Episode Overview 

Join us on a special episode of the Successful Nonprofits Podcast® as our host, Dolph Goldenburg, presents a powerful montage of stories from inspiring guests who share their most impactful failures and the invaluable lessons they learned from them. Listen in and learn how Dolph and guests turned their own failures into opportunities for resilience, reflection, and transformation.

Timestamp Highlights

[03:14]: Aaron Kahane talks about the not appreciating his relationship with his grandfather enough, leading to a change in perspective on life and priorities.
[05:35]: Ilana Frank shares her experience with infertility, which ultimately led her to found the Jewish Fertility Foundation.
[06:42]: Joan Dove discusses losing a client early in her career, which ultimately led her to create a new and highly successful program.
[08:23]: Carrie Straus reflects on trying to do everything alone as the director of a small organization, and how that struggle led her to embrace teamwork and delegate tasks.
[10:22]: Mariah Collins shares her experience of not making the varsity basketball team in high school, which taught her about identity evolution, the power of community, and embracing imperfections.
[14:14]: Marie Gress talks about the challenges that came from poor communication with a supervisor, leading her to prioritize intentional communication in her own supervisory practices.
[16:13] Pareen Kohlhaas discusses the importance of actions over words, and the opportunity for second chances.
[20:27] Rashida Childress shares her experience of initially pursuing engineering and realizing it wasn’t her passion, leading her to switch to journalism and finding her true tribe.
[22:00] Rob Woronoff discusses how not getting a job he initially wanted led him to another opportunity that set him on a successful career path.
[23:45] Salo Serfati reflects on losing the state championship twice in high school and how it taught him to deal with pressure and fear in a more constructive way.
[25:11] Whitney Anderson shares her experience of not prioritizing the case statement during a capital campaign and how it taught her the importance of collaboration and asking the right questions.

Links

Podcast: DAFs De-Mystified with Aaron Kahane and Salo Serfati
Podcast: Leading Authentically with Elana Frank
Podcast: Thinking Ahead with Joan Dove
Podcast: Big Impact in Small Communities with Kerri Strauss
Podcast: Measuring What Really Matters with Mariah Collins
Podcast: Meetings that Matter with Marie Gress
Podcast: Preserving Your Office Culture with Pareen Kohlhaas
Podcast: Attracting Great Development Staff (even when you can’t pay high salaries) with Emily Haynes and Rasheeda Childress
Podcast: Maximize Your Employee Engagement and Retention with Rob Woronoff
Podcast: Crafting Stories that Fuel Your Capital Campaign with Whitney Anderson

About Us

The Successful Nonprofits® Podcast is on a mission to help nonprofits and their leaders thrive! It is hosted by our principal consultant, Dolph Goldenburg, and produce by Lexie Linger. Each of our weekly episodes brings you fresh ideas and featured conversations with industry thought leaders. Founded in 2015, Successful Nonprofits® Podcast is proud to be recognized as one of the top podcasts serving nonprofit leaders.

Contact Our Host, Dolph Goldenburg