Acronym

I just committed a classic blunder: I moved forward with an important industry-wide project without full support from the Board.

I should have known better. But I'm correcting it and it's not (never is) the end of the world.

Well, the most classic blunder of all has to be never having seen The Princess Bride.

I would say some others are:

-- Thinking you are in the business of offering a particular product or service (we are in the tradeshow business, we are in the magazine business, etc.)

-- Forgetting that people (staffers, volunteers, members) can't read our minds.

-- Not asking for the sale.

-- Assuming that all members value the same things at the same time.

-- Not making leadership development a key and ongoing practice.

-- "I know how to read a contract, I don't need legal review on this one."

-- Hiring personal friends as vendors or employees.

-- "This issue will probably go away if I just ignore it."

Transparency is nice and all, but I'll avoid pointing out which if any of the above I have been personally guilty of ....

Fun post!

Lisa I am sure I can come up with more if I had time but to me the most classic association blunder is the shooting down of ideas because "they have been tried before." Situations change all the time and so can results. Just because it didn't work the first time doesn't mean you shouldn't sesriously consider the idea again to see if the original idea, or a tweak of the original idea, may work now.

Scott

Thinking that the Board is even remotely representative of the membership at large.

Forgetting that members couldn't give a [...] about your internal structures and processes, they just want something to get done, whether it's a tiny address change or a big project.

Letting squeaky wheels dictate EVERYTHING.

Classic blunders (besides taking a computer on vacation ...)
- letting the volunteer stay on because there's no-one else to fill the job
- running chapter of the year programs that routinely reward mediocre performance
- a retention program that relies on reinstatement calls
- volunteers without a volunteer management program

Love this post!

I'd add to this:

--Thinking that nobody below director level has any skills or thoughts of value
--Promoting people to their level of incompetence by assuming that just because you make someone a manager, they know how to manage people
--Failing to realize when a program or revenue stream is dead and cutting it rather than trying to keep it going because "we've always done it this way"

Great post. Here are some of my classic association faux pas:

- Not training staff, board members and volunteers on association 101 items such as what an association is, what it does, roles of staff, board and committees, etc.
- Forgoing strategic planning
- Not developing future association leaders
- Assuming volunteer workhorses make good leaders
- Recruiting all like-minded leaders that never question anything
- Assuming everyone will renew their membership because they like you
- Doing the same thing you've always done even though it's failed in the past and expecting different results
- Ignoring Web 2.0 world with the statement "our members don't use social media"
- Hiring family as staff, consultants or vendors

Wow! Everyone has done a great job answering this one. I think I messed up my neck by nodding so vigorously to the comments posted above.

I think a classic mistake is forgetting that associations are in the business of connecting people with people they want and need to know. Everything else may bring in the profit on paper, but being able to make those connections for people is critical.

This is a really good post. I think a few other faux pas that I have seen are:

• Jumping too quickly on the latest trend, idea or fad simply because everyone else is doing it. Your initiatives need to line up with your mission and strategy.
• Clinging to pet-projects simply because they were promised not because they are profitable or will add value. Sometimes you have to sacrifice the sacred cow.
• Assuming that the highest bidder or most expensive product will provide a better solution to a problem that a little creative thinking and elbow grease can't.
• This one slices both ways - not asking for enough feedback OR asking for too much feedback. Not asking for enough feedback leads to a half-baked solution. Similarly, becoming over-reliant on feedback could cost you an opportunity. Time to market is key and once an opportunity is missed it's hard (maybe impossible) to make up for it.
• Thinking you are the only game in town and that your members can't survive without you. People are creative and resilient and will find a way to get what they need with, or without you.

Here's a few that are related:

1. Not understanding what is of value to members in this Web 2.0 world where members can get "good enough" information for free all over the Internet. Blow up your members only area: http://bit.ly/KgqKH

2. Not being able to face the fact that something is no longer of value to the majority of your new members. "Why don't our members open the emails we send them anymore?"

3. Understanding that you must be remarkable and excellent in everything you do. Competition is too stiff to be second best. Gaining more members is not a goal, it's something that happens when you do a bunch of other things right.

I would add a few more:

1. Association staff not taking credit for or promoting their positive outcomes with key stakeholders and constituents.

2. Not hiring the right people to fill open positions.

3. Selecting a course of action because it's easy (nevermind it's the wrong thing to do).