We help forward-thinking organizations overcome technology dysfunction.

If you want great technology: Get the right people, in the right roles, in the right structures. That’s the path.

Latest Post: Intake and Prioritization

If you wanted to boil down the complex role of a technology platform manager to its most critical essence, our answer would not be especially technical….

What we look for in our own staff

It’s one thing to be great at something, and it’s another thing to help lead, support, and coach others to become great at it....

Dramatic bright clouds in between darker clouds

From Revolutionary to New Normal

What’s the ROI on everyone getting better at their jobs?

From the Archives: Sink or Swim

Someone recently mentioned our post, Sink or Swim. So we went back to read it and thought: yeah, dangit, that's actually pretty good. Too bad it came out in March 2020 right before the pandemic hit, so giving it another chance here…

The Greatmakers podcast Episode 3: Ashley Boyd, SVP of Global Advocacy with the Mozilla Foundation

Latest Podcast: Ashley Boyd, Mozilla Foundation

Ashley Boyd, SVP of Global Advocacy, discusses the transformation that the Mozilla Foundation has undergone since building a Technology Platforms Team, in terms of revenue, trust, collaboration, clarity, partnership, collaboration, and ability to leverage technology’s role in powering their work.

Check out “The Greatmakers”

Front-of-house and Back-of-house

A great technology team is like a great restaurant. Sure, you need great food, but it's only part of the story…

Hiring: More terrific Salesforce roles at Alvin Ailey

Dancer from Alvin Ailey company looks into the distance

Here’s another great job opportunity on the Salesforce platform team we are helping build, at the wonderful Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, as a Salesforce Administrator. Be part of this dynamic new team, supporting Ailey's remarkable programs and helping transform the organization.

We’re Here to Make Life Better for Your Staff…

It's easy to overthink technology, but in the end it should boil down to empowering the brilliant people you already have.

Read more in “The Blarg”

Sunrise seen between a person's two hands

Re-Humanizing Technology…

You shouldn’t have to force yourself into difficult technology systems. The systems need to come to you. You should love your technology, and there’s no reason you can’t.…

Read more in “The Blarg”

It’s the hope that returns first…

People have lost hope for having tech platforms that support their work, and for good reason. But those hopes are right under the surface, just waiting for the right person to ask…

Read more in “The Blarg”

Expertise, Responsibility, Authority

Solving the “whose decision is it” problem in technology…

Read more in “The Blarg”

Newly Updated Post: The Scope is Supposed to Creep

Don’t rob yourself of the game-changing adjustments that will present themselves, simply because you didn’t predict them ahead of time….

Read more in “The Blarg”

From the Blarg: Future Organizations Will Have Way, Way More Technology People

If someone handed you a huge check to start an organization today, what percentage of your staff would you dedicate to technology? Really. Settle on an approximate fraction before you read on…

Read more in “The Blarg”

Come Join the Next Technology Unicorn Party

Come join our next “Unicorn Party” — a casual peer support and best practice sharing conversation for strategic, collaborative, ally-minded, technology unicorns. Register for the next zoom link here.

Guest Blog Post on NTEN: Your Technology Problem is Actually a People Problem

Digital transformation that actually works requires putting the right people on it and understanding what their job is — and isn’t.

https://www.nten.org/article/your-technology-problem-is-actually-a-people-problem/

Announcing our “Roadmap to a Better Technology Tomorrow”

Let’s say you’re ready to take your organization to a new level of proficiency with your technology. You’re ready for your technology to be a turbocharger rather than a constant anchor. You’re ready to make your staff’s efforts more efficient, harnessing talent rather than continuously wasting time. You’re ready to tap into the potential of your staff, your funders, and your constituents, and to break the cycle of constant technology debacles and disappointments.

So how do you get from here to there? We’ve pulled together this Roadmap to a Better Technology Tomorrow to walk you through exactly that. Read more…

Our "Curriculum": a simple framework for high-quality technology

An evolving “curriculum” of bite-size writings, to help people quickly get their heads around our basic philosophy about running successful technology efforts using a "product team" framework.

White Paper: Resourcing Your Salesforce CRM "Product Team"

Over the years we’ve worked with organizations to not just implement Salesforce, but to also build and incubate internal staff or teams who are ready to take full ownership of their system’s and organization’s success. This white paper offers models and specifics for how to put in place engaged, dedicated, thoughtful internal capacity to guide your technology.

This is what it looks like to leverage technology as a supercharger

You may have heard about the Global Climate Strike, but you may not know that the platforms driving and supporting much of this effort were created, managed, and supported by the incredible product team we’ve told you about at 350.org. Read more in “The Blarg”