Dorsey & Company Strategic Consultants to Management

06/08/2026

https://www.dorsey-co.com/the-result-is-not-the-diagnosis/

The case for standardizing a continuous improvement process in your organization – no matter the size In recent articles this spring, we argued that results often change after behavior, conditions, and operating performance have already shifted. The next, more important question is what leadership...

05/28/2026

https://www.dorsey-co.com/when-deposit-growth-masks-a-change-in-what-is-being-built/

Part IV of the 5-part DorseyReports series: Before the Numbers Change, Behavior Changes Each part stands alone and contributes to a broader examination of how changing market conditions influence results across sectors. Additional articles in this series are available on our website. Deposit growth....

05/18/2026

Donor continuity, participation and support structure often shifts before leadership fully recognizes what is changing underneath the results. Read on to learn how organizations can navigate those changes.

How shifts already documented in the sector are reshaping what nonprofits can sustain Part V of the 5-part DorseyReports series: Before the Numbers Change, Behavior Changes Each part stands alone and contributes to a broader examination of how changing market conditions influence results across sect...

04/22/2026

Recycling feels good.

When we sort, rinse and put our containers in the right bin, we may wipe our hands with the sense that we’re contributing to something bigger than ourselves. At the individual level, it works.
But markets don’t run on intent. They run on demand.

Since today is Earth Day, we thought we’d insert some hard reminders of the consumer recycling industry. If no one wants your output, your “product” is just inventory. Or worse, a cost center.

That’s the part most “feel-good” efforts miss.

Recycling didn’t break because people stopped caring. It broke because the system was built around a single, concentrated buyer (like China, a former market for recycled plastics). When that demand disappeared, the economics followed.

Three competitive truths show up quickly:

1) Build demand as intentionally as you build supply
It’s not enough to produce something “good.” You need a clear, durable reason someone needs it.
FOR EXAMPLE: A grocer launches a private label “sustainable” line without securing shelf velocity

2) Diversify who values your output
If one buyer disappearing can collapse your model, you don’t have scale; you have concentration risk.
FOR EXAMPLE: A community bank leans heavily on one commercial segment, but rate shifts hit and loan growth evaporates overnight.

3) Design for market fit, not just mission alignment
Impact that can’t sustain itself economically eventually becomes dependent, constrained or irrelevant.
FOR EXAMPLE: A foundation funds a food access program without aligning to how people actually shop.

The lesson here using recycling as an example? It’s a great idea but confirm the demand or you’re working on a guess.

Question:
Where in your model are you assuming demand, rather than actively building and diversifying it?

04/21/2026

https://www.dorsey-co.com/what-the-demand-you-attract-reveals/

Part II of the 5-part DorseyReports series: Before the Numbers Change, Behavior Changes Each part stands alone and contributes to a broader examination of how changing market conditions influence results across sectors. Additional articles in this series are available on our website. Demand is often...

04/10/2026

Results do not change first. The conditions shaping them do.

Our new DorseyReports series begins with a short article on where advantage often begins - and where it is frequently lost before the numbers fully show it.

Read: Rethinking What Drives Results… and Where Advantage Is Frequently Lost

Part I of the 5-part DorseyReports series: Before the Numbers Change, Behavior Changes Each part stands alone and contributes to a broader examination of how changing market conditions influence results across sectors. Additional articles in this series are available on our website. Results improve....

03/17/2026

01/23/2026

https://dumbify.beehiiv.com/p/how-trader-joe-s-wins-by-getting-everything-wrong
We’ve advised clients on many of the strategies Trader Joe’s deliberately ignored, including loyalty programs, app integrations and carefully timed promotions. And yet, by doing the opposite, Trader Joe’s turned those choices into a $16 billion empire and a fiercely loyal following.

The lesson isn’t that rules don’t matter. It’s that success comes from applying discipline, focus and brand-loyal rigor only in ways the organization is ready to execute. The real question: are we chasing an approach because it fits our capabilities, or simply because it’s labeled “best practice”?

The grocery store that broke every rule of retail and became a $16 billion cult.