foundational treatment of how mission-driven institutions—hospitals, churches, schools, charities, and service groups—must be led and managed to fulfill their unique purpose: changing human beings and society. Drawing on forty years of consulting experience and enriched by interviews with distinguished non-profit leaders, Drucker shows that because these organizations lack a financial 'bottom line,' they need management even more than businesses do—to stay concentrated on mission, to convert good intentions into results, to build donor and volunteer constituencies through marketing and fund development, to define and measure performance, to manage complex constituencies and boards, and to develop both their people and themselves. Practical, example-rich, and morally serious, the book equips leaders to make hard choices, set high standards, innovate systematically, and hold themselves accountable for the human competence and vision their institutions create.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- A non-profit executive, board member, staff professional, or volunteer who wants to make a real difference by leading a mission-driven institution effectively.
- The problem
- Managing an organization that has no financial bottom line, multiple demanding constituencies, and scarce resources of people, money, and time. Feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or uncertain whether their well-intentioned work is actually producing results and honoring the cause.
- The plan
- Define the mission operationally and put it first, refining it through review and abandonment.
- Convert mission into performance through marketing, innovation, and fund-development strategies rooted in market research.
- Define and measure results, make effective decisions using dissent, and hold the organization accountable.
- Make sound people decisions—place strengths, build teams, develop staff and volunteers, and cultivate a strong board.
- Develop yourself continuously by focusing on strengths, holding yourself accountable, and practicing self-renewal.
- The payoff
- An institution concentrated on a clear mission that produces measurable human-change results. · Committed, growing people and a broad constituency of contributors and volunteers who take ownership. · A strong, effective board and a leader who sets high standards and builds for tomorrow.
See our guide
Related profiles we’ve built
Additional reading
- Leadership · James MacGregor Burns
Cited for its classic distinction between the mere exercise of power and the practice of true leadership, which exists when people follow by choice.
- Hidden in Plain Sight (article) · Clara Miller
Referenced for its analysis of how nonprofit funding models tend to favor specific programs over building great organizations, hindering long-term success.
- Managing Brand Equity · David Aaker
Recommended for deeper insight into the role of brand reputation, which the author posits is a key component of the 'flywheel' for social sector organizations.
- Built to Last · Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras
The source of the Stage 4 principles ('Clock Building' and 'Preserve the Core/Stimulate Progress') in the Good-to-Great framework summary.
- Self-Renewal · John Gardner
Credited with providing a life-changing piece of advice to the author: to be 'more interested' than 'interesting,' which inspired the author's study of the social sectors.
- Good to Great and the Social Sectors · Jim Collins
Directly extends the principles of organizational excellence, discussed by Collins in his chapter, to the nonprofit and social sectors, the primary audience for this book.
- The Effective Executive · Peter F. Drucker
A foundational Drucker text that complements the book's organizational focus with principles of individual leadership effectiveness, which is necessary to implement the plan.
- The Leadership Challenge · James M. Kouzes & Barry Z. Posner
Provides a framework for the leadership behaviors required to guide an organization through the changes that arise from the self-assessment process.
- Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies · Jim Collins & Jerry Porras
Explores the concept of preserving a core ideology (mission) while stimulating progress, a key tension addressed in the book.
- The Trusted Executive · John Blakey
The author's previous book, which establishes the importance of trust as a foundation for leadership, a concept that underpins the 'OUT' dimension of this book.