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The Grey Matter Diagnostic

A Systematic Framework for Building Nonprofits That Last
by Steven Maegdlin · Published by Group1631, Colorado Springs

Most nonprofits don't fail for lack of passion. They fail for lack of operational infrastructure, and by the time the symptoms reach the numbers, the organization is often months from a crisis nobody named out loud.

This book gives leaders a measurable way to answer the question the sector usually leaves to intuition: does this organization actually have what it needs to deliver its mission, sustain it, and grow it? At its center is the Grey Matter Diagnostic, a facilitated framework that scores organizational health across four dimensions and turns that intuition into evidence a board can act on.

Buy the paperback — $16.99 Kindle edition — $6.99
Paperback (6×9) · Kindle edition · free to read on Kindle Unlimited
Paperback, 123 pages · 6×9 · ISBN 979-8-234-11899-8 · Edited by Sarah Kaye
The Grey Matter Diagnostic™ is a trademark of Michael Stevens IP Holdings, LLC, licensed exclusively to Group1631, LLC.
Front cover of The Grey Matter Diagnostic by Steven Maegdlin
What's Inside

A method, not a pep talk.

The book walks through the full framework and shows the diagnostic in action, using composite stories drawn from real engagements. A few of the patterns it takes apart:

A Look Inside

Flip through the book.

A few pages from the opening chapters, then the color output a leadership team actually walks away with — a score, the numbers behind it, the priority gaps, and a path forward. Turn the pages with the arrows, or click any page to read it full-size.

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Sample output shown for a fictitious organization, Lighthouse Ministries International.

Enlarged sample page
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About the Author

Steven Maegdlin

Steven Maegdlin is the co-founder of Group1631 and the author and designer of the Grey Matter Diagnostic framework. Over the past twenty years he has worked with nonprofit leaders across the sector, using what he learned in business and in life to help them see opportunities they can't yet see and sidestep the pitfalls they're heading toward.

He founded Executive Advisory Partners, a practice built around organizations at critical inflection points, and is co-founder and CEO of Cogitant Partners, which helps organizations weigh the risk of not using AI, or using it the wrong way. He holds a B.S. in Business Management from Bradley University and an MBA in Finance from DePaul University, and has served on nonprofit Boards for more than eighteen years.

He and his wife Julie have been married thirty-six years and have two daughters.

The book explains the framework.
The diagnostic measures your organization against it.

The Grey Matter Diagnostic is the facilitated assessment behind the book. See exactly what a leadership team walks away with.

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