Posts by Sherry Budziak
One Foot in Two Worlds—Expert Advice on Hybrid Events, Podcasts, and AV Tech
Laird Crawford has straddled the virtual and in-person worlds for some time now. He edits the mumbles out of podcasts and makes people look better on video than they do in person. Over the last 25 years, Laird’s company, Ian Ryan Interactive, has been my go-to for audio-visual success. You can probably guess that in…
Read MoreIntegrated Planning Keeps the Glass Half-Full
In June, I thought the dust was settling. Now, with the onslaught of virulent Delta, not so much. We are still in the grip of disruption. The change seems to be that people are learning to cope. There is a shift from reactive to more deliberate approaches. Organizations are investigating technology acquisitions and launching new…
Read MoreThe Mechanics of Innovation
Mike Moss isn’t a mechanic, but he and his team spent the last year tinkering in a garage. They weren’t taking engines apart and rebuilding them. But the work they did paid off big time. Moss is president of the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). What he refers to as “tinkering in the…
Read MoreWill Alexa Be a Regular at Your Future Meetings? — AI is