The Future of Nonprofits, Moving to a New City in Your 20s, and Advice for First-Time Managers

Summary

Episode Summary: The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway Episode Title: The Future of Nonprofits, Moving to a New City in Your 20s, and Advice for First-Time Managers
Release Date: April 16, 2025

Scott Galloway tackles three significant topics in this episode: the evolving landscape of nonprofits, the challenges and opportunities of relocating to a new city in your twenties, and essential advice for first-time managers, especially those overseeing remote teams. Through insightful discussions and listener questions, Scott provides actionable strategies and profound reflections that resonate with a wide audience.

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1. The Future of Nonprofits

Listener Question by Rhea (02:21):
Rhea from New York City inquires about the sustainability of the nonprofit sector amidst challenges like reduced federal funding, declining philanthropy, shifting foundation priorities, AI disruptions, and heightened demand for services targeting vulnerable populations.

Scott's Response:
Scott acknowledges the complexities facing nonprofits, emphasizing the impact of political decisions on funding. He highlights the January funding freeze under the Trump administration, which threatened approximately $3 trillion in federal grants and loans, affecting nonprofits and educational institutions alike. Although the freeze was blocked by a judge, the persistent threats of cutbacks continue to destabilize the sector.

“Cutting money to nonprofits because of a certain political leaning... I just find that, I don't know, lack of a better term. Gross.” [03:05]

He delves into the generosity crisis, noting a decline in charitable donations with 20 million fewer American households donating in 2016 compared to 2000. Scott contrasts this with global trends, where there's increased engagement in helping others, suggesting a possible shift in the philanthropic mindset influenced by factors like social media, economic pressures, and diminishing trust in institutions.

Scott advises nonprofits to foster long-term relationships with donors, drawing from examples like Scott Harrison of Water.org. He underscores the importance of demonstrating excellence and innovative management to inspire trust and secure substantial donations from wealthy individuals.

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2. Moving to a New City in Your 20s

Listener Question by Joe (07:31):
Joe, a 21-year-old senior in college from Boston, shares his appreciation for Scott's work, particularly the impact of The Algebra of Happiness on his personal and professional life. As he prepares to move to a big city for his first full-time job, Joe expresses anxiety about experiencing true independence and the potential loneliness it may bring.

Scott's Response:
Scott commends Joe's accomplishments and readiness but candidly shares his own struggles with independence and adapting to new environments. He recounts his first job at Morgan Stanley, describing the initial disillusionment and the coping mechanisms he employed, such as reducing social temptations and prioritizing physical fitness.

“Most people's first job is not fun. And the fact that you... make sure your parents are there, call them every day. It's sort of a release valve.” [08:33]

Key pieces of advice include:

• Expect Challenges: Recognize that the early stages of your career will test you and that feeling overwhelmed is normal.
• Maintain Relationships: Stay connected with family, friends, and significant others to provide emotional support.
• Optimize Your Environment: Keep your living space organized and close to work to minimize stress.
• Embrace Routine: Develop healthy habits, such as regular exercise and consistent sleep schedules, to maintain mental well-being.
• Be Open to New Experiences: Engage with your new city by saying 'yes' to opportunities that help you build a local network.

Scott emphasizes the importance of resilience and self-awareness, encouraging young professionals to navigate their new independence with a balanced approach to work and personal life.

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3. Advice for First-Time Managers

Reddit Question by Mr. Roto (16:53):
Mr. Roto, a 35-year-old new manager, seeks guidance on effectively leading a remote team, especially as a first-time manager.

Scott's Response:
Scott debunks the misconception that being "nice and smart" naturally qualifies one for effective management. He outlines three critical attributes of successful managers:

1. Demonstrating Excellence and Sharing It:
   Great managers lead by example. Scott highlights his business partner, Katherine Dillon, as a "player-coach" who not only manages but actively participates in tasks, fostering a culture of collective growth.

   “She can do that almost as well as, or better almost everything in the company...” [16:53]

2. Holding People Accountable:
   Setting clear goals and benchmarks is essential. Scott advises managers to regularly check in with their teams, celebrate achievements, and constructively address shortcomings to maintain high performance standards.

