January 2017 is here and the world has returned to work. Typically, this time of year the nonprofit sector shifts into high gear digging into annual action plans, setting up board meeting schedules, and depositing checks written the final days of December.

When I started at Tides I was the fourth CEO in four years, many indicators were pointing down, and the organization had just weathered layoffs. I was brought in to restore the organization’s legacy of impact and to clarify our purpose and strategy for the future.

I started the year by reminding the Tides team of our vision: a world of shared prosperity and social justice. In the process of aligning our 2016 commitments to that end, we surfaced an uneasy reality. It was only January, and our calendars for the year were already crowded.

As we come to the end of 2015, our world grapples with the sorrow of war, violence, and displacement and the uncertainties of political, environmental, and economic change. The needs that surround us are immense. Yet we are more informed, interconnected, and able to contribute to solutions than ever before.

Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data, so much that ninety percent of the world’s data has been created in just the last two years. But data is only valuable if you can do something with it. And, like any tool, data can be used for good or bad.

Design thinking is hot.  This methodology for human-centered innovation has changed the world as we know it, shaping the forms and functions of everything from the toothbrushes on our countertops to mobile banking in developing economies.

Kicking off a new year often inspires ideas to better ourselves and to increase the impact we are having in our careers. Promoted like a trendy diet or exercise regimen, networking tips and strategies have bombarded my inbox, with big promises about how networking in the right way can propel me to professional stardom.

Newsweek’s May 2014 article, “Sex, Slavery and a Slippery Truth,” surfaced numerous inconsistencies and untruths in the personal story of Somaly Mam, tarnished heroine of the global crusade against sex trafficking. Mam’s fall from grace is unfortunate but sadly not a surprise.

San Francisco is abuzz with debate about the responsibility tech companies have to the cities where their workers live and the cities in which they operate. The visible culprit, provoking a wave of public protest, is private shuttling of employees at the Bay Area’s lead tech companies to and from San Francisco and Silicon Valley

When Carl Bass, president and CEO of Autodesk, spoke at our Social Innovation Summit last November, he provided a compelling perspective on key trends of our time. Carl was rare for a CEO; he did not talk directly about Autodesk or himself (the all too common company PR pitch).

At a recent World Economic Forum event in San Francisco Klaus Schwab was asked by an audience member what it takes to be a successful leader in today’s complex and fast paced world. Schwab, who founded the World Economic Forum in 1971 as a nonprofit “committed to improving the state of the world” has helped to advance discussion of some of society’s toughest issues for decades.

Lately there has been a lot of discussion around the letter issued by Guidestar, Charity Navigator and BBB Wise Giving Alliance to “correct the overhead myth” and redirect attention to indicators that are more accurate measures of nonprofit effectiveness.

Frustrating.  Galling. This is how some of the best social sector leaders I know describe the fact that funding to intermediaries and consultants often dwarfs the support they receive for their work on real issues at the front lines. I’m not talking a small differential — the disparity is large.

The pace of summer sometimes slows to permit more time to dive into a good book and refresh our thinking about issues that matter to us. This year I’ve polled a number of friends and colleagues to share some favorite reads, both newly published and bookshelf favorites.

Over the past five months I’ve worked in Yangon and explored the city center, industrial zones, towns and villages. I’ve spoken with business owners, investors, and business intermediary organizations, government policy and aid agencies, and local and international nonprofits.