Play to Win – The Nonprofit Guide to Competitive Strategy

In this important resource, acclaimed nonprofit consultant, author, educator, and speaker David La Piana shows nonprofit leaders how they can increase the likelihood of organizational success by tapping into the power of competitive strategy. Play to Win demonstrates how your nonprofit can be a more effective competitor in order to enhance its chances for achieving both programmatic and financial success, and ultimately to more effectively advance its mission. Step by step, this vital resource offers the information you need to assess your organization's position in the marketplace and practical tools you can use to develop successful competitive strategies.

Praise for Play to Win

"This excellent book addresses the key strategic question facing any nonprofit organization--how (and when) to compete without compromising the core values and public expectations that distinguish nonprofits from other types of organizations. David La Piana is eminently qualified to provide students and professionals alike with new insights and helpful tools for navigating the treacherous landscape of nonprofit management."
--Kevin Kearns, author, Private Sector Strategies for Social Sector Success

"I applaud La Piana's recognition that it is time for nonprofits to bring the notion of competition out of the closet."
--Pat Jones, senior vice president, Affiliate Services, Easter Seals

"This book is three-dimensional: prophetic with its take on competition and collaboration, practical with many tools and resources, and provocative in its ability to describe how it can help breed real collaboration."
--Tom Reis, program director, Kellogg Foundation

"David La Piana challenges us to view constructive and ethical competition as the driving force behind innovation and real social change."
--Jim Denova, senior program officer, Benedum Foundation

"An essential resource providing tools executives can use to develop and enhance strategies to move their organizations from a position of survival to a position of strength, and from a position of strength to a position of greatness."
--Jan Williams, manager, Strategic Alliance Services, Girl Scouts of the USA

"Reveals ethical strategies for vying for scarce resources, maintaining organizational integrity, and strengthening the mission work of the sector."
--Mike Hoff, director, consulting services, Center for Nonprofit Management

"David La Piana offers humor, ordinary stories, and ideas for immediate action steps. These combine to make this an eminently accessible and useful book."
--Martha Campbell, vice president for programs, Irvine Foundation

"Not only do David's words jump off the page--resonating, validating, enlightening--but he provides the nonprofit leader with the tools to compete ethically and effectively in the very competitive environment facing nonprofits."
--Connie Cochran, CEO and president, Easter Seals UCP, North Carolina