   “There's a reason you're here. You're good at what you do, and if other people don't match you, we hold them accountable and we let people go.” [16:53]

3. Demonstrating Empathy:
   Understanding and valuing team members' individual aspirations and circumstances builds loyalty and trust. Scott shares his strategy of tailoring management approaches to each person's unique needs, such as offering remote work flexibility to accommodate personal responsibilities.

   “Appreciation is a function of empathy and tailoring your specific empathy to that specific person.” [16:53]

Additionally, Scott discusses the significance of:

• Setting Up Effective Incentive Structures: Aligning team incentives with organizational goals to motivate and guide performance.
• Providing Constructive Feedback and Learning Opportunities: Investing time in mentoring and upskilling team members to foster their professional development.
• Creating a Supportive Environment: Ensuring that team members feel valued and understood, which is especially crucial in a remote setting where direct interaction is limited.

Scott concludes by reinforcing that effective management requires a blend of excellence, accountability, and genuine empathy, urging new managers to continually adapt and invest in their teams' success.

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Final Thoughts:
In this episode, Scott Galloway offers a multifaceted exploration of pressing issues in the nonprofit sector, the transitional phase of moving to a new city, and the nuances of first-time management. His blend of personal anecdotes, strategic advice, and thoughtful analysis provides listeners with valuable insights to navigate complex personal and professional landscapes.

Transcript

[Scott Galloway]

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[Prav G]

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[Scott Galloway]

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[Prav G]

Welcome to Office Hours with Prav G where we answer your questions on business, big tech, entrepreneurship and whatever else is on your mind today. We've got two great listener questions. Then after break we'll hit the Reddit hotline, pulling questions straight from Reddit. Want to be featured? Send a voice recording to office [e-mail] or post on the Scott Galloway subreddit. Let's get into it. First Question.

[Rhea]

Hey Scott Rhea here calling from New York City. Thanks so much for all you do. Really appreciate the clear eyed, level headed advice that you give. My question to you is about the nonprofit sector which I'VE not heard you speak about. I know you're primarily focused on tech and for profit businesses, but my question, Scott, is that given the threat to federal funding, eroding donor trust, declining philanthropy overall, shifting foundation priorities, AI disruption, and the increased demand for services to support the most vulnerable among us, many of whom are being targeted by the Trump administration, as you rightly point out. What are your predictions for the nonprofit sector, and what strategic advice do you have for nonprofit leaders to survive and thrive? Thanks again.

[Prav G]

