At Clearly Consulting, we see nonprofit leaders facing their own "Olympic" challenges every day—whether it’s a massive CRM migration, a global website overhaul, or a total digital transformation. The stakes are high, the resources are lean, and the complexity is daunting.

How do you beat the odds and ensure your big project reaches the finish line? Here are four lessons from the Olympic chapter of How to Get Big Things Done that you can apply to your 2026 roadmap.

In the whirlwind of nonprofit technology projects, the ambition is often grand. We aim to implement systems that transform operations, scale impact, and ultimately, better serve our missions. But as many of us know, "big things" come with big challenges. That's why I've found invaluable insights in Bent Flyvbjerg's book, "How to Get Big Things Done." It's not specifically about tech, but its core tenets resonate deeply with the complexities we face in the nonprofit technology landscape.

I've recommended this book to many colleagues, and today, I want to share some key takeaways that can help us all navigate those ambitious "big things" in our nonprofit tech initiatives.

For Clearly Consulting, 2025 was about growing our team and expertise while staying laser-focused on our mission: guiding organizations through their most critical transformations and turning complexity into efficiency. The journey was challenging—like scaling a mountain—but incredibly rewarding. Ending the year stronger than we started is a powerful achievement that confirms our approach to strategic project guidance works. As we look ahead, we’re sharing our top 10 accomplishments of the year, which represent strategic shifts that strengthened our expertise and capacity to serve you better.

Confession time: While I spend my days immersed in the intricacies of nonprofit technology projects, a part of me has always been captivated by the sheer logistical brilliance of "The Amazing Race." Imagine orchestrating a global adventure, moving teams across continents, designing challenges, and keeping it all running smoothly! It's a project manager's dream (or maybe a delightful nightmare?), and indulging in this "what if" scenario actually reveals some surprisingly practical lessons for the work we do every day in the nonprofit tech world.

Family vacation planning is not that dissimilar to technology project planning - involving your stakeholders can be the difference between a success or a flop. Let’s take a closer look at how to do this well.

Unfortunately, time and again I have seen amazing teams with skilled Project Managers fail at achieving their project goals.

At Clearly Consulting, we focus on “Practical Project Management,” partnering closely with each client to customize a plan for organizational change that avoids these pitfalls. It’s not one size fits all; every team’s needs are different, and our job is to listen and understand exactly what is needed for your successful transformation.