What did Mary think?
We interviewed Mary Childress right before the first time attendee orientation. Today, I caught up with Mary via phone to see if ASAE & The Center's Annual Meeting lived up to her expectations. Have a listen!
September 01, 2006
August 24, 2006
ROI: Priceless
It"s time to go back to work. Another day, another dollar, right?
Well, tomorrow will start off a little different than my last full day at work. For one thing, I have several pages of notes to download and print out, and meetings to hold to go over them, and numerous good ideas to evaluate in the bright daylight. It's the usual "return-from-a-conference-and-compare-notes-and-see-what-works" kind of thing.
But it's more than that. Isn't it?
I go to ASAE for nuts and bolts concepts and suggestions and this-idea-works and this-idea-failed, no doubt. I'm fairly hard-nosed about it. We spend a lot of money and demand a good ROI. And I already know, we got a good one this year. We already began going over things with our staff during the meeting.
But hard-nosed business thinking aside, there are other, deeper reasons to invest in the ASAE meeting. Like, the difficult-to-quantify-but-oh-so-valuable (wow, I'm really into hyphenated phrases tonight) sensation of "being away" from our association yet at the same time being immersed in associations. As association staff, we spend all of our time deeply immersed in the industry or profession we represent. That's a terrific thing on the one hand, because those are our members, our customers, our markets.
On the other hand, it can be so damned isolating -- and one of the most valuable things about the ASAE annual meeting is that it saves us from that isolation, and we find ourselves suddenly surrounded by people who work for completely different industries or professions, but who understand. We can talk freely about cracks in the overall association business model, membership campaigns that were bad ideas from the start, those precious moments when we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat (and nobody else seemed to notice) --- and everybody else at the table knows just what we're talking about.
I came away from this year's meeting with a full to-do list, some new contacts to add to my Outlook, and most importantly, a renewed sense of energy to tackle the challenges waiting for me tomorrow morning. Some folks seem overly concerned about comparing last year in Nashville to this year in Boston, which to me is silly, because the two venues were so completely different that they made for completely different kinds of events.
You did great, ASAE. This meeting has already made an impact on my organization and I'm looking forward to the dividends I'll get from it all year long. I don't know about you, but I can't wait for Chicago ... and we'll be back.
August 22, 2006
Where Are the Cheesesteaks?
Alas, the Philadelphia booth, which has been serving delicious cheesesteaks the last two days (inexplicably without whiz), seems to be out of them and has been reduced to serving (just as inexplicably) pretzels. We'd made a beeline there for lunch and experienced only disappointment.
Oh, well, Philly, we promise not to hold it against you ...
August 21, 2006
Interview with Bill Taylor
Bill Taylor, co-author of Mavericks at Work, sat down with me for an interview to discuss the book, how association leaders can challenge their boards to challenge industry orthodoxy and what association mavericks need to know to succeed. (It is a little more than 10 minutes in length.)
MP3 File
Mavericks at Work: Part Deux
I am blogging right now at the follow-up Thought Leader session for Mavericks at Work. Some key points:
+The importance of storytelling--Organizations must continuously create energy to propel things forward. Stories help do that. People in the organization sustain themselves through stories, while new people use them to imagine the new chapter. ING DIRECT has The Orange Journey and it has helped create a mythology around the company that inspires its employees.
+Leaders handling failure--You must learn from your errors, but not ditch them, so you can learn from them again in the future. Innovation is a team sport, so you must look at both the individual and the system when assessing failure. Are you willing to tolerate a bit of chaos and disruption? You've got to let the organization make small mistakes, but it is the job of leaders not to let the organization make a big mistake.
+Pulling the plug on ideas that aren't working--Companies are using prediction markets to help make decisions about which projects will fly and which don't. Organizations should think about developing a system for allowing ideas to percolate up and then mechanisms for evaluating them. In your association's metaphorical clothes closet, you have room for only so many outfits. If you want to put a new one in, you must take one out. Which one will you remove?
+Sustaining your maverick approach--You celebrate successes and keep moving when you're a challenger. It's an attitude that you maintain and it helps if you can find an enemy, i.e., what's wrong in our industry or profession. That is your enemy. You must have an edge. If you don't have an edge, you cannot differentiate. If you cannot differentiate, people won't want to spend time with you.
+Maverick traits--Strength of character combined with intellectual humility and insatiable curiosity. It is somewhat the worst of both worlds, because everyone is looking for hypocrisy in your words and deeds when you're standing for something, but you don't get to tell people what to do and have a huge ego. The maverick is always learning about what's next.
Side by Side: Collins and Taylor
Reflecting on the fly feels like a bit of a contradiction in terms, but I wanted to share some initial impressions of how the Collins and Taylor general sessions stack up for me.
My first observation is that I don't think the two sessions were as different as we might think. Following yesterday's session, some people who know me well thought I might be upset by Jim's apparent "dissing" of innovation. I am well aware of Jim's concerns about the pursuit of innovation, and on some level, I share them. The mindless and undisciplined pursuit of innovation is not a strategy for long-term success. But all organizations, including associations, can create enduring success if they make innovation a genuine and consistent strategic priority. Contrary to popular belief, Jim's long view of moving from good to great is not at all incompatible with the work of innovation.
