stages of their development. Future trends: Social investment and finance is a key trend. Charities can no longer survive and develop with a single form of income so an entrepreneurial flair is increasingly important. Communications is another, with the rapid rise of social media and 24 hour news it's important that a chief executive can understand the context and harness the potential for the people they serve. Conviction, integrity and courage remain essentials but they will only be fulfilled if the chief executive can keep pace. Being entrepreneurial is more a state of mind than an in-depth knowledge of commercial practice. The chief executive will need to have access to commercial skills in the organisation but they don't necessarily need to be experts themselves, just open to the approach. One way to learn more is to watch what others are doing in this area, look at how the leading charities do it. Analyse the way some charities for older people have developed their commercial arms; how organisations like Mumsnet and Netmums have built their online user base and how charities like 4Children have moved into delivering services such as children's centres. Frontline: The desire to be altruistic and make a difference is strong but this can begin to wane for some over time. Spending time on the frontline working with the people you help always reinvigorates the chief executive and it's worth reflecting this in career choices as time goes on. Keeping in touch with the reason that got you