BostonBlog

I don't mean to focus only on Claire Raines as a speaker (I bought some of the books you listed, Mickie), but the generations issue has become very hot in the association world. The Association Forum in Chicago recently used Arthur Brooks, author of the Smith Institute report on Generations, as a keynote speaker at their annual meeting, and half of one day at ASAE & The Center's sold-out Membership and Marketing symposium covered the generations topic.

Interesting point from Brooks' presentation: Generation X and Millennials tend to blur the distinction between "life" and "work," so they are demanding workplaces where they get along well with others and are happy. If they don't get that, they go find another job (and turnover is expensive).

And from the Membership and Marketing sessions: first, there is a tendency in these discussions to make fun of generations younger than you. While we get some funny lines from that, I don't think it's productive. Second, let the younger generations create their own structures for involvement and activity in your organization (instead of you trying to figure it all out for them).

Posted by Jamie Notter at 09:51 AM | Permalink

Okay, everybody...it's the moment you've all been waiting for...The Big Boston Quiz! Now, let me start by saying that I had every good intention to post this first quiz on Monday, but life got in my way. I know every way-too-busy association professional out there understands exactly what I mean. So, for this one week only, the quiz is going up late. In coming weeks, however, here's how the quiz will work:

1. Every Monday through Monday, August 14, we will be posting five Boston-related trivia questions here on the blog.

2. Submit your responses to bigbostonquiz@gmail.com by Thursday at 2 pm EDT each week. This week only, you can submit your responses by Friday, June 30 at 2 pm EDT. Correct answers to the previous week's quiz will be posted with each new quiz.

3. We will track your progress over the next 8 weeks and announce our Supreme Boston Trivia Guru on Tuesday, August 15. The winner, plus two runners-up, will receive lovely prizes.

4. ASAE & The Center staff and Boston Bloggers are not eligible to win prizes, although you're more than welcome to play for your own edification. More relevant details in the weeks ahead. For now, here are your first five questions:

Big Boston Quiz #1: The City's History

1. In what year (plus or minus five) was Boston founded? (EXACT ANSWER RECEIVES ONE BONUS POINT.)

2. What famous phrase did John Winthrop use to describe Boston in a sermon?

3. What highly-regarded place of learning was founded in Boston in 1635?

4. Who was the first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts?

5. In what year was Boston chartered as a city?

Posted by Jeff De Cagna at 11:03 AM | Permalink

Oh, we all knew it was only a matter of time before I blogged a post with that title ever since Ben Martin kicked off ASAE's Acronym blog with his post "Why I Love Being an Association Executive." (Next up on Acronym: "Apple pie is pretty good, no matter what anybody else says!") My tongue, of course, is planted firmly in cheek; I've enjoyed my career in association management immensely, through all its ups and downs (mostly ups, luckily) and plan to continue doing so for a long time to come.

But one of the reasons I look forward to the ASAE annual meeting is precisely because it offers a yearly respite from those aspects of the profession that can be, sometimes, frustrating. And it gives us all the opportunity to sit in a room with total strangers who actually understand what it is we do for a living (and swap stories on what our relatives think we do for a living -- mine thought I drove trucks for ten years, and now they're convinced I install air conditioning systems).

Association leadership is simply a unique field. Only those of us who have toiled in it for several years can fully appreciate, and navigate, the conflictiing messages we've all heard from members at one association or another:

"Run the association like a business (but keep those 'pet programs' alive)."

"The association's not a business, the mission is all that matters (but don't lose any money following it)."

"Get consensus before acting (but you need to make quicker decisions)."

"We need a new strategic plan (because the one we wrote last year isn't flexible enough ... but I'm sure this one will be)."

I've been a very fortunate guy because I've had the chance to work for, and with, great people who appreciate risk-taking and its rewards. But even when things are good, it's nice to know that at least once a year I can strike up a conversation with someone from Arizona or Ohio who asks something like, "Have you ever found yourself having a conference call to plan a conference call?"

"Oh yes," I commiserate. "But now I delegate it."

Posted by Kevin Holland at 07:12 PM | Permalink

Connections Network - Have you made YOUR connections? Register for the conference and start managing your conference connections now! Take advantage of this state-of-the-art networking opportunity. Build your profile and meet other attendees and content leaders with similar interests and professional experiences. And you can participate in introMail -- the spam-free, personalized messaging center available only through the Connections Network and only at this year’s Annual Meeting and Exposition. So what are you waiting for? Visit http://www.asaeannualmeeting.org/connections_network.cfm

We’re connecting you to new experiences! Did you know that this year’s Annual Meeting & Exposition is Paperless? Give your shoulders a break! Instead of lugging around those handouts, download them before the meeting to your own -- electronic gadget! And don’t worry if you forget any, all of the session handouts will be available online after the meeting, too! More details will be coming soon!

Posted by Tammy Christensen at 07:24 AM | Permalink

Last week I ducked out of a storm into a Barnes & Noble here in DC and spent an hour browsing. One book caught my eye on one of the tables and I wound up buying it (though, between my Zooba membership and my acute Amazon addiction it seems I always have more books waiting to be read than I will ever have time to finish). This one was rather entertaining, though, and I finished it in a couple of metro trips.

The book was Kitchen Confidential, and I honestly had no idea until five minutes ago, when I decided I should probably check out the thought leader session lineup at this year's annual meeting, that the book's author, Anthony Bourdain, is speaking at one of them.

This is one I'm not going to miss, as I can't wait to hear more about the management philosophy of the man who wrote:

"I've coddled plenty of dangerously unstable characters over the years; I've kept on plenty of people who I knew in the end would make me look bad and become more trouble than they were worth ... I appreciate people who show up every day and do the best they can, in spite of borderline personalities, substance abuse problems, and antisocial tendencies; and I am often inclined to give them every opportunity to change their trajectories, to help them to arrive at a different outcome than the predictable one when they begin visibly to unravel. But once gone -- quit, fired, or dead -- I move on to the next problem. There always is one."

And also wrote:

"I like to tell selected people things in supposed confidence a few times a week, for fun. Later, when it comes back to me it provides an interesting roadmap of data transfer, a barium meal, revealing who squeals and to whom. There are a number of interesting variations on this practice -- feeding false information to a known loudhmouth, for instance, with a particular target in mind."

This should be a fun one, though I suspect Bourdain may give Jamie Notter apoplexy.

Posted by Kevin Holland at 06:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here’s the first tidbit from Claire Raines’ book, Generations At Work. If you like bulleted lists, she’s got plenty in the book. My favorite series is the “Assets and Liabilities” of each generation at work. I think it’s nice because it presents a more balanced picture (we all have pros and cons) rather than a “concern” about particular generations in the workforce.

I looked across the lists to see if there were any commonalities. I only found one, listed in the “liabilities” of each generation:

Veterans: uncomfortable with conflict
Boomers: uncomfortable with conflict
Gen Xers: poor people skills
Nexters: inexperience, particularly with handling difficult people issues.

So if you’re ever concerned about generational differences, remember: we all have something in common—we can’t get along with each other!

Posted by Jamie Notter at 05:38 AM | Permalink

Ten years ago at this time, I was preparing to embark on a year-long journey in the Boston area for which I will always be grateful. In the spring of 1996, I had the very good fortune to be accepted to the master's degree program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Although I felt I was a strong candidate, I guess I didn't really believe I would be accepted. Meeghan, my wife, totally didn't believe I'd get in, so when the "fat" acceptance envelope arrived in our mailbox on April Fools Day 1996, she thought I was kidding when I told her the news!

The decision to spend the 1996-1997 academic year at Harvard was difficult both personally and professionally. It meant my not working for a year, giving up a year's salary in the process and, worst of all, being away from Meg, who stayed at her job while I was away at school. But these were sacrifices we thought were worth making for the opportunity to invest in my career, as well as the chance to take on the challenge of an intensive learning experience that allowed me to focus on important ideas about which I care very deeply.

In August 1996, ASAE held its Annual Meeting in Boston. I had spent the previous few years participating in ASAE events and I worked at GWSAE from the middle of 1995 right up until the time I left for school. Under normal circumstances, I probably would have attended the Annual Meeting that year, but of course, things were anything but normal. Surprisingly, it was Meg who decided to go to Boston for the meeting, since she was working with a non-profit organization at the time. I joined her in Boston and took advantage of a "free" hotel room to make some arrangements for school. Meg flew to Boston and I took the train to save money.

We had a truly wonderful time during the meeting. Meg participated in educational sessions while I spent time in Cambridge. On days when I didn't have appointments scheduled, I would wander around the convention center, poking my head into sessions. (Because of my GWSAE connections, the ASAE staff bent the rules a little and gave me a badge so I could participate in the meeting.) Meg and I went to an incredibly fun evening event at the Marriott Copley Place, where one of the hotel's largest ballrooms had been transformed into a huge New England backyard, complete with grass on the ground, swings, picnic tables and boiling kettles of lobster! We had a great time together, and it is an experience I will always cherish.

Ten years later, as I prepare to spend several days in Boston for the ASAE & The Center Annual Meeting, I cannot help but reflect on everything that has happened in my life since that very special time. It is hard to put my feelings about it all into words, and so I won't try. Instead, I'll simply enjoy being in Boston for the first time in way too long, and I'll think back very fondly on the summer of 1996 when my fantastic journey was just getting started.

Posted by Jeff De Cagna at 09:30 AM | Permalink

Okay, Jamie promised to read up and push the conversations before we all get to Boston. So, here's the reading list (of the general and thought leader session speakers in no particular order) if you want to be the most well-read attendee at the conference.

Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture
Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace
The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth
Rules of the Red Rubber Ball

And, a couple you'll just have to wait for:
Gently Down the Stream: 4 Unforgettable Keys to Success (Being released in September.)

7 Measures of Success that Remarkable Associations Do that Other Don't (I'm assuming ASAE will be selling this at the meeting? If so, get to the bookstore fast.

I have to admit that I've only read one of these so I better get busy! Anybody, what speaker books did I miss?

Gail Sheehy is most well known for Passages, but I am not adding her latest here. It just doesn't fit in this reading list. Okay, here's the Amazon link because I know you now want to know. I trust Jamie's not going to lead a discussion on this one...

Posted by Mickie Rops at 11:34 PM | Permalink

I don’t have the childhood memories of the Boston area that Jamie Notter has, however Boston does hold a special place in my heart: it was at the 1989 ASAE Annual Meeting in Boston that I walked across the stage at the Hynes Center in recognition of earning my CAE designation. It was also the first time I rode the MTA (now known simply as “the T”). You haven’t been to Boston (nor have you really experienced life) until you’ve ridden the “T”…and that’s just as true today as it was then.

If you’re old enough to have heard the Kingston Trio in their heyday, or happen to be a folk music aficionado, you may have heard a little ditty called “M.T.A.” (from the 1959 album At Large). It tells the tale of Charlie, who’ll “ride forever ‘neath the streets of Boston” simply because he didn’t have the extra nickel a fare increase required. It’s a folk song in the truest sense, protesting a “burdensome tax” on the citizenry. Although back in the day (and I won't say which day!) I often sang that song at guitar-fests with friends, I never really understood it until I rode the MTA myself.

In 1989, my sister Patricia lived in Arlington, a Boston suburb, and both to visit her and save some money I stayed with her during the convention. To this day, Patty (who now lives in Framingham, another suburb) will not drive her car into downtown Boston unless it’s a do-or-die emergency (Ever driven in Boston? You’ll understand her sentiments). The only condition for my staying with her was that I had to get to the Hynes Center on my own – and the only way to do that conveniently was via the “T”. The day I arrived at her home, she explained that riding the “T” was a little complicated if you weren’t familiar with it, so she was going to show me the route. Together, we took the subway from near her home to the Hynes Center and back. I’ll never forget my shock (nor my sister's dismay) at my nearly getting on the wrong train simply because I was standing on the wrong part of the same platform! Each day I rode to the convention, I was afraid I’d end up forever ‘neath the streets of Boston. Each day, I somehow managed to get it right …and, gosh darn it, never once ran into Charlie.

Ride the “T” just once when you’re in Boston…I dare ya. Let me know if you see Charlie.

Posted by Kathi Edwards at 06:42 PM | Permalink

I’m exciting to be helping out on the Annual Meeting blog again. Blogging at the event is a blast, but I promise to try to stimulate some thinking ahead of time as well. There are so many big name keynote and thought leaders (many with good books). I want to try to do some of the reading and push the conversation even before we get there. I am particularly interested in Claire Raines (Mickie already posted about her) and her presentation on Generations. More on that later.

My first point, however, is a bit more nostalgic. I grew up in Boston! I was born there and lived in the North End (the Italian section) until I was five, and then we moved out to the suburbs (Newton, to be exact. And yes, Fig Newtons are named after that town). I’m looking forward to being back, although a lot has changed since the “old days.” But it’s a great area. I know the meeting will be busy, but try to get out and about. See Harvard Square. Get down to the Charles River and just stroll. Ride the swan boat at the public gardens. Do some power shopping on Newbury Street. If, by the time you leave the Annual Meeting, all you know about Boston is where to locate the rest rooms in the convention center, then you’ve missed out!

Posted by Jamie Notter at 10:44 AM | Permalink

Well, I suppose you could say that we've been taking an unplanned break from posting on the Boston Blog, but that is about to end. The ASAE & The Center Annual Meeting is now just two months away and the rest of the bloggers and I are really looking forward to sharing our thoughts and perspectives with you as we all prepare to spend several hot and humid days in Boston this August. I hope the air conditioners at the Convention Center are really, really good!

We are particularly excited to be blogging at this time since ASAE & The Center has just launched the organization's brand new Acronym blog. Our friends and blogging colleagues David Gammel, Shawn Lea and Ben Martin, all of whom blogged with us last year on the Annual Meeting blog for Nashville, are among the first guest bloggers there. In the weeks ahead, we're looking forward to creating a nice back-and-forth dialogue with Acronym on topics with specific relevance to the Annual Meeting. We hope you'll stay in touch with what's happening on both blogs.

If you would like to help us blog the Annual Meeting, please send me an email and I'll be in touch!

Posted by Jeff De Cagna at 08:12 AM | Permalink

There are three “touchstone” days in my year – New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. I generally spend at least part of each of these days in reflection, thinking about what I want to accomplish both personally and professionally, and whether I need to modify or add to my goals.

This recent Memorial Day, I had a lot to think about. On May 15th, my condo building suffered an unpredictable electrical fire that damaged four units, including mine. The assistant fire chief told us afterward that if they had been called or responded a mere few minutes later – as little as 5 to 10 – we would have lost the whole building and everything I and my neighbors owned would be gone. Until I’d actually faced it, the possibility of something like that occurring to ME had never really been on my radar. It scared the heck out of me…I’d run out of my home with nothing but the clothes on my back and my two little Scottish Fold kittens cowering in their carrier. The experience showed me that for all my planning, I wasn’t ready for the unexpected to occur (trust me; that’s being remedied).

Why am I writing about this in our annual meeting blog? During my Memorial Day reflections, the fire and its aftermath hovered over me and got me thinking in new directions. The value of being ready for anything – personally or professionally – was an overriding theme. One thing led to another, and the idea of being “ready for anything” in Boston became quite attractive. What would that mean for me? What could it look like? What do I need to do in the weeks leading up to the convention?

So as I challenge myself to answer these and related questions, I challenge you: reflect for a time on what being “ready for anything” in Boston might look like for you. Think about why you registered (or why you haven’t yet). What do you want (or need) to learn to do your job more effectively? Who do you want (or need) to meet? What can you do in the coming weeks to increase your chances of making it happen?

Share your thoughts on the concept of being "ready for anything" in Boston…post a comment!

Posted by Kathi Edwards at 05:13 PM | Permalink

Welcome to the BostonBlog. Sometimes it's nice to know a little bit about the conference speakers to help decide which sessions to attend. Here's the first of many posts highlighting conference speakers -- in this case, Claire Rains, who'll be presenting on Monday from 3-4 on generations and diversity, how to design offerings that appeal to each generation; talk to members about subjects that connect to their value systems; target generations in your marketing; and retain today’s members.

Here's what this author of Generations at Work and the The Art of Connecting has to say about diversity:

"When it comes to diversity, our nation and most of its businesses have historically operated on the melting pot theory. It was great for forming a country, but it’s time for a new metaphor. After all, when you melt everything down, it gets mixed together and it into a mass of gray sludge. The different groups lose their uniqueness. Everything becomes uniform and we lose that variety of perspectives. Potential goes untapped.

I think it works better to think of corporate diversity as a stir-fry where the cook adds a variety of things—genders, generations, ethnicities. Each retains its uniqueness and contributes flavor to the whole dish. Something wonderful is created that is far tastier, more nutritious, and more interesting than any one part. To lose even one ingredient would diminish the texture and taste."
Diversity & Generations, by Claire Raines, 2002

With all these food metaphors, I'm getting hungry and so I'm off to lunch! Find out more about Claire at her website. Several of her books are available on Amazon.

Posted by Mickie Rops at 02:48 PM | Permalink