Engine of Impact

by William F. Meehan III (Author),‎ Kim Starkey Jonker (Author),‎ Jim Collins (Foreword)

We are entering a new era―an era of impact. The largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history will soon be under way, bringing with it the potential for huge increases in philanthropic funding. Engine of Impact shows how nonprofits can apply the principles of strategic leadership to attract greater financial support and leverage that funding to maximum effect.

As Good to Great author Jim Collins writes in his foreword, this book offers "a detailed roadmap of disciplined thought and action for turning a good nonprofit into one that can achieve great impact at scale."

William F. Meehan III and Kim Starkey Jonker identify seven essential components of strategic leadership that set high-achieving organizations apart from the rest of the nonprofit sector. Together, these components form an "engine of impact"―a system that organizations must build, tune, and fuel if they hope to make a real difference in the world.

Drawing on decades of teaching, advising, grantmaking, and research, Meehan and Jonker provide an actionable guide that executives, staff, board members, and donors can use to jumpstart their own performance and to achieve extraordinary results for their organization. Along with setting forth best practices using real-world examples, the authors outline common management challenges faced by nonprofits, showing how these challenges differ from those faced by for-profit businesses in important and often-overlooked ways.

By offering crucial insights on the fundamentals of nonprofit management, this book will help leaders equip their organizations to fire on all cylinders and unleash the full potential of the nonprofit sector. Visit www.engineofimpact.org for additional information.

Review
"As a philanthropist constantly grappling with how I can achieve more impact, I found Jonker and Meehan's insights to be provocative and engaging. They go beyond the typical rhetoric regarding 'what the nonprofit sector can learn from business' and give these organizations their due—with great advice. Nonprofits are dealing with often intractable societal problems of enormous complexity and uncertain revenue streams. These authors appreciate the weight on leaders' shoulders, while offering a detailed roadmap to maximize their impact. A must-read."

—Jeff Raikes, Co-Founder, Raikes Foundation, former CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Chairman, Stanford Board of Trustees

"No one knows the not-for-profit sector and its most effective leaders better than Meehan and Jonker. Their book is a master class on what it takes to drive meaningful impact. In tackling the fundamental questions—strategy and focus, discipline and accountability—the authors get to the heart of what every mission-focused leader needs to understand. Engine of Impact is a book to read and re-read—the definitive guide for all who aspire to lead high performing and high achieving organizations."

—Sally Osberg, President and CEO, Skoll Foundation, and co-author of Getting Beyond Better

"Bill Meehan and Kim Jonker have decades of experience in rigorously evaluating what makes organizations operate—or fail to operate—at a high level. In Engine of Impact, they leverage that deep knowledge to create a smart, compelling guide to doing good by leading well."

—Jamie Dimon, Chief Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase

"Engine of Impact is an essential handbook for every aspiring social sector leader and philanthropist. Creating social impact is an art and a science, requiring investments of heart and mind. Meehan and Jonker's outstanding analysis combines the intense rigor of business strategy with the critical soft skills of courage and creativity to equip us with the toolkit necessary for transformative social change."

—Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, Founder, laaf.org, author, Giving 2.0, Founder and Chairman, Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and Founder and Chairman, Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund

About the Author
William F. Meehan III is the Lafayette Partners Lecturer in Strategic Management at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Director Emeritus of McKinsey & Company. Kim Starkey Jonker is President and CEO of King Philanthropies, Lecturer in Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the former Executive Director of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Nonprofit Leadership. Together, they co-authored the popular Stanford Social Innovation Review series "Fundamentals, Not Fads."