By James “J.B.” Creel, PgM, Board Secretary of the Stormy Ray Cardholders’ Foundation and Vice President of Research & Development for the Cannalogix Foundation Research Institute.

There is a silent truth in nonprofit and grass roots organizational life that very few legacy, generational or complacent leaders want to acknowlege, much less confront head on:

Disoriented, disjointed, and disorganized organizations do not fail because they lack passion. No. They fail because they lack the structure. They fail because they lack the loyalty amongst thought leadership. They fail because their leaders lack the real heart necessary to do whatever it takes, despite their words.

Everyone wants to be on the forefront and everyone wants a fancy-dancy title, all the way up until its time to do the work. Then its like, I am not feeling well. My kids need me to take them to ballet. I’m trying to get the night off. Meanwhile, if the task was to pick up a check for $500 that they could do whatever they wanted, each and every one would be early and the particular day would be of no consequence. It is not to say that volunteer efforts are not appreciated, and that even the smallest contribution adds up and supports the collective, however, when it comes to organizers and thought leadership alike, you can bet that when it comes down to rescheduling and clearing a paid work day to volunteer somewhere so that they can go to a meeting and get their name used, their bodies and emotions abused, or get manipulated into working more hours for free because of some metaphorical guilt trip or sense of internal obligation.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the background at most effective organizations—often unnoticed, unfunded, and underestimated—smaller, disciplined teams are quietly producing measurable change without the larger institutions even realizing they exist. Take Compassion Center for example, compounding efforts across 18 states via expansion through co-location into existing established clinic systems through an educational, research and clinical management program, when people thought that they had closed up.

The difference is not volume. The difference is not revenue.

It is alignment.

The Illusion of Motion

I have watched organizations spend years in what looks like movement:

• Endless committees, tractionless meetings (almost a punishable sin at Compassion Center, you are definitely getting a memo for a tractionless meeting) and those who get paid to manage problems
• Strategic plans that never leave the binder, and oftentimes never get updated to align with the times
• Press releases without implementation, zero social media follow up, zero engagement and ask people how many reached out the media outlets and listen for the crickets.
• Social media announcements without operational backbones, just like the press releases but in direct contrast almost like a reflection of one failure dictating the reflection of the other: sad
• Grand visions with no execution calendar, no SCRUM board and no accountability for dropping balls
• Entire organizations weighing on the backs of one or two people, who are often paying to volunteer
• In-fighting over things like titles, ego, power, greed, betrayal, misunderstandings of authority, lack of mission/vision alignment, lack of accountability, lack of loyalty to the mission/vision, the organization and existing leadership group

all of which lead to the same cancerous outcome, and diminished morale as well as a dead organization.

Noise is not progress.

Narcisists don’t make good leaders.

Meetings are not milestones.

Announcements are not outcomes.

Disorganization creates the illusion of motion while quietly suffocating momentum.

When roles are unclear, budgets wane and accountability is diffused.
When accountability is diffused, deadlines drift and costs increase.
When deadlines drift, credibility erodes and opportunities dwindle.

Stagnation rarely looks dramatic.
It looks busy. Ask their project manager to tell you what they are doing wrong, and then just shut up and let them talk, but look around the fringes to find the extent of what you are dealing with as people just lie.

Disorientation at the Top

Most stagnation starts in leadership, people who think “I have served my time, let the next generation deal with that” or worse, the arm-chair generals or critical delegators. If you really want it done, take them by the hand and show them how you want it done and turn it into an educational opportunity. They will either love you or hate you, but you will improve your bottom line with these simple implementations.

If the board of directors or executive leadership are unclear about any of the following:

• Mission, what the organization is all about and what the intended outcomes and expectations are
• Vision, where the organization is going in contrast to where its been, and how it plans to get there
• Budget, including monthly income amounts and costs of doing business, and resources available, it makes it impossible to plan or engage in the albeit necessary outreach and fundraising campaigns
• Authority lines, where do they start, stop, and who do you file a complaint with when one is crossed, ignored or repeatedly broken by those who are intentional bad actors
• Decision-making hierarchy, who is ultimately in charge and are there prerequisites regarding those that need to sign off on a proposal before the ultimate authority can even consider it, like with legal, compliance and press release related subjects
• Financial oversight, be it one person like there is at the SRCF or a full blown committee like there is at Compassion Center, either one works but there needs to be firm financial controls and audits too so that the organization, the government and potential grant funders can move forth in confidence
• Performance metrics, the most important part to any evolving business as anyone can turn a profit, but who can do it proficiently and in the fewest steps creating the least amount of wastes and costs

—then the rest of the organization will mirror that confusion, and will ultimately descend into bankruptcy.

You cannot scale chaos.

You cannot delegate ambiguity.

And you cannot expect frontline teams, volunteers or not, to execute what executives cannot articulate. In contrast, one cannot expect people to volunteer for a group of people who refuse to engage or buy into the mission like the volunteers are being asked to do, its a put up or shut up community these days.