A second thought comes from the focus in today's general session on what I would broadly characterize as the creative and emotional side of the organization. Bill Taylor, Arkadi Kuhlmann from ING DIRECT and Lyn Thomas from Cirque du Soleil all spoke to this issue in their remarks. I doubt, however, that these leaders are any less committed to using data effectively to support intelligent decision-making. At the same time, they recognize that the human imagination and spirit are also critical elements of organizational success. The notion of "data-driven strategies," one of the seven measures of success and an area of emphasis of Jim's talk yesterday, strike me as unnecessarily one dimensional. In voluntary organizations, the energetic and passionate engagement of all stakeholders is an essential ingredient of strategic advancement, and I'm personally struggling with the notion that an Excel spreadsheet is always the best spark for the creativity our organizations very much need to thrive.
One final thought is simply that all association leaders must entertain a simple notion: there is no one "right" way to make sense of or drive toward organizational success. The ideas contained in the 7 Measures of Success book are now a part of our conversation flow and we will talk about them. I am a passionate advocate for innovation and while I know that all associations can benefit from actively engaging in the work of innovation, I recognize that not all leaders in our community will agree. One characteristic of real leadership is being able to live with the tension of competing ideas, and that is precisely what ASAE & The Center are challenging us to do.
Mavericks at Work: Three Big Questions
Bill Taylor, author of Mavericks at Work, is speaking right now, and he has raised three fundamental questions for all association leaders to consider in the areas of strategy, innovation and the human side of the organization:
+What ideas do you stand for?--It isn't enough to have great products and services. Maverick organizations are fighting for important ideas that will change their industries.
+How will you surface great ideas no matter where they are?--Most of the world's brilliant people will never work for your organization. But they doesn't mean they can't work with you.
+Why would great people want to work for you?--Paying more money is not a strategy for attracting great people. Maverick organizations treat the people side of the organization with the same discipline as other functions.
As an association leader, how will you and your organization answer these questions?
August 20, 2006
Live Blogging Jim Collins I
Jim is on the stage right now. Here are some key points from his talk so far:
+Jim says that through the project, he has learned that associations are the glue that holds society together.
+Everyone has an opinion. Where's you're data? How do you know that you're opinion merits attention?
+Best practices disseminate too quickly to everyone to separate great from good. How do some become exceptional?
More to come...
August 19, 2006
When "fluff" at a conference is a good thing
August 04, 2006
Time
I can’t believe that two weeks from today I’ll actually be in Boston. I’m now shifting my perspective from “what things do I need to do to prepare,” to “what exactly am I going to do when I’m there.”
In doing so, I come to the inevitable conclusion: there isn’t enough time.
I’ve got too much to do, too many people to see, too many places to be. Of course, this isn’t a bad problem to have, but it reminds me that I need to be disciplined in my scheduling. I’m the personality type that likes to play it by ear, and just hang out in various places and see who I meet. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work. So here are two things I’m doing to be more disciplined about it.
I am making a list of the specific people I want to spend time with at the meeting, and I’m going to contact them ahead of time and either schedule a time to talk, or at least give them my cell phone number so I can connect at the meeting. Remember, there are 25 hotels in use during this conference, so hoping to “bump into them” may not work!
Balance work and play. One reason I love the annual meeting is hanging out with my friends in this community that I rarely get to see. Unfortunately, if I hang out with them all the time, I’ll miss out on opportunities to meet new people. I need to hang out with friends, and I need to meet new people, so it simply requires some negotiation with my friends (so they’re not insulted when I go in a different direction!) and some discipline on my part.
July 19, 2006
One month to go!
We are now one month to the date before the beginning of the Annual Meeting in Boston and the excitement is building! We hope your energy and enthusiasm are on the rise, and the Boston Bloggers are going to do whatever we can to build them further by picking up our blogging in the next few weeks. You'll see more frequent posting as we get closer to the meeting as well as our first podcasts!
If you're enjoying the Boston Blog, please tell your association colleagues about it and encourage them to check it out and subscribe! Of course, we welcome your comments on the blog and if you'd like to help us blog the meeting, please send me an e-mail!
The Boston fun has just begun! Don't miss it any of it on the Boston Blog!
July 12, 2006
Podcast as learning tool
What are the implications for association learning when students now in college are getting class lectures via podcast? In a July 11th story in the Boston Globe, it’s reported that Boston-area colleges are “pushing” their professors to create podcasts of their class lectures. One University of Massachusetts campus is going so far as to outfit ten classrooms, for a pilot project beginning this fall, to automatically record lectures and upload them to podcasts! There’s controversy, of course, as to whether this is a good idea; some fear students will stop coming to class while others see value in being able to review confusing lecture content.
Down the road, when these college students (and no doubt others from across the country) are members of your association, does this mean you’ll need to podcast all your educational programming? It could. Their expectations for learning opportunities will be quite different from what we’ve been used to. Sure, we’ve sold session recordings for years, however the idea of podcasting association learning on a regular basis could open up a whole new realm of possibilities. It could be pretty cool. Or could it be a boondoggle waiting to happen?
Many of the questions that come to mind are identical to those raised when computer-based and online learning options first entered the association world - options that are now commonplace. Would association learning-focused podcasts merely repeat the full content of live sessions the way audio recordings now do? Or could they supplement the learning, providing more content? Would members stop coming to face-to-face events or signing up for live virtual learning if they could download a podcast? Or could associations use podcasts as just another learning distribution system to provide members the content they need on their own terms?
You may be thinking about creating podcasts in your association…you may even be doing them already. But are you using them for member learning? The power in adult learning, of course, is the opportunity to engage with peers around content you're learning together. Will listening to a podcast supplant that engagement? I doubt it. That doesn't preclude, however, considering podcasting a part of our learning arsenals. We just need to find ways to use it that support, rather than supplant, peer-to-peer learning.
June 27, 2006
Why I Hate Being an Association Executive (Ok, Not Really)
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."