Publishers Weekly
Lublin, CEO of the youth volunteering organization Do Something and founder of Dress for Success, shows organizations how to get more done with less of everything, especially money and personnel, while keeping innovation, passion, and creativity high. Sharing insightful stories and strategies from her own experiences and from stars in the not-for-profit world such as Billy Shore from Share Our Strength, Wendy Kopp from Teach for America, and John Lilly from Mozilla, she debunks the most prevalent myth in business today—that salary drives great performance and stellar productivity. She proposes that companies broaden their rewards and their understanding of compensation so that people become deeply motivated to excel and offers techniques for extracting the best from people including creating a stimulating workplace, offering skill development, and doling out titles liberally. She also shares advice on branding, doing more for customers, stretching finances, and more. Concluding each chapter with 11 questions to prompt creativity in specific areas, she propels readers on the road to positive change. Inspiring, wise, and eminently practical, this book distills the best practices that any company—private or public—can adopt, and that no leader should be without. (June)
From the Publisher
"Nancy Lublin has brought so much energy to the non-profit sector and the world is a much better place because of it. I'm so glad she wrote a book to give us all a window into how she thinks and makes things happen. Regardless of your professional sector, you'll find Zilch full of inspiration and great ideas."
Wendy Kopp, CEO and founder, Teach for America
"Nancy's great energy and experience come through in her book as she provides great lessons for business and life to be more effective. Nancy's 11 question approach is a great way to make you think about how her principles apply to what we do everyday in business. I enjoyed the book and am already thinking about how I can do more with less."
Ken Hicks, president and CEO, Foot Locker, Inc.
"Anyone who can start an internationally respected not-for-profit with just $5,000 has a lot to teach today's business world. Inspiring and practical, this book is a must read for anyone running a business. Including me."
Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief, The Huffington Post
"Nancy Lublin is a star! She knows how to really make a difference in a most efficient and pragmatic way...and now teaches us how to do it!"
Diane von Furstenberg
"Nancy Lublin has done the uptight business world a big favor. Borrowing from her experience as found of Dress for Success and now CEO of Do Something, Nancy lays out a strategy for business success in the simplest terms. It's a smart, sassy, and plain spoken book full of great ideas on his to run a for-profit company. Using compelling anecdotes for her 'not-for-profit' world, Nancy's amazing energy and imagination comes through in every chapter. Zilch is a no nonsense survival manual for fat cats."
Jim Berrien, president and COO of Mother Nature Network, former president of Forbes Magazine Group
"In a reset world, Zilch provides a timely approach for operating in the 'New Normal'. Nancy Lublin's expansive nonprofit experience provides rich organizational insights for businesses of all sizes."
Carol L. Cone, chairman, Cone
Library Journal
CEO of Do Something, Inc., and founder of the not-for-profit Dress for Success, Lublin outlines strategies from various not-for-profits. Chapters focus on doing more with fewer resources, as well as on matters relating to staff, board, customers, and innovation, all littered with specific examples from not-for-profits of all sizes, e.g., requiring board members to put in time at various jobs within the organization. Lublin's claim that these ideas can translate to for-profits seems dubious, and there's a tone of not-for-profit smugness. Organizers of small or medium not-for-profits should find ideas worth exploring here, but most would do better to start with Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant's Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits, a more thorough exploration of not-for-profit best practices, which does more with less.