Whoa. So I'm not sure I'm the person here. Religion and nonprofits are two of my million Achilles heel. And that is, I don't know that much about them. So in January, the Trump administration enacted a funding freeze which affected roughly $3 trillion of federal grants and loans, including. I don't know if you've seen, but there's been a lot of money that is not only going to nonprofits, but to educational institutions. Although this freeze was blocked by a judge, the White House has repeatedly threatened future funding for nonprofit working in the fields of lgbtq, climate change, immigration, reproductive rights, DEI and more. Jesus Christ, really? Additionally, many of the philanthropic sector believe we're going through a generosity crisis, as few Americans less than ever, are making donations. Less than half of American households now give cash to charity. 20 million fewer households donated in 2016 than in 2000. What is going on here? Because if you look globally, people are globally spending more time helping other people they won't ever meet. That's a nice thing, but there's something going on around a lack of philanthropic mindset. Is it because we're going to church less? I don't know what it is. Is it because people's prosperity is not what they'd hoped and their quality of life is going down because of inflation and they just need to hold on to money? Is it because of social media? Algorithms pit us against each other so we're less inclined to trust institutions, trust others, and give money away that we don't have the same comedy of man. I don't know. Where can nonprofits look to fill these gaps? The ultra wealthy. In 2024, billionaire wealth surged by $2 trillion, growing three times faster than the prior year. With nearly four new billionaires minted weekly, there are now 10 times more billionaires than in 1990. Think about that. There's no demographic group. Not Latinos, not old people. In the last 34 years, the number of billionaires has increased 10 times fold. So I work with a lot of universities, and they have very robust development departments and typically Development departments are filled with very high EQ, late 30s, early 40s women who have kids at home. And we're working in the corporate sector and they need more flexibility. And they go to work in development for university, and they just try and gestate, manicure, shepherd, and develop and mature these relationships with really rich people, or specifically really rich alumni. And they're very good at what they do, but they invest long term in these relationships. And generally speaking, they want to get the reason why they raise small amounts of money. I just participated in the one day giving thing at NYU Stern. Once you give, you're invested and you're more inclined to give more. And what they're hoping, the reason why they want to raise 100, $200, $1,000 from an Allama. It probably takes more time to raise the money. It probably costs more money to raise the money. But once they get you to give, you're invested, you're comfortable giving. You're much more likely to make a bigger cash donation sometime in the future. And then where they make their money or how they kind of butter their bread is that they occasionally find a whale who makes a huge gift. And that is kind of everything for nonprofits in these institutions. I'll use Scott Harrison as an example. Scott, who runs water, he is so good at establishing relationships with people. One, he's just a people person who's good at it. He was a club promoter and the guy, I've known the guy for, I think, 25 years. We shared office space together. I always gave him a little bit of money and he's just always done a really good job curing or manicuring, evolving his personal relationship with me. And I've given six figures, seven figures to Scott. I don't know anyways, and quite frankly, I'm not passionate about bringing potable water to Africa, Sub Saharan Africa. It's just not something I don't want to say. I don't care about it. I think it's wonderful. The reason I do it is I'm invested in Scott. I know that his nonprofit is so well run and so innovative that those dollars are being put to good use. I don't know if I have a lot of insight here. What I will say is that I appreciate the question. And it's one thing to cut funding to nonprofits because you think that maybe they're not spending it as efficiently as they should be. What is most depraved about all of this is having a political bent on it, and that is cutting money to nonprofits because of a certain political leaning. I just find that, I don't know, lack of a better term. Gross. Thanks for the question. Question number two hi Scott, my name's Joe.

[Joe]

I'm 21 years old and I'm a senior in college, about to graduate this April with a bachelor's in marketing. I discovered your book the Algebra of happiness in 2023, and ever since then, your content has really helped to change the trajectory of my life. Your career advice helped me land a great internship that turned into a competitive full time job offer. You helped motivate me to get in the best physical shape of my life. But most importantly, your advice surrounding relationships with people greatly strengthened my own relationships with my friends and family. While I'm a big fan of your professional and political works, your advocacy for young men is what resonates with me the most. I'm about to start the next chapter of my life and I'm fortunate enough to be moving to a big city, but my parents, friends and girlfriend will go from a quick walk or drive to an expensive plane ride. I'm grateful for my situation, but I'm also slightly terrified. How did you deal with experiencing true independence for the first time? And do you have any advice for maintaining a healthy mental state while dealing with the loneliness that will likely accompany the independence? Please keep advocating for young men. Your message is working and if you're ever in Boston, I'd love to buy you a drink. Thanks.

[Prav G]

