We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits · We Are For Good

687. The Path Forward: Leading With Purpose in 2026 - Seth Godin

·41 min·2 clips

Trust is rebuilt through behavior, not authenticity, and Seth says consistency is the test.

1. We Are For Good Podcast brings Seth Godin onto a summit conversation about the path forward for nonprofit leadership in 2026. 2. Hosts John and Becky frame Seth as a returning guest whose ideas matter to nonprofit leaders facing uncertainty, stress, and mission pressure. 3. The episode asks how leaders can stay engaged when uncertainty becomes the environment, not the season. 4. Seth says “We Are For Good” works as a name because it does not promise “We Are For Perfect,” “We Are For Guaranteed,” or “We Are For Calm and Easy.” 5. He argues that good work comes with “imperfect,” “uncertain,” and “things that don’t work,” because that is “the deal.” 6. On belonging, Seth says people want to be included but do not want to organize, so leadership means creating the party, meetup, or cool kids table. 7. He says tribes are not fundraising hacks, because “no one wants to be in your tribe”; they want to be in a tribe with each other. 8. On burnout, Seth distinguishes attachment from service and compares it to swimming across a lake while tied together by rope. 9. He says professionals do their work, then leave the room, because being attached to the outcome is what causes pain. 10. On trust, he says the only way to rebuild it is through behavior, not authenticity, and he compares trust to brakes that always work. 11. He gives the example of a library sending a disguised email blast to 10,000 people and says that can burn “a hundred years worth of trust.” 12. He says a promise of any kind that is not kept becomes a burning of trust. 13. On risk, he says nonprofits do not have trouble with risk itself, but with “the feeling of risk,” and he compares that to flying versus driving to the airport. 14. He says organizations like AOL, Yahoo, and GeoCities avoided hard moves because they were trying to avoid that feeling, not because the moves were actually impossible. 15. On museums and libraries, he argues many nonprofits must ask what problem they are actually trying to solve once old proxies like attendance, DVDs, and celebrity art stop working. 16. On AI, Seth says every task should be outsourced or automated if possible, because nonprofits need human decisions, not human task work. 17. He says AI can either work for you or make you work for AI, and he calls the second option “a lousy boss.” 18. The conversation keeps a direct, conversational pace, with John and Becky interrupting, asking follow-ups, and pulling in chat questions from attendees. 19. People leading nonprofits, museums, libraries, or fundraising teams would likely get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting broad entertainment or light recap content may skip it.

As heard by us

A steady, human reset for nonprofit leaders under pressure.

This conversation gives nonprofit work a calmer frame: keep showing up while uncertainty, AI, and exhaustion all hit at once. Seth Godin lands the clearest line by treating risk as a feeling instead of a fact, which keeps the discussion grounded and human rather than glossy.

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Need a grounded way to stay engaged when the work feels heavy?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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