Go young: Be intentional about developing leaders
Attracting talented employees is a common challenge for entrepreneurs as they continue to scale their companies. And compounding the problem is a lack of succession planning…
Creating a culture of quality
We get a lot of compliments about the aesthetics at Big Rock Valley — not only how pristine the property is, but also our facilities. And one of the tools that helps us maintain high standards is our Green Hat inspection program.
Our ever-evolving BRV
The foundation has seen a great deal of change in its 40-year history, from programming to the property. And when it comes to Big Rock Valley (BRV), our 2,000-acre home in southwest Michigan, I’d say there have been more changes in the last six months than the past five years…
Hearing the unheard: A different type of leadership
We often hear second-stage business owners express frustration over constantly needing to tell employees what to do rather than seeing them take initiative and solve problems without prompting. Granted, having proactive employees is partly due to hiring — getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats. Yet I also believe that the ability to listen plays…
Happy anniversary: 40 years and 5 phases
On September 3, the Edward Lowe Foundation will celebrate 40 years of championing the entrepreneurial spirit. This is a pretty remarkable milestone, particularly when one considers that more than 30% of nonprofits fail within 10 years.* We’ve come a long way over the past four decades, and I like to describe our evolution as characterized by five phases. Exploring the…
Embracing organizational change
Our organization has always been relatively stable. Many employees have been with the Edward Lowe Foundation for more than 20 years — some for more than 30. So, I intuitively knew that our workforce was graying, but…
Small steps, significant progress
It’s not high-level initiatives that shape an organization. Smaller changes can be just as impactful in the long term…
Welcome aboard, Barbara Stankowski!
We are delighted to announce that Barbara Stankowski has been named a trustee of the Edward Lowe Foundation…
The BRV experience
BRV has a variety of ingredients that are spectacular by themselves, and yet when simmered together, they create our distinctive secret sauce…
Leadership doesn’t happen by accident
Today marked graduation day for five of our employees who participated in a new internal leadership program launched last year…