Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the good fortune of spending time with two of our board members thinking about the direction of Moishe House as well as meeting with several of our major funding partners.

I noticed after the first day that a lot of the conversation revolved around how Moishe House is solving problems in the Jewish community, which is not the first time I have engaged in this type of conversation. For example, what are we doing to solve the problems of Synagogue membership, Federation involvement, Jewish families and lack of Jewish knowledge and/or leadership for young adults in their 20s? I have to admit that, through these conversations, I get caught thinking in these terms what are we doing to solve the problems that the Jewish community and funders see as critical?

On June 30 I retired as Founder and Executive Director of a non-profit that I began in 2003. At the end of many ups and downs, Ive turned over an organization that has global impact, enough operating capital for six months, and an efficient and economical delivery system.

In just one month the new Executive Director has improved the organization. She more than doubled the size of the Board, with a concomitant doubling of the Boards effectiveness, prestige, and resourcing. She has correctly rescheduled the launch of some new programs, and successfully launched new programming in a related but unserved demographic. So far, our second succession plan is working. Second because we tried once before; our first attempt was thwarted by unforeseen external events.  Heres what we learned:

JDub has done it right. They’ve delivered impact. Diversified their revenue base. Enacted their mission and driven toward their vision. Made a huge, positive change in Jewish cultural life.

From this perspective, we can look at JDub’s short life and say:  "mission accomplished."

It is a fitting time in the Jewish calendar for Jewish start-ups to begin or renew their journey with UpStart. As a people, we are counting the days from Passover to Shavuot, from the Exodus from Egypt to the receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. This period of time is also an agricultural period, during which time the wheat was harvested, and the first fruits gathered, precious offerings to be brought to the Temple. It is a time of reflection and growth, which results in the gift of something new to the community.

In this weeks Corner Office interview in The New York Times Sunday business section, Romil Bahl, President & CEO of PRGX, a data mining firm, talks about the importance of creating a culture in which everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas. He says:

The best idea can come from anyone, and lets open up our minds to getting thinking from cross-functional areas. Thats something that comes from that notion of equality and diversity you have to get good people around you and then make sure they feel comfortable putting their ideas out there, because somewhere in there, theres a gem.

Easier said than done. What happens when that good idea is hard to hear, and even harder to implement? What if the gem challenges your organizations very foundations, or your assumptions about the purpose of your work, or even your self worth? What if it comes from the most unlikely of sources, at the most unlikely of times?

Purims upon us again, and its texts hint that its worth looking for those gems, listening to the diverse voices that might speak them, and optimistically celebrating the mayhem that may emerge when changes occur.

Innovation has certainly been a very popular buzzword over the past two years. Not just in the Jewish community, but in every aspect of promotion and advertising, we continue to hear about the benefits of innovation. Ranging from car commercials to the Presidents State of the Union, innovation is clearly seen as a huge benefit. The overarching question, however, is, What is innovation? Although I didnt think about being an innovator when I created Moishe House, I have since sat on many panels discussing the topic and we have even received generous funding targeted towards innovation. So, how can innovation be pushed and nurtured?

We often perceive Chanukah as a celebration of the triumph of maintaining what is precious and valued in the face of potential overwhelming, annihilating change. The Macabbees fought the Greeks and the Hellenists those Jews who were over-eager to abandon their own traditions and adopt new ones and they triumphed, restoring the Temple to what it was, saving Jewish values and culture.

Perhaps, though, we are actually celebrating the opposite of this traditional perspective. Perhaps Chanukah is a commemoration of the fact that we were flexible, malleable, and, yes, impressionable enough, to change, to grow, and, therefore, to survive.

Dr. Anita Friedman, Executive Director of Jewish Family and Childrens Services (http://www.jfcs.org/default.asp), the oldest charity west of the Mississippi, and one of the most innovative and successful Jewish organizations in the United States, was this months featured speaker at UpStarts Executive Director Round Table series. Bringing her stellar leadership experience of over thirty years, her sense of humor, and her honesty to the table, she wowed participants with her Yoda-like wisdom Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness, I hated it so much that I decided to take it over, Its the difference between a Sushi Restaurant and a Cold Dead Fish Restaurant and with her genuine passion and phenomenal knowledge about making organizations thrive.

Here is her top-ten list of essentials for creating, or transforming, an organization:

Tonight, Jews across the world will pull an all-nighter. Some will sit in synagogue all night long; others will shul-crawl, going from one synagogue to another; others will sit in their homes, nibbling on cheese-cake and trying not to fall asleep on their couches; others will camp out on Mt. Tamalpais, re-living the ancient Israelites experience of receiving the Torah; while others still are undecided about how and where but are excited to greet the dawn.

Knock knock! Whos there? Interrupting cow. Interrupting Cow who MOO!

I always get a kick out of that one. My sisters preferred variation is interrupting starfish, which ends with an open palm smooshed into ones face.

In his June 29th post Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: Key Questions on Jewish Innovation, Interruption, and Sustainability, Seth Cohen raises the question: how do we ensure thatJewish innovation isnt interrupted?

But I wonder - what founder of an innovative nonprofit hasnt looked up from her desk and been stopped in her tracks by an interruption, hand smooshed into face and all?