Non-profits and for-profits have more in common than they like to think (especially now)
Two long-held assumptions shape almost everything I do in nonprofit work:
ASSUMPTION #1: Nonprofits are tech companies—even if you think you’re not!
ASSUMPTION #2: The Product Operating Model (born in Silicon Valley) has a lot to offer nonprofits.
I’ll admit that I hold bias with these assumptions — I am a nonprofit/technology person through and through (decades leading tech projects in nonprofits and building tech products for nonprofits).
But I’m also not wrong.
Take Assumption #1 above.
Unless you’ve explicitly carved out parts of your mission as “no AI… no tech” [think: live music/ theatre/ dance performance, hands-on animal care in a sanctuary, monastic rites, bedside manner for physicians] technology either already plays a central role, or soon will, in fulfilling and funding your “no tech” mission.
With the rise of artificial intelligence, I would argue that even small nonprofits will be authoring code and building tech for themselves in future.
Technology is so central to every organization, it’s becoming foundational. Nonprofits are tech companies. Increasingly.
As for Assumption #2?
Let’s dive in.
A few years ago, an ex-Google exec told me, "Nonprofit tech is crappy tech."
Around the same time, a prominent philanthropy/foundation leader warned me, "Don’t say ‘Silicon Valley’ to a nonprofit. . .‘move fast and break things’ just doesn’t work for the Red Cross."
I laughed but disagreed with both sentiments at the time. Yet those quotes have stuck and have ridden along like a bumper sticker in my mind.
They stuck because both quotes highlight typical thinking and draw a bright line across a false divide between sectors. A durable but false divide.
And the terms "for-profit" and "non-profit" don’t help. They contribute to the divide.
"For-profit" implies making a profit is what the organization is FOR. (Fortunately, this is not the full story for many for-profit companies. Many endeavor to improve the world in some way… albeit, yes, while making a profit.)
"Nonprofit" implies making money doesn’t matter. (Again, not accurate. All nonprofits/charities MUST make money. The more expensive the mission, the more money they need to make.)
If we ditch the labels and business school definitions and just look at how organizations operate, the similarities between for and non-profit sectors become obvious.
Both sectors need to:
Deliver real and compelling value to the people they serve
Stay grounded in their mission and goals which are aligned with intended impact
Maximize scarce time, talent, and resources
Avoid bad bets that waste energy, erode trust, and damage brand
Innovate their butts off – now more than ever
And. Both nonprofit and for-profit sectors are at a crossroads. The old ways are not cutting it.
Nonprofits are grappling with declining public trust in institutions (and institutions span both sides of the funder/ fundee aisle btw), unstable funding streams and widespread staffing cuts. Existential crisis for nonprofits.
For-profits are seeing value creation levers change significantly for the first time in decades. AI is reshaping the competitive continents and is just getting warmed up. Existential crisis moment teed up for for-profits.
Which means—we are in a leveling moment in many ways.
Every single organization out there is needing to ask the same core questions:
How do we prioritize the RIGHT things that deliver meaningful outcomes?
How do we improve our team at innovating/creating/problem solving?
How do we shore up our position in our community/ the world/ the market to ensure we still exist in 5 years amid all this change?
Enter the Product Operating Model
The Product Operating Model—sometimes called Product Thinking—is how innovative tech companies decide what to build and how to build it in ways that actually get big stuff done.
More than that, the Product Operating Model was codified by the smart folks at Silicon Valley Product Group observing what actually WORKS across the world’s leading innovation and tech companies.
The Product Model is no longer just for tech companies.
Here are some core Product Model principles. (See if you think they apply to your nonprofit.)
Aim for outcomes, not output. It’s not that dates and deadlines don’t matter. It’s that the impact of what you deliver matters a whole lot more. Strategy, ideas and action should map back to target outcomes, not just dates.
Work in empowered teams to discover solutions. Small, cross-functional teams are tasked with discovering solutions to hard problems handed to them by leadership. And part of this vital work is retiring risks so that what gets implemented has a better than good chance of success.
Leaders provide clarity and context. A good leader will frame big problems worth solving, not decree specific tasks. They do this because they know that small, focused, skills-diverse teams tasked with solving problems will do a better job finding answers than they will as a single human.
Prioritize continuous discovery. Build an always-on inquiry/feedback loop to learn directly from the people you serve. This is way different than getting input at the start. Discovery is a way of life.
Test before you build. Don’t scale a solution until you know it actually solves the right problem. And addresses key risks upfront.
Know your real numbers. Impact ≠ activity. Find your anchor metrics—the ones that really show progress—and align around them. Not vanity metrics.
Balance risk and value. Innovation isn’t about avoiding risk. It’s about taking smarter ones—and learning quickly from what doesn’t work.
There is not a single nonprofit, mission-aligned organization that isn’t likely to benefit from the above principles, well enacted.
It’s time we stop treating the Product Model like a tech-only concept—and start recognizing it for what it is… a battle-tested set of principles that the top innovation companies in the world have honed into an artform.
I’ve spent years helping for-profits and non-profits master these principles to become faster innovators and thrive in uncertainty. Skills every org needs to master now.
I’m for hire. And here to help you create the outcomes the world needs from you.
Reach out: kristin@matters.work
