Keeping Up With the Times

As is the case with any successful organization, business, etc., making sure the needs of the target consumers, clients, etc. are being met in a changing society is key and one of the most important factors in considering how much of an impact will be made. In the Forces for Good text this week the authors discussed the "cycle of adaptation". They highlighted some of the most important things needed in order to maintain a successful nonprofit. As they distinguished between the MBA perspective and the Free Spirits, it seemed that they were actually very similar and fulfilled the same phases, but in a different order. Many times when looking at a process such as this, we are handed something that says "start here" and "end here". I thought that it was very interesting to see a different approach used in this cycle. Just because one group of people start at the "evaluate and learn what works" phase does not mean that they will not be as successful as the group that starts at the "experiment and innovate" phase (and visa versa). The key to this way of thinking proves that different ways of thinking can lead to the same successful (or unsuccessful) result as long as balance is included.