Saturday, June 10, 2006

Heading East

I leave a bit later today for London, to do two days of lectures and play a couple of days with my wife and daughter.

The UK nonprofit sector mirrors the US in many ways, and have special issues as well. The Brits are smart enough to have their own ministry just for charities (there are many days I think that would be a good idea here). They have problems with funding, with retaining staff, with getting good board members totally engaged: sound familiar?

But the biggest difference is the level of optimism in every conference, at every lecture. DESPITE the things that plague them, the Brits are pretty much always "stiff upper lip", they make a joke, give you a big smile, and laugh at their problems before buckling down to fix them.

A lot lower whining factor than I see here in the states. I wish I could bring that back across the pond.