Book Recommendation: How to Save the World in Six (Not So Easy) Steps

I’ve just finished reading a truly excellent book by nonprofit law professor and former dean of Columbia Law School, David Schizer. On one level, How to Save the World in Six (Not so Easy) Steps (Post Hill Press 2023) is a trove of good advice for nonprofit board members, leadership, and even funders. But it is also a deep meditation on some of the most difficult and interesting issues in the nonprofit world. The six steps are: (i) plan, (ii) persevere, (iii) prioritize, (iv) pivot, (v) publicize, and (vi) partner. It seems intuitive that all six “p”s are important to the success of any venture. But Schizer explains – and illustrates with countless examples from his own experience and the experience of nonprofit leaders he interviewed – that each step is deeply complicated by the central tensions of the nonprofit sector.

For example, in the chapter called “Prioritize,” Schizer points out that the fundamental difference between non-profit and for-profit enterprises is that for-profit enterprises can measure their effectiveness (and therefore guide their priorities) by a relatively simple metric: profitability. Nonprofit enterprises can’t do the same.  Because their purpose is to advance some non-monetary goal, they need to find or create the metrics by which to measure their own effect. If they can’t be rigorous in this undertaking, it’s impossible for them to decide which activities they should pursue, and how. In the “Publicize” chapter, Schizer points out that this same rigorous application of effectiveness metrics is at the heart of communicating the organization’s work to its stakeholders. This central tension in the nonprofit sector – that it cannot rely on profits to measure success – is both the sector’s strength and its weakness. Nonprofit stakeholders all know this, but it is rare to read a practical guide that is so sensitive to the many permutations of this central issue.

Benjamin Leff