November, 2013

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Saying Thank You Like You Mean It

Wild Apricot

'As American Thanksgiving approaches and we take stock of all that we’re grateful for - are your donors and supporters top of your list?

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Three Ideas for Member Engagement

YourMembership

'While it is hard to believe anyone would want to break up with us, as membership organizations we all know it happens sometimes. There are many consultants out there who are happy to give you the key to engaging your members but it’s not formulaic. True engagement comes from conversations. Here are some things you can [.] ( Read more. ) The post Three Ideas for Member Engagement appeared first on YourMembership.com.

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Why Is Membership the Only Relationship?

Spark Consulting

'Way back in March at ASAE’s Great Ideas Conference, I had the opportunity to participate in an early morning conversation facilitated by Jeff de Cagna. Rob Barnes (at the time of Fitness Australia and now of Aptify) and Bob Rich (the American Chemical Society), Jeff and I debated the member relationship and, more specifically, why membership associations insist on behaving as if membership is the only relationship people can have with us.

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Just two little words

Aaron Wolowiec

'Throughout the last couple weeks, my kids have been making cute turkeys. We made them in my daughter’s Daisy troop with pinecones and feathers. Then she made one at school and wrote for what and for whom she was thankful on each feather. Also at school, my boys wrote thank you poems and sang Thanksgiving songs. It touches me to hear how thankful they are for simple things like pouring their cereal, or as my daughter wrote, “my brothers and drinks, like pop.”.

Michigan 179
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How to Create a Community Your Members Can't Get Enough Of

Here’s Your Blueprint for Year-Round Member Engagement. Are you ready to transform your association into a thriving, 365-day community? Download GrowthZone’s ebook, How to Create a Community Your Members Can’t Get Enough Of , and learn strategies for leveling out the peaks and valleys of member engagement. This guide provides actionable strategies to create consistent networking opportunities, deliver value-packed content, and foster connections that your members won’t want to miss.

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Do Leaders Like Dissent?

Association Leaders

'I read an interesting article today. It was an interview with Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of Clear Channel Communications. You can read the article here. What I found interesting and valuable about the article was Mr. Pittman’s point of view on dissent and on making mistakes. I think many leaders think they are always right and certainly want to be right – after all some would think leaders don’t become leaders by failing right?

Proposal 163

More Trending

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Board Roles In Volunteer-led Organizations

Wild Apricot

'How do boards balance their governance and operations roles in a volunteer-led organization?

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Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment – Even with Scared Cows (Like Your Trade Show)

YourMembership

'I just returned from the Georgia Society of Association Executive’s Grand Tradeshow Experiment at the Georgia International Convention Center, and from a vendor perspective, I found it to be a curiously refreshing take on the traditional trade show offering I have experienced over the years. Having worked for a state SAE at one point in [.] ( Read more. ) The post Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment – Even with Scared Cows (Like Your Trade Show) appeared first on YourMembership.com.

Georgia 264
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Always the Last to Know: Internet Everywhere

Spark Consulting

'One of the next advances in network technology experts are anticipating is the “ Internet of things.” The basic concept is that everyday objects will have small, low-power networked chips inside them that will allow them to interact directly with us and each other through the Internet to make life easier and more efficient. If you’ve ever seen a Nest thermostat (which learns) or used Nike+ to track your run you’ve seen the beginning of this concept at work.

Review 190
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Stop spamming your members

Aaron Wolowiec

'I’ve had the good fortune to work for and with associations my entire professional career. So it’s fair to say I understand and value association membership. That’s why I’m a card-carrying member of several professional societies. And while I join these organizations for very specific reasons (with very specific goals and outcomes in mind), it’s clear to me that at least one of them has no idea who I am.

