Acronym

I spent some time on the expo floor today, and during my travels I had the pleasure of being introduced to Patrick Essaye of Streampoint Solutions. He gave me his card, as you do, and my attention was immediately caught--not by the front of the card, but by the back.

Streampoint's business cards all include the usual business card stuff on the front--name, title, email, etc. But the back shares a short personal story from the staff member in question. Patrick's card tells a story about working on a jigsaw puzzle with his three-year-old.

Does the story tell me anything about Streampoint's mission or services? No. But it does tell me that Streampoint's employees are human beings--and in Patrick's case, a human being I have something in common with (being a parent, and specifically the parent of a three-year-old girl who loves puzzles). I love how his card shows me a human face alongside the usual business card information.

Are there places where your association could show more of a human side? So many of us have staff directories on our websites (and I agree with Kevin Holland that they should be on the public part of your site, by the way)--could the staff directory include short, personal stories? Could your organizational blog? How about your magazine? There are dozens of places your organization could show a more human face--with a little creativity and the willingness to do so.