Posts by Sherry Budziak
What does your team mean by “an engaged member”?
Ask five people in an association to define an engaged member. You may get five different answers: an event attendee, a volunteer, a buyer, a committee member, or someone who opens the newsletter. Each of those signals can be useful. But if membership, education, marketing, and finance use different definitions without knowing it, leaders can…
Read MoreMove the board conversation beyond “Do we have an AI policy?”
An AI policy is useful. It gives people boundaries for using tools and handling information. But it is only one part of a much larger board conversation. Boards also need to ask what AI may change about the profession, the association’s role in it, and the way members find value. They need to understand where…
Read MoreWhen your team says, “One more change?” listen closely
Leaders often describe people as resistant to change. Sometimes that is true. More often, the team is asking questions the change plan has not answered. What will happen to my role? Which current work can I stop doing? Who will help me learn the new way? What happens if the first attempt does not go…
Read MoreWhat are members hiring your association to help them do?
For years, associations could create value by collecting knowledge and making it easier for members to find. That still matters. But members now have more ways than ever to get a quick answer, including AI tools that respond in seconds. So the question is no longer only whether we have good content. It is whether…
Read MoreWhat if AI is making the wrong process faster?
I hear a version of this question often: “Where can we use AI?” It is a reasonable question, but I would start one step earlier: “Why do we do the work this way?” Consider a membership renewal process that involves a spreadsheet, three email approvals, and a manual transfer between systems. AI might help write…
Read MoreIs your association preparing for the future it actually faces?
Associations are good at planning. We gather input, convene committees, develop priorities, and put a polished document in front of the board. Then the world changes before the first year is over. That is not an argument against planning. It is an argument for a different relationship with the plan. When Kevin and I first…
Read MoreAssociation 4.0: A Roadmap for Relevance, Growth, and Resilience
Associations are not struggling because their missions no longer matter. They are struggling because the world around those missions has changed. Members expect faster answers, more personalized experiences, flexible learning, visible value, and meaningful connection. Employers are questioning which professional expenses they will continue to fund. Competition for attention is constant. AI is changing how…
Read MoreFrom Pilot to Product: How Associations Can Create Revenue With AI
Associations are running AI pilots everywhere. They are testing content creation, meeting summaries, chatbots, data analysis, research support, marketing automation, and internal knowledge tools. That experimentation is necessary. But pilots do not create sustainable value simply because they exist. Eventually, associations must answer a harder question: How do we move from testing AI to creating…
Read MoreYour AI Strategy Will Only Be as Strong as Your Culture
Many organizations believe they have an AI problem. They do not know which tools to use. They are unsure where to begin. Their pilots are scattered across departments. Staff members are worried about accuracy, privacy, job security, and expectations. Those issues are real. But many AI problems are actually culture problems. During our recent ASAE…
Read MoreCommunity Is Your Competitive Advantage in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence can answer a question in seconds. It can summarize a report, recommend a learning path, analyze data, generate content, and help someone understand a complicated topic. What it cannot do is replace the feeling of being understood by another person. It cannot fully recreate the trust built between colleagues over years. It cannot…
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