Survey 178
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How To Build an Exceptional Member Experience | Weds, Dec 11th, 3PM EDT

Speaker: Jessica Bonney from VICA and Jeff Horne from Wicket

What does delivering an exceptional member experience mean in today's world? With the right insights, tools, and strategies, you can identify what truly matters to your members, drive meaningful engagement at scale, and continue to meet the ever-evolving needs of your members. Join association experts Jessica Bonney from VICA and Jeff Horne from Wicket who will share practical insights on how to build an exceptional member-driven experience by gaining a deeper understanding of your members and d

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Spring Hill College Alumni Board and New Offices for the Verto Solutions Companies

Association Navigator

'The Association Navigator Blog is back. It’s been nearly three months since my last post, but I’m back and I’m picking up the tempo. I’m getting re-started with updates about Spring Hill College and our new offices at Verto Solutions. First, Spring Hill College. I was appointed last week to Spring Hill College’s National Alumni Association Board (NAAB).

Alabama 151
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Association Board Advice: 3 Rules for Strategic Service and Less Stress

Virtual

'Some would say I’m a glutton for punishment. Others would say I must have some kind of a PowerPoint fetish. A small handful think I’m trying to do something good. But whatever the motivation, the reality is the same: in addition to attending dozens of monthly association Board meetings for Virtual’s clients, when the day is done I sit on several Boards myself.

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Planning For Next Year’s Volunteers

Wild Apricot

'If you are in the midst of planning for 2014 - here are some ideas and resources to help with volunteer retention, transitions, and recruitment in the coming year.

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A Thanksgiving Message…

YourMembership

'Thanksgiving offers us an opportunity to reflect and give thanks. This Thanksgiving is my second with YM, and I want to express my gratitude for your hard work and dedication to our customers. Given the demands of our work, we too often get caught up in the pace of everyday life and don’t take the [.] ( Read more. ) The post A Thanksgiving Message… appeared first on YourMembership.com.

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2024 State of Customer Education Report

Customer education has become a key driver for growth, retention, and product adoption. Our latest 2024 State of Customer Education Report uncovers critical data and insights from a survey of over 200 industry leaders, offering a look at the evolving role of education in driving business success. Inside, you'll find data on key trends and strategies, including: Strategies for Scaling & Customization: Find out which investments in learning technology deliver the biggest ROI and scalability.

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The Engaged Learner

Spark Consulting

'Seems like this is the season of calls for presentations, which puts me in mind of a Jeff Hurt presentation on conference trends: The Evolution Of Onsite Conferences from Jeff Hurt. (He explains the slides in more detail at the Midcourse Corrections blog.). The changes he’s predicting I’d most like to see relate to changing the way the presentations are presented: participatory culture, facilitator rather than speaker, subject matter networks, new presentation models, content curati

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A Tuesday ‘thank you’

Aaron Wolowiec

'Editor’s Note: As Thanksgiving approaches, we all start thinking about our blessings. So it seemed appropriate to dedicate this week’s blog post – and probably next week’s – to the topic of saying “thank you.” For next week, I’d like to write about how you thank your customers and/or give back to your community. So please drop me a quick note at Kristen@eventgarde.com !

Phoenix 168
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How Good Leaders Give Negative Feedback

Association Leaders

'Though we may always want to be positive and praise those who work with us, there are times when we must provide criticism. How a leader chooses to deliver that criticism makes a difference in whether they are a good leader or not. I saw an interesting list today that was a perfect followup to my last post, “Don’t be a DM” – remember DM stands for De-Motivator.

Examples 150
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Lessons in Association Management: How to Communicate Your Group’s Vision

Virtual

'I recently read a great article in The New York Times about how challenging it will be for Microsoft to find its new CEO, given the diversity of businesses that the company represents. The article ends with a quote from Harvard Business School professor, David Yoffie: “I think the fundamental question for the next CEO of Microsoft is, what is his vision for Microsoft?”.

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Boost Sponsorship, Exhibit, and Ad Revenue

Sales often gets a bad rep. Yet, if securing sponsors, advertisers, and exhibitors is part of your role, it’s essential. But what if it didn’t have to feel time-consuming, uncomfortable, or worse—icky? Join us for the 3-part virtual Sales Accelerator Labs , where customer experience and sales expert Carrie McIntyre will show you strategies to make sales easier, more effective, and dare we say, enjoyable!

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Forget Millennials - What About Gen X & Boomers?

Wild Apricot

'Is your association or non-profit connecting with all of the generations?

