Forget releasing your conference Kraken—that legendary giant sea monster sent out to destroy anything that gets in your way. And by all means, don’t release your Trojan horse. You don’t need a trick, stratagem or gimmick for your target audience. You need to release your Trojan mice! These are small, well focused changes that add up and have a huge impact. And they are continually introduced in an inconspicuous way. (Sources: Harold Jarche, Euan Semple and Peter Fryer.) Your Company Is … [Read more...]
You Choose: Bloated Painfully Slow Blimp Or Stealth Agile Fighter Jet
Recently I saw the Goodyear Blimp circling a major Dallas freeway. It bounced up and down with the intensity of a bobble-head-frenzy. Several times it plunged nose-first in a new direction. It was clunky and off target—at least it looked like it was astray. It was also painfully slow.Some association governance structures have bloated into blimps, frustrating everyone but the historians, legalists and nostaglists. Blimps In A World of Stealth Fighter Jets Some associations have outdated … [Read more...]
Devastatingly Deranged Unhealthy Structures To Your Mission
Is your current structure stifling your mission? Do you have metaphorical tollbooths for your staff and volunteer leaders? Those tollbooths serve as permission-withholding stops and starts where every staff member and leader must get authorization and agreement to move an idea forward. Tollbooths are usually embedded in your organization’s governance structure—the bylaws, constitution, committees and SOPs that spell out all the procedure that must be followed and enforced. Structures do … [Read more...]
Your Organization Has Too Much To Do Because You Do Too Much
How can we add social media to our plates when we have so much to do? This is a common statement from nonprofit employees. They don't want another task. They already have too much to do. So how can they simplify their work? The answer is simple: You have too much to do because you do too much! Byzantine Structures And Systems Organizations and employees do too much when they work within systems that have become too complicated. Managed systems with crisp specification of roles, … [Read more...]