Acronym

I know I've said this before, but I feel compelled to say it again: It's great to see the way the association blogging community has jumped right into Big Ideas month! Thanks to all of the bloggers who have participated so far.

Here are five new Big Ideas posts for your reading pleasure:

- Elizabeth Weaver Engel tackles the Big Idea "What if associations said no to their members?" She argues that associations do say no--they're just doing it wrong.

- At the Splash blog, Shannon Otto addresses the Big Idea "What if association staffers had to swap lives with their respective memberships?" Shannon says, "In all seriousness, I think we too often get caught up in how our own jobs are so difficult, not thinking how our roles play into the big picture." Could getting to know members' challenges up close and personal help?

- Jeffrey Cufaude goes meta with a post on "What's so big about big ideas?" He argues, "Engaging in an exercise that generates and discusses big ideas is worthwhile. But ultimately we need to develop the organizational culture, attract the talent and knowledge, and turbo-charge our daily processes and systems to enable big thinking and big execution on a routine basis."

- KiKi L'Italien, blogging at the Delcor Connection Blog, would like to continue the Big Idea spirit by bringing together a group to discuss ways to transform the ways we do things in associations. You can join the folks who've indicated interest in being part of such a group by leaving a comment

- Jamie Notter responds to Scott Briscoe's Acronym post on "What if associations abandoned hierarchy?" Jamie says, "I push back against hierarchy because in general its reality is falling WAY short of its intention, and not just because of ineffective individuals. Hierarchy in organizations was designed in a completely different era. We don't have to get rid of it, but we need to address its weaknesses in a deep way ..."