Nothing we do is inevitable. Our success as association professionals is not inevitable. Achieving a thriving conference and burgeoning membership is not inevitable. We are not guaranteed that our association will stay small or that it will grow big. Nor are there any assurances that if we do everything right, at the right time, with the right people, we’ll succeed spectacularly—or nose dive miserably. So as long as you choose to take this amazing, exciting, frustrating, uncertain, … [Read more...]
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes: From Industrial Revolution Work Models To Knowledge Economy Models
Is your organization stuck in a 20th Century time warp and on the endangered list? Are its structures, business models and operations using outdated methods resembling a relic of the past? Or are your organizational work processes thriving in today’s increasingly hypercompetitive, fast-paced and interconnected marketplace? In order to be a successful 21st Century organization, our structures, operations and governance models need to move from managing tasks to managing minds to paraphrase … [Read more...]
An Association Committee’s Three Responses To Change And Innovation
Here’s your Who Wants to be A Millionaire million dollar question: What are the three states of association committee change? Is that your final answer? I’m sorry but solid, liquid and gas are not the right responses. And no, the State of WADITW (we’ve always done it this way), the State of WFIIINB (why fix it if it’s not broke) and the State of DIMWN (do it my way now) are not correct either. Resisted, Constrained and Dynamic are the three states of organizational change says author, CEO, … [Read more...]
Follow The Leader Can Be A Dangerous Game When It Comes To Best Practices, Solutions And New Ideas
Do you remember playing follow the leader as a kid? We all stood in a line behind one child who was the leader. We followed that leader around the room mimicking every action s/he took. When the leader squatted and quacked like a duck, we squatted and quacked like a duck. When the leader skipped forward, we skipped forward. So many of today’s conference and learning programs are like follow the leader. We secure successful leaders to speak and share their best practices and solutions. Then … [Read more...]
The Achilles Heel Of Association Leadership
One of the ironies of associations is that the strengths that led to their initial success may actually be detrimental to their ongoing growth. Most associations start with a group of passionate volunteers that serve in many roles. They are intricately involved in all the functions of the association. These core volunteers oversee the organization’s daily operations, make all the decisions, manage each committee and approve every purchase. While the role of these early volunteer leaders is … [Read more...]
Developing An Association Community That Evolves Into Action
Belonging precedes believing. It’s true for our association members. It’s true for our organization’s leaders. The ways we include or exclude others influences their thoughts and actions. It’s more than what we say or write. It’s how we invite others to join and belong, how we greet them, how we appreciate them, how we accept them. Belonging is vital because belonging precedes believing which precedes people behaving together. Meaningful Belonging Leads To Shared Beliefs And … [Read more...]
Dear Association Leader Who Defends And Champions Status Quo
Dear Association Leader: The status quo does not have your best interest at heart. It feels safe. And familiar. And comfortable. And even successful. But it’s not. It’s a very enticing powerful force. It can seduce you into a seemingly logical yet inadvisable present-forward mindset. You project today’s business into the future and expect yesterday’s success tomorrow…although the world continues to change. Pondering Things That Make You Go Hmmmm So ask yourself: Do I buy status quo … [Read more...]
The Rise of the Gig Economy and What It Means for Conferences
Work and life are transforming at a rapid rate. When considering long-term conference or organizational strategy, it’s wise to future-cast the impact major workforce trends may have on your profession, particularly because conferences are about people first and content second. You need to determine who (target audience) you’re designing for before you address the what (content) and how (experience design). Here are three workforce mega-trends that I believe will significantly impact our … [Read more...]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 12
- Next Page »
