“One prays for miracles but works for results,” Saint Augustine said.

There is an old saying that good intentions don’t move mountains, bulldozers do. In nonprofit management, the mission and the plan—if that is all there is—are the good intentions. Strategies are the bulldozers. They convert what you want to do into accomplishment. They are particularly important in nonprofit organizations. Strategies lead you to work for results. They convert what you want to do into accomplishment. They also tell you what you need to have by way of resources and people to get the results.

I was once opposed to the term “strategy.” I thought it smacked too much of the military. But I have slowly become a convert. That is ...

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