This list of initiatives reflect Bob's interests both as an entrepreneur and someone wanting to make a difference through the application of his faith and resources under the general mission of transforming the latent energy of American Christianity into active energy.
Started in 1984, Leadership Network serves as a resource broker that supplies information to and connects leaders of innovative churches. The emerging new paradigm of the 21st century church calls for the development of new tools and resources as well as the equipping of a new type of 21st century church leader, both clergy and laity. Leadership Network serves the leadership teams of large churches, as well as leaders in the areas of lay mobilization, denominational leadership at the middle and regional judicatory level and the next generation of emerging young leaders.
- Leader to Leader Institute (formerly The Peter F. Drucker Foundation For Nonprofit Management)
In 1988, Dick Schubert, Frances Hesselbein and Bob Buford convinced Peter Drucker to lend his name, his great mind, and occasionally his presence to establish an operating foundation for the purpose of leading social sector organizations toward excellence in performance. Bob serves as the Founding Chairman of the Board of Governors. Through its conferences, publications and partnerships, The Drucker Foundation is helping social sector organizations focus on their mission, achieve true accountability, leverage innovation, and develop productive partnerships.
In the fall of 1999, several people agreed that it is vitally important to preserve the writings and management ideas of Peter Drucker for the future leaders of business and nonprofit organizations. In connection with Claremont Graduate University, Bob is serving as co-chairman of the board with Bill Pollard of ServiceMaster for the newly created Drucker Archives and Institute. Its first Executive Director is Nan Stone, former editor of the Harvard Business Review.
- The Halftime Group (www.halftime.org)
In 1998, Bob launched FaithWorks (name later changed to Halftime) to mobilize and equip high-capacity business/ professional leaders to convert their faith into action and effective results. The mission of Halftime is to inspire and equip business and professional leaders to embrace God's calling and move from success to significance.
Halftime is taking on the challenge of joining two distinct cultures — those of the business/professional leaders and the nonprofit leaders — in partnerships at the local community level where the business/professional leader sees and touches the lives of the recipients the partnership services.