What a thoughtful question. So Joe from Boston, first off, everyone wants to be you right now. You're 21. It sounds like you're in good shape. You have a girlfriend, good relationship with your parents, and you're starting your professional life. So well done. You should feel really good about where and when you are right now. So just what popped into my mind is it'll be interesting, it'll be inspiring. But the real world is your first one or two years you're going to have a moment where you go, wow, this fucking sucks. Or I didn't realize that this would suck this much or that this is hard and that's exactly where you're supposed to be. And so just realize it's temporary. And that's part everyone's first job or not everyone, almost everyone's first job sucks. My first job was at Morgan Stanley and fixed income and within about 48 hours I'm like, Jesus Christ, this is awful. And it ended up being good for me. It was like serving in the Marines. So I don't know, just sort of expect. I don't want to say hate your first job, but have it be not cracked up to what it's supposed to be in terms of maintaining a healthy outlook and being mentally fit. It sounds like you got sort of the keys figured out. That is you're exercising. It sounds like you have good relationships. You know what? Call your parents every day. Stay in close contact with your girlfriend. Find ways to have her come visit or go visit her. I don't know how far away that is. And then just be really open and thoughtful about saying yes to things as much as you can in your new city, such that you establish relationships there. The mistake I made when I first got to New York, you know, I was so immature. I made the kind of the same mistake I made when I first got to college. I couldn't. New York was too much for me. It was just a playground. There was something to do. Every night I'd go out, I'd get up, I'd be totally hungover. I'd wake up at 8:44 to get to work by like 9:15, try and do some work and then try and go find a conference room, no joke, because I was so hungover. And I would hide under the conference room table and I'd sleep for an hour. And then I would go get a greasy lunch and I'd think, okay, tonight I'm just gonna go home, call my mom, get some sleep and go to bed really early, watch 30 something, something like that and go to sleep early. And then inevitably, that mix of Grease and Advil would make me feel just reasonable for an hour. And a buddy would call me and say, we're meeting some models downtown at Obar. And I'm like, I'm in. And I'd go do the same goddamn thing again. And I was smart enough to know, okay, I can't handle the temptations of New York. And I had an opportunity to go to the LA office of Morgan Stanley. So I took it. I moved back in with my mom and I kind of stopped drinking. And this is a long parable or way of saying try and tone down. And I don't know if you're doing this, but I got better at making the requisite commitment to being good at my first job, which sucks, and I expect a lot of you at a place like Morgan Stanley. I got good. I stopped drinking and smoking pot for a while. And I did work out. I went to the YMCA or the ywca YMCA whenever it was in downtown Los Angeles. And I worked out. Not every day, but. And I didn't have a lot of relationships. I had some friends I used to go out with, but my primary relationship was with my mom, who I was living with. And then I had some friends, but I didn't have any girlfriends. I had a lot of girlfriends in college. I found that a young man right out of college is just not that attractive, that all the women I wanted to date were dating guys in their 30s who were hedge fund managers who could take them to St. Barts or Aspen or the Hamptons. And the women in college that I used to date were dating other college guys. So you're sort of in no man's land when you're a young man or right out of college, I found. So the fact that you have a girlfriend is really wonderful. I would just say try and maintain your current relationships. Be physically fit and recognize that your first job's not going to be easy. And also just optimize your logistics. What do I mean by that? Have a clean apartment near work. Try and cut commute town, even if it's a small place, just a clean place near work because you're not going to spend a lot of time at home. Two, if you can, don't buy a car. Have a uniform. Keep your clothes really simple, really easy. Get a workout routine. Just try and starch out all the extra time and logistical constraints on your life so you can focus on work and you can focus on relationships. But my brother, I don't know. You're so far ahead of the game. The fact you're even thinking this way means you're going to be just fine. And let me finish where I started. And that is, it's really good to be you. Congratulations on all your success. And again, recognize that when you hit some rough spots and you think, wow, this isn't what I thought it would be. That's exactly where you're supposed to be. Most people's first job is not fun. And the fact that you, you know, just make sure your parents are there, call them every day. It's sort of a release valve. Or every week to tell them what's going on in your life. Obviously, other things will take over in terms of your desire or your ability to ensure you maintain your relationship with your girlfriend. But again, I don't know, boss, you should be coaching me. I wish I had you to tell me what to do when I was your age. Congrats on everything and best of luck in your first job. We have one quick break and when we're back, we're diving into the depths of Reddit Buckle up.

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[Scott Galloway]

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[Prav G]

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[Prav G]