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Thinking Like A Business Is Not Optional

Jamie Notter

'Last week I attended the first, annual Association Chief Executives Symposium , put on by Shira Harrington and Jeff De Cagna. I really enjoyed the day-long conversation among association CEOs and senior staff (Jeff and Shira invited me as one of the facilitators). At one point in the conversation, however, a familiar refrain in the association community was mentioned: “We recognized that we needed to think more like a business.” This has always bugged me.

Revenue 145
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Calling All Association Marketers!

Spark Consulting

'The ASAE Marketing Section Council is conducting a short survey to measure interest in various marketing-related topics for purposes of supporting ASAE’s marketing educational efforts, including the types of sessions we’ll see at next spring’s 2014 Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference. The survey should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.

Marketing 183
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Move over Fred Flintstone

Aaron Wolowiec

'George Jetson works in a futuristic office. Remember the TV show, “The Jetsons?” The funny robot housekeeper who talked back and the fancy buttons that made everything fly? I loved it. O.K. So maybe life won’t be that exciting 17 years from now. But I think George Jetson – or Hanna-Barbera I guess – was on to something. Think about it. Seventeen years ago, I was in college, using dialup Internet to do research.

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Recognition Powers High-Performance — If You Do it Right

Speaker: Radhika Samant and Todd Wuestenberg

Employee recognition has often been deemed a "feel-good" initiative, tied closely to rewards. While we understand its importance, we tend to associate recognition with intangible outcomes like engagement and sentiment, rather than direct impacts on retention and high performance. In today’s workplace, the true ROI of recognition lies in its ability to regenerate tangible, business-driven results.

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Don’t be a DM

Association Leaders

'Sometimes the best leadership lessons are not positive examples of what great leaders are doing but rather examples of what poor leaders are doing – in other words, what not to do. I read an article today entitled, “The Three Habits of Highly Effective Demotivators” The article suggests there are three habits de-motivating (DM) leaders have: 1.

Team 150
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Advice for the ages (and associations) from a political icon

Virtual

'Election Day was this week in the United States. As we elect our leaders, it’s a great time to reflect on some of the folks we’ve had in various offices in the US. And we’ve had some great ones here in Boston. One of my favorites was Tip O’Neill. Tip was the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives for ten years. But more critically, Tip was like a walking fortune cookie of good political aphorisms.

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Becoming a "Workplan” or “Mission Driven” Association

Wild Apricot

'Do you think your organization might benefit from embracing a “workplan-driven” or “mission driven” structure?

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Diversity for White People

Jamie Notter

'I’ve been witness to a couple of interesting conversations about diversity within the association community in the last week. First, in an online community, one member shared a Huffington Post article about “ angry white men ,” for discussion, and there were a few white men in the community who took offense. What is ordinarily a quiet, “hey does anyone have a policy for ,” discussion group got a few days of passion and emotion and some “discomfort” in t

System 143
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Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide

Managing HR tasks like payroll, compliance, and employee data can overwhelm small businesses. That’s where a Human Capital Management (HCM) solution comes in. Our eBook, Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide , shows how an HCM system automates tedious processes, ensuring your business stays compliant and efficient. You’ll learn how to simplify payroll, eliminate costly errors, and empower your employees with self-service tools.

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Friday Top 5

Spark Consulting

'This week, I had the opportunity to serve as a “strategic listener” for the first ever Association Chief Executives Symposium. Produced by Shira Harrington and Jeff de Cagna, it was a full day program for association #1s and #2s to focus on high-level strategic conversations about the future of membership, the future of new value creation, and the future of leadership.

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Reading Between the Lines

Eric Lanke

'image source Two weeks ago, in Cut, Copy and Paste , I continued writing about the process I used to create my association''s values statement, despite some misgivings about the value of values statements I''ve previously shared and still hold. I had challenged my staff to take the initial values statement I had drafted--which contained the nine broad areas we had discussed during our retreat--and combine or refine the values and associated behaviors described so that there were no more than si

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Rebuilding the Volunteer Spirit Redux

Mariner

'Knowing the power of stories, ASAE''s EMSC launched a project last year to gather and share the stories of how association''s are rebuilding the volunteer spirit. We just wrapped up the project with the sixth and final webinar last week.

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