Lessons from a Charity CEO: How learning from for-profit businesses transformed their charity

There is a common misconception that charities and businesses operate in completely different worlds. That adopting the lessons, strategies and leadership approaches championed by the private sector would require organisations to compromise the values that make them powerful forces for good. Having founded and led my own business for more than 16 years before moving into the charity sector, my experience has shown me that the opposite is often true. As charities face unprecedented pressures, borrowing lessons from successful businesses has become essential for long-term survival and impact. 

The pressure facing today’s charities
At Aberdeen Cyrenians, we support people facing some of life’s toughest challenges across homelessness and recovery. Like many charities working on social challenges, we have witnessed the growing demand and pressures on charities and services in the sector.

The cost-of-living crisis and housing shortages are driving demand to unprecedented levels. Charities are increasingly expected to solve some of society’s most complex challenges while operating within funding and commissioning systems that often make long-term planning incredibly difficult. Meanwhile, recruiting and retaining skilled frontline staff is increasingly difficult, and compliance, governance and reporting requirements continue to grow, often without additional investment or capacity.  Against this backdrop, resilience is just as important as delivery. Charities must find ways to deliver on today’s business goals, while ensuring they have the strength, stability and sustainability to meet tomorrow’s needs.

Why business lessons matter more than ever
When I moved from the business world into the charity sector, I expected to leave many of my private-sector lessons behind. But I quickly discovered that some of the practices that help for-profit businesses succeed – clear strategy, strong leadership, accountability and a focus on continuous improvement – can be just as impactful for charities. 

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the importance of thinking beyond the immediate pressures of day-to-day operations. In business, long-term planning is essential for survival and growth. In the charity sector, where demand is rising and resources are often stretched, it can be hard to do anything but focus solely on responding to today’s challenges, meaning that internal charity teams can become reactive rather than resilient.

There is sometimes an assumption that charities must choose between being compassionate and being commercially aware. In my experience, the organisations creating the greatest impact are those that successfully combine both. Strong governance, accountability, performance measurement and innovation are not business concepts. They are the foundations of any well-run organisation.  This doesn’t mean sacrificing the passion and purpose at the heart of every successful charity. A clear mission provides the destination, while strategy, discipline and strong leadership help ensure you reach it.

The power of cross-sector collaboration and external experience 
This is where the expertise and experience of senior business professionals who volunteer with Pilotlight – an organisation that connects people from business with charities that need support -, proved invaluable.

In October 2025, Aberdeen Cyrenians participated in a Pilotlight Impact Day with Deloitte Aberdeen’s team, to explore the commissioning of an Economic Impact Assessment to better understand and articulate the social and economic impact of our work as we developed our new five-year strategy. Working alongside us, the Pilotlight volunteers helped define the project scope, strengthen our commissioning approach and create practical procurement and evaluation tools to help identify the right delivery partner.

Perhaps most importantly, they gave us permission to step away from the day-to-day pressures of delivery and focus on the bigger questions around impact, sustainability and long-term ambition. Adopting a more commercial and analytical approach helped transform a broad ambition into a clear and structured plan. It also helped us to challenge assumptions, consider fresh perspectives and how our impact would be understood by funders, commissioners and policymakers.

The experience reinforced my belief that no one sector has a monopoly on good ideas. Charities bring deep understanding of communities and lived experience, while businesses often bring different perspectives on strategy, growth and innovation. When we create space for those perspectives to come together, we make stronger decisions and ultimately deliver better outcomes for the people we serve. Ultimately, the strongest organisations are those that stay curious, embrace learning and remain open to new ideas. Cross-sector collaboration creates the space for that to happen, helping charities build not only their impact today, but their resilience for the future.

Building a stronger, more resilient charity
Since joining Aberdeen Cyrenians in 2022 and becoming CEO in 2024, I have seen the organisation evolve significantly and external challenge and exposure to different ways of thinking have played an important role. 

By embedding a more ambitious, forward focused mindset, we have strengthened our culture. Importantly, this has never been about becoming more corporate. It has been about creating an organisation where our people can thrive and where we are better equipped to deliver our mission – placing greater emphasis on values-based leadership and employee wellbeing, while also investing in leadership development and resilience. This business minded approach to growth has driven evolution of the organisation, from the launch of our new five-year strategy, developed with key stakeholders, to stronger governance, improved impact measurement, driving digital transformation and greater operational efficiency. Together these changes have attracted increased investment, placing the organisation on a stronger and more sustainable financial footing, with reserves now representing 68% of annual expenditure, and allowing us to invest confidently in our people, services and future impact.

Most importantly, these improvements have strengthened our capacity to deliver impact. Over the last year, we have supported around 2,000 households and delivered more than 72,000 support sessions. Behind every statistic is a person whose life has been changed through support – whether that is William, who found hope and connection following a suicide attempt, Lilly, who rebuilt her life after years of abuse, or Paul, who moved from homelessness and addiction towards stability and trust. Stories like these are a powerful reminder that investing in organisational improvement is not about efficiency for efficiency’s sake. It is about delivering on our mission – helping people build safer, healthier and more hopeful futures. 

Why charities shouldn’t fear business thinking 
Charities are unique organisations, defined by purpose, not profit. Their mission sits at the heart of every decision they make and so it is understandable that my fellow charity leaders may be cautious about adopting approaches associated with the private sector. If I could leave charity leaders with one piece of advice, it would be this: be curious. Some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned have come from people working in sectors very different from my own. Take what works, adapt it to your mission and values, and use it to strengthen your impact.

The challenges facing charities are unlikely to become easier. Demand continues to grow; resources remain constrained and the problems we are seeking to address are increasing complex.  The organisations that will thrive will be those willing to learn, adapt and collaborate across sectors while remaining absolutely committed to their purpose. The goal is not to become more like a business. The goal is to build stronger, more resilient charities that can continue changing lives for generations to come.