Disoriented organizations often mistake consensus for leadership. When one individual carries the bulk of the workload, “consensus” becomes little more than a group of cheerleaders rather than an executive team. If key contributors fail to consistently show up during normal business hours—forcing those who do to work nights and weekends to compensate—the organization begins to distort expectations across its workforce. Over time, this creates resentment, operational drag, and cultural fractures that are often difficult to reverse.

In an effort to people-please, such organizations attempt to satisfy every stakeholder while committing fully to none. The result is uncertainty, diluted accountability, and stalled progress. Governance becomes overcomplicated, execution underfunded, and intentions increasingly questioned—not because of malice, but because chronic disorganization often looks indistinguishable from short-sightedness.

The result? Paralysis dressed up as diplomacy.

When an organization stalls, it often needs renewed leadership energy. Leadership pools must evolve. And when individuals resist that evolution—whether out of comfort, fear, or habit—the organization absorbs the cost.

I learned this firsthand. At one point, I misunderstood certain duties and directives and believed I had fallen short with a role that I hold at another organization. My instinct was to resign. But accountability, growth, and emotional intelligence require more than reaction—they require recalibration. The ability to identify a breakdown, correct it immediately, and reengage constructively is becoming increasingly rare.

In my case, that recalibration allowed that organization to chart a new path forward that ultimately served the organization and its stakeholders—not ego. And if that path ultimately required me to step aside for new leadership to step in and take the reigns, then that too would have been a form of service.

Leadership is not about holding a position.
It is about protecting mission. Set the example you expect others to follow.

The Discipline of Quiet Builders

In contrast, the organizations that create positive measurable change—often without fanfare—operate quite a bit differently.

They typically:

• Define clear chains of command, while recognizing that strong executive leadership exists to support execution—not replace it. The best leaders remove obstacles and enable others to succeed, delegating what they do best while nurturing the next generation of leadership.
• Set measurable objectives and foster honest dialogue about individual capabilities and limits. When people are clear about what they can and cannot do, the gaps, margins, and operational necessities surface early—before they become failures, allowing the team to properly compensate.
• Assign ownership to specialized deliverables, while incentivizing contribution beyond formal roles. This creates a culture where capable individuals step in to support the broader needs of the team rather than waiting on the sidelines—whether out of fear, detachment, or passive observation.
• Track outcomes, not just activity, celebrating those who consistently deliver while constructively addressing performance gaps. When someone begins to fall behind, effective organizations seek to understand whether challenges are professional or personal—because performance indicators rarely raise flags without cause and it is vital that we properly support our people in a time of need.
• Adjust quickly and without ego. Everyone fails. No one is exempt from consequences. What will determine survival—individually and organizationally—is how setbacks are handled and how those that are in charge deal with constructive criticism. Accountability paired with humility builds trust, especially when asking people to contribute their time, energy, or expertise.

They do not wait for permission to do good work.

They simply do it. They put their all into it regardless of the amount of compensation and it shows.

They understand that influence is fundamentally earned through implementation, and not by invitation.

Some of the most effective systems I’ve witnessed were built quietly—without splashy launches, without media tours, without national branding campaigns, just year over year increases in their numbers. Just do it!

They built infrastructure first.

They built data trails.

They built credibility.

By the time larger organizations noticed, the work was already operational and they already had a seat at the table.

The Ego Trap

Large institutions often chase visibility, hoping to catch the attention of some foundation grant funder or agency to cover their annual budget needs and operating costs.

Smaller disciplined groups chase viability, understanding that the money is the by-product of a job well done and the right funders are going to take notice when your organization is outworking their grants.

There is nothing wrong with making a big splash, either, so please do not take me in the wrong way or out of context. Visibility matters. Awareness drives funding. Funding drives scale.

But visibility without structure collapses under its own weight.

You can have all the smartest people in the room, but if nobody knows about them, then you have nothing more than another secret society with a bunch of great members and a really good plug.

A splash without a reservoir behind it is just water on pavement.

The most dangerous organizational posture is believing that attention equals impact.

It does not.

The Mathematics of the Drip

Here is what seasoned operators understand:

A single drip—consistent, disciplined, intentional—creates waves over time.

One policy change implemented correctly.
One compliance system tightened.
One research protocol executed thoroughly.
One partnership structured carefully.
One metric improved measurably.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Compounding discipline outpaces sporadic spectacle every time.

In physics, a steady drip can carve stone.

In governance, a steady system can reshape culture.

In advocacy, a steady drumbeat can move legislation.

Waves do not require explosions.
They require consistency.

Why Stagnant Organizations Resist Change

Disorganized institutions often resist disciplined reform for three reasons:

1. It exposes inefficiency.
   Structure reveals gaps. Not everyone welcomes that. People avoid accountability. People project.
2. It threatens informal power structures.
   Clarity eliminates back-channel influence. Politics is a problem in the private sector too. How many times have you been to a board meeting without a quorum, yet the one that called the meeting has an agenda even if the board can’t legally consider, approve or deny, such agenda? The struggle is real. How many times have you been told that things are a major patient issue just to see 5-7 folks show up and voice their concerns. Let’s face it, 3-5 people isn’t even a PTA problem for schools.
3. It demands measurable accountability.
   And measurable accountability makes excuses difficult.

Deflect, project, blame and shame, that’s the name of their proverbial game. Just say no. Accountability!

So then they default to optics over operations. Terms like “I have been friends with them for years.” and “You aren’t going to drag the organization through a scandal with this nonsense?” knowing that they’ve been enriching themselves for years under the guise of running a charity, which further erodes trust.

But optics fade.

Accountability is safety.

Management contracts are the safest way for an organization to go as the organization itself is run via a management services contract with a set range of policies, audited by accountability and transparency experts, with finances managed by a committee of fiduciaries, that way the board can focus on directing the mission and the volunteers and employees can focus on carrying out the vision. Quarterly meetings are a breeze and every step of the way is written out and documented in the minutes, and the annual filings are completed on time every time maintaining consistency with IRS, Secretary of State, Dept. of Justice and Taxation office expectations.

Remember, structure compounds.

Positive Measurable Change Is Not Accidental

Organizations that create positive measurable change share a few common traits:

• They document and archive each individual standardized process as they go.
• They standardize quality standards, workflows, procedures and audit metrics to develop key performance indicators that can be used to measure success and root out any inconsistencies.
• They train their own leadership replacements, and are constantly head hunting for successors.
• They build redundancy into leadership, understanding that everyone has a life and everyone will eventually die and if someone’s role is irreplacable then the organization will become crippled so please work with human resources and/or compliance to ensure that your role is properly covered in the event of your untimely death.
• They operate as if scrutiny is inevitable, and while this should be a given, its simply not even implied yet every organization out there is subject to be audited and the bigger the budget the bigger the chance, but that same rule applies on the smallest of budgets may raise the highest level of scrutiny as it is vitally important to understand an organization’s mission, their business model and cashflow.

Oh yeah, they do not wait for external validation.
They build systems that produce internal validation.

When outcomes are measurable, narratives take care of themselves. Winners are going to win. Haters are going to hate. Do your best. Be (in)credible. Dream big. Work bigger. Never make promises you are unable to keep as the road to hell is paved in good intentions and broken promises, ask your minister.

The Splash and the Drip

Make the splash when it is time. You will know when it is time.

Launch boldly when you are ready. You will know when.

Announce initiatives when infrastructure is in place. Send personalized invitations to your haters.

But never underestimate the drip.

The drip is where trust is built.
The drip is where credibility is forged.
The drip is where resilience is born.

It all starts out with the drip.

Large organizations often overlook small disciplined groups because they mistake silence for irrelevance.

But silence is often the sound of construction.

By the time the waves become visible, the foundation has already been laid.

Final Thought

If your organization feels stagnant, do not ask how to shout louder.

Ask:

• Are our roles clear?
• Are our goals measurable?
• Is accountability assigned?
• Is authority defined?
• Is execution tracked?

Structure is not bureaucracy.

Structure is freedom to execute.

And whether you are leading a national consortium or a three-person task force, remember this:

It is admirable to make a splash. But even a single disciplined drip can change the shoreline.

The world rarely notices the first ripple. But history always records the tide.

About the Author

James “J.B.” Creel entered the medical cannabis space in 1999 as his mother’s caregiver and assistant at a time when participation in the medical cannabis program carried real personal and professional risk. Being a contractor and former counterintelligence analyst, and communications tech with a background in law enforcement didn’t help him make very many friends as it made him a target for both sides. His mother, Elizabeth W. Guilfoy, a former director of Research and Development and Quality Control for DuPont, also served as an advocate for the Stormy Ray Cardholders’ Foundation (SRCF) and later on Chief Research Officer and Founding Fellow of the Cannalogix Foundation Research Institute (CFRI) which is where she served until her retirement. Beginning as a volunteer with the SRCF, Creel has rose through the ranks serving as:

• Board Proxy for Elizabeth W. Guilfoy
• Law Enforcement Liaison
• Compliance Officer
• Compliance Manager
• Research Institute Lead
• Board Secretary (Current Role)

Today, Creel serves as Board Secretary, overseeing SRCF administrative operations and day-to-day compliance for both the Foundation and its research arm. In addition to his SRCF duties, Creel serves as the Board Secretary-Treasurer for the Compassion Center, the Integrative Providers Association, and the National Coalition for Patient Rights; and Research Administrator for the Center for Incubation & Findings Research (CIFR), which manages and oversees the Community Based Clinical Cannabis Evaluation & Research Network (CBCCERN) (www.CBCCERN.org), an autonomous research institute and network of principal investigators and clinics including Compassion Center and its division, Integrative ECS. With a professional career of thirty five years and a background spanning both counter-intel investigations and investigative research, Creel thrived in compliance management, and legislative advocacy, where he has spent well over two decades working at the intersection of patient protections, regulatory systems, and structural reform without a need to make friends nor maintain any sort of financial reliance on any of it.

His perspective is informed not only by policy—but by field experience.

And the saga, as history shows, is not over.