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In this Harvard Business Review Case Study Brad Powell, the newly hired senior minister of a Temple Baptist Church, must lead the organization to reverse a three-decade decline and return to fulfilling its mission. Brad spent the first six months assessing the situation, building relationships, and reiterating the longstanding mission of the organization. Now, with an understanding of its history, an intimate knowledge of the immediate challenges, and a clear vision of what the organization should become, Brad is considering his strategy and next steps. As the leader of a nonprofit organization resourced by members and volunteers, Brad must lead change that produces results without compromising the mission. The B case summarizes Brad's actions and the results.

"The wisdom of the Bees" by Michael O'Malley, Penguin Group 2010 "What the hive can teach buisness about leadership effeciency and growth" is where the author takes the reader through a 25 step process utilizing the skills of bees and bee colonies to inform and guide organizations in identifying their strengths and weaknesses to create purposeful, effective and successful group norms and outcomes. It's fascinating and my choice for a review along with my second one

Hi folks....somehow this did not make it into the group blog on books to read but instead sat in my own Diigo library. It is worth taking a gander at and I am loving reading it. Galen

I loved the wisdom of bees too! This is a very good book and is inviting to a wide variety of folks. I liked that when I used it for a leadership class that I had positive feedback from both young and old, male and female and it has great insights regardless of where you are in life or business.

This is an article from my last hometown newspaper about a group who tried to get a charter school up and running but were bascally turned down for their lack of organization which led to a lack of support. The group ould have appealed the decision but gave up.

This is an interesting article about the UMC Organizational structure! Thought I'd share!

A leadership book from the business world, focusing on the ways of leading to greatness, based on sociological research on top performing companies from the last third of the twentieth century. Collins insists that great leaders start by getting other great leaders to work with them, then they attack the task. This is the greatest value of the book, I think. Important for anyone who wants to lead an organization that will transcend the barriers of goodness and more fully accomplish its mission.

Dudley, Carl S. Effective Small Churches in the 21st Century. Nashville: Abingdon Press. 2003. ISBN: 0687090903 ISBN-13: 9780687090907 In the Louisiana Conference of United Methodists, only 89 churches have Sunday morning worship attendance greater than 100. Of course, there are a few who have over 1,000 in worship each Sunday, but over 400 churches in the conference are small (very small) and this seems to be the same trend in every Conference and Jurisdiction. The truth is, most United Methodist pastors will never serve a large church; therefore, it is important to have a resource that is written specifically for small churches, rather than trying to apply "mega-church" answer to small church problems. Effective Small Churches is that resource. Using their congregational experiences as case studies, readers will examine, with Carl Dudley's help, how their unique qualities can be mobilized to encourage local leaders, strengthen commitments, organize resources, and focus their energies to experience to meet new challenges. The primary goal of the book is to lead ministers who have begun a new appointment through a series of specific exercises, questionnaires, and guided dialogue with church members to jump start their appointment. So many good ideas. The Cabinet should make every pastor go through the exercises and report on their findings to their District Superintendent during the first six months at their new church.

As both parties head into a week of negotiations on the federal budget, it strikes me that the language and actions of leaders have a real impact on those they lead. How can one hold firmly to principles while retaining open lines of communication? As we seek to lead our churches or non-profit organizations, and especially as we seek to act in ways that are just and allow those who are marginalized a seat at the table of power, it seems to me that we are most likely to succeed when we speak with respect to and about all involved.

What if leaders were judged based on "evidence of demand," the term coined by author Tammy Erickson? What if the organizations we serve developed internal collaboration hubs specifically designed to capture peer feedback and serve as a reputation-development tool. Would we be proud of our reputations? Would our website demonstrate evidence of demand: upcoming team commitments based on others' desire to work for us and with us?