To collaborate with other nonprofits, our strategic alignment collaboration model outlines the key elements for leadership to integrate internal purpose with external partners.  Discover how nonprofit collaboration can leverage collective resources to achieve a greater community impact.

In 2025, CEO succession planning has emerged as a critical priority for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs or SMEs), driven by a wave of retirements, economic volatility, and high leadership turnover rates. With over two-thirds of small business owners planning to retire within the next two years, yet only 30% of family-owned businesses surviving into the second generation, many SMEs lack formal plans—69% of private organizations with revenues under $50 million have none.

In 2017, the City of Elkhart adopted the River District Revitalization Master Plan. Developed with broad community stakeholder involvement, the plan was built on the previous decades of investment in Elkhart’s struggling Main Street. This effort shared a vision for the River District to be an expansion of downtown, as a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood redeveloped on 100-plus acres of parking lots, out lot retailers, former industrial sites, and auto-repair shops. Over 65% of the $300-plus million mixed-use development has been realized within five-years. The area continues to attract significant new private investment.

Kolbe RightFit™ is the program that makes finding the "right" person for the right job easier and less expensive. Statistically proven, it assists companies in screening and selecting the best job applicants by identifying who possesses the necessary skills and instincts. RightFit eliminates the guesswork of determining an applicant's performance potential by providing insight into how the candidate will perform in response to job requirements.

Members of high-performing teams have established trust, a heightened awareness of other members’ strengths and weaknesses, and a commitment to watch each other’s backs. So how do you create this trust and vibe, or synergy, for teams to connect more deeply?

True change takes a lot of effort by a lot of people. If you don’t have buy-in and support from at least 25% of your workforce then road is going to be even more perilous.

In working with communities that have struggled for decades to make ends meet with limited resources, there is a significant hurdle to overcome: the perception that more is not possible. The scarcity mindset and survivor syndrome are distinct psychological concepts, though both involve stress responses and can influence behavior in challenging environments.

Opportunity Collaboratives, or hubs, are innovative initiatives designed to revitalize distressed communities by centralizing services and resources. This approach focuses on leveraging existing nonprofit and government resources efficiently, ensuring services are located where they are most needed, and scaling them to match community needs. This article explores how the Insight Strategic Concepts®’ (ISC) and OBE Advisors LLC process works, its principles, and its potential to universally help communities achieve prosperity.

Collaboration is challenging, and it is more challenging, if not impossible, when leaders allow dysfunctional behaviors within the team. Here are the collaboration killers we find to be the root of collaboration failure among teams.

NWI Works in Northwest Indiana is critical to workforce development because of its local focus, training programs, job placement services, support for diverse populations, economic impact, and partnerships with key stakeholders. By investing in NWI Works, the region can build a stronger, more skilled workforce that drives economic growth and prosperity for years to come.

Approximately 16 million properties in the United States are considered vacant and abandoned, often indicative of blighted or distressed real estate. This figure represents about 11% of the total housing inventory, highlighting a substantial challenge for community revitalization. Given that 83% of the U.S. population resides in urban areas, it is estimated that around 13.3 million of these properties are located in urban or more populated regions, presenting significant opportunities for revitalizing downtowns to foster prosperous communities.

In our strategic growth planning and organizational design work with leaders, we have completed projects ranging from community planning to revenue-building project management to redesigning teams to achieve clearer organizational and operational objectives in a wide variety of for-profit, nonprofits and government organizations. One thing remains true – consistent change and momentous growth endeavors are only achieved to the extent to which optimistic, influential and trustworthy leadership is present.