An Association Committee’s Three Responses To Change And Innovation May 10, 2018 by Jeff Hurt 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 … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association, change management, committees, Constrained State, Dynamic State, nonprofit, Resisted State, responses to change, state of organization change
Eight Terribly Common Association Breaches And Breakdowns November 10, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Sadly, and all too commonly, many associations appear to suffer from the equivalent of attention deficit disorder. If you know someone with ADD, you know what happens when s/he exerts energy in the absence of focus, goals and vision. Many associations are like this as well. They suffer from Organizational-ADD. It all starts with the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , association, decision-making, leadership, nonprofit, organizational ADD, volunteer strategies
How The Nonprofit Association Program Pie Is Sliced February 3, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Most nonprofit associations find it difficult to abandon anything. Everything is a cause or “God’s work.” Yet performance and results are extremely important and often difficult to measure and control. Moral Versus Economic Causes A moral cause is an absolute good. For example, some religious leaders have been preaching against sex outside of marriage for … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , association best practices, nonprofit, nonprofit governance
Four Discovery Philosophies That Lead To Innovation December 27, 2011 by Jeff Hurt How innovative is your organization? Do your executives instill in you and your coworkers the courage to try new ideas? The Source Of Organizational Innovation Organizational innovation starts at the top. At least that’s the finding from The Innovator’s DNA authors Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clayton M. Christensen. They researched and studied highly innovative … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , association best practices, disruptive innovation, Innovation, nonprofit
Association Members Want Movement Not Organizational Institutions August 26, 2011 by Jeff Hurt I have devoted more than twenty years of my adult life to nonprofits and associations. I have spent countless hours volunteering my time to help nonprofits succeed. I have given many staff hours to helping an industry progress. When a nonprofit works, it is a thing of beauty. It is uniquely able to do radical … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , association best practices, association future, association membership, nonprofit, nonprofit trends
10 Questions To Jump-Start Your Event Social Media Audit June 3, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Let’s face it. Social media does not usually provide the instant gratification of a dopamine lollypop. Take a lick. Get a buzz. It takes time, intention and ultimately a plan. The Social Audit So perhaps you’ve stuck your Twitter thumb and Facebook fingers into the social stream. Now you wonder what is and isn’t working. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , nonprofit, social media for associations, social media for events
You Don’t Know Jack About Working With Volunteers April 7, 2011 by Jeff Hurt (Here are some of my notes from Cynthia D’Amour’s Lazy Leader Road Show “Creating A Surplus Of Volunteers” which recently stopped in Dallas.) Martyr leader volunteers! Our organizations are rife with them. They are the survival strategy for many nonprofits. Yet, focusing on them can actually kill an organization. The Awful Truth About Our Current Volunteer … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , association best practices, association issues and challenges, nonprofit, nonprofit trends, volunteer management, volunteer strategies
An Association Leader Should… April 1, 2011 by Jeff Hurt All living systems, including associations, go through five predictable life cycles: Birth Growth (formation, adolescence) Maturity Decline Death Healthy systems work to avoid decline and eventual death by using the wisdom and calm of maturity to plan a rebirth. Unhealthy systems avoid change as long as possible, often to their own demise. Leadership often needs … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , association, association best practices, association life cycle, association trends, association wellness, nonprofit
Signs Of Healthy And Unhealthy Associations March 31, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Associations are complex systems. Many players–board members, members, sponsors, staff, volunteer leadership–shape its up and down seasons. A jumble of external and internal factors affects the association as well. The Life Cycle Of Associations All living systems, including associations, go through predictable life cycles: Birth Growth (formation, adolescence) Maturity Decline Death Healthy systems work to … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , association best practices, association life cycle, association trends, association wellness, nonprofit
Your Association: The Living Organism March 18, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Nonprofit associations: institutionalized organizations or living, dynamic organisms? Which view do you embrace? The Human Factors Associations are not buildings. They are not organizational charts. They are more than institutions governed by sets of rules, processes and formalities. I believe that associations are living organisms…when we allow them to be so. Associations are groups of … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , association trends, community, engagement, nonprofit