Welcome back. Let's bust right into it. Today's Reddit question comes from Mr. Roto. They say, hey, Scott, I'm a 35 year old who just got his first managerial position. What advice would you give to a first time manager, especially one whose team is remote? That's a good question. So people often make the mistake of thinking that, okay, I'm nice and I'm smart, which means I'm going to be a good manager. No, being nice and smart doesn't make you a great tennis player. It doesn't make you a great, you know, it doesn't make you great at basketball. Management is its own sport and it takes a few things. One, I find the great, you know, kind of the best. Managers have the following attributes in common. One, they are willing to demonstrate excellence and share that excellence. So my partner in the business, Katherine Dillon, has always been what I call a player coach. And that is rather than managing people, you got to set up an incentive structure that works, got to provide feedback. That's really important. But what she does is she helps people do their jobs. Instead of, in addition to saying, okay, this wasn't great, she will actually, she can do that. And she can do that almost as well as, or better almost everything in the company as well or better than anyone else. And she, she doesn't provide just feedback. She provides learning. She sits on. I don't have the patience for that. If I say to someone, when I send feedback like this edit on this podcast sucked, I don't call them and then say, okay, let's edit it together and let me teach you. I just say, it sucked. That's not that inspiring or that helpful. They demonstrate excellence and they're willing to share that excellence with their team. They take the time to try and teach people and upskill them. Two, they hold people accountable and that is they set out definitive goals and benchmarks and they say, okay, we're going to check in and they hold them accountable. All right, you miss your target. What's up? How can I be helpful? But you missed your target or you exceeded your target. Well done. Let's celebrate that together. They hold people accountable. And then third, good managers demonstrate empathy. And what do I mean by that? I always assume that everyone just wanted to be like me, rich and awesome. That was my goal. Want to be super fucking rich and super fucking awesome. And so that means you do as well. Well, what you find out is that for some people, or most people, they don't share exactly your same aspirations. Some people want to manage other people, they get huge reward out of someone reporting to them and figuring out how to manage. Some people want to see their name in lights. Okay, fine, you're going to manage the staff, you're going to manage this group of people. You're going to take on this project. You're going to manage a kind of corporate initiative. Oh, you're going to. When the New York Times calls and asks for a quote, I'm going to turn them over to you as an analyst. And that they just light up. Right. That's just hugely important to them. Other people need some flexibility. And it's like if you can provide that for them, especially as a. I was into remote work kind of a long time before other people. And when I say that, I think it's terrible for young people. But my secret kind of human capital weapon in the 90s was I hired quite a few people who were brand managers out of really iconic companies who left because it wasn't compatible with having kids. They weren't nearly as generous with maternity leave back in the 90s. And I would say, come in two days a week, but you can be home three days a week. And I found that mothers were really efficient and disciplined because there was no. Like, they had to leave at a certain time to get home to pick up their kids or whatever. And so I hired a lot of mothers and gave them remote work flexibility, which doesn't sound that progressive now, but it was back in the 90s. Why? Because I would learn about their situation and think, okay, I'm going to cater my management of you to what is your specific situation. If you can demonstrate to people that you have a vested interest in their success, that you are fighting for them, they will be loyal to you. And that is a really powerful thing. I didn't figure that out until later in my management career. But understanding what's important to people and then giving them the sense that you're fighting for them and that they can trust you is really powerful. First, gotta demonstrate excellence. Gotta be really good at what you do. Sit people down and not only demonstrate excellence, but be willing to share with them, to hold them accountable, hold everyone accountable. There's a reason you're here. You're good at what you do, and if other people don't match you, we hold them accountable and we let people go. I think that's part of management. And then finally you demonstrate empathy. I'm going to learn about you, I'm going to learn about your priorities, and I'm going to demonstrate to you that I understand your priorities and I want you to be successful. I have a vested interest, sure, my success is more important to me than anything. But I also do spend a lot of time thinking, what does this person value? How can I make them more successful? How can I get them economic security? How can I help them participate in our success? What specific soft things, prestige, management, feedback, do they really value? And they'll see that I have listened and learned because again, loyalty is a function of appreciation and appreciation is a function of empathy and tailoring your specific empathy to that specific person. Appreciate the question. That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehoursoropertymedia.com Again, that's office hourspropertymedia.com or if you prefer to ask on Reddit, post your question on the Scott Galloway subreddit and we just might feature it in our next Reddit Hotline segment. Foreign this episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez. Our intern is Dan Shalon. Drew Burrows is our technical director. Thank you for listening to the Prophecy pod from the Vox Media Podcast Network. We will catch you on Saturday for no Mercy, no Malice as read by George Hahn. And please follow our Propaganda Markets pod wherever you get your pods for new episodes every Monday and Thursday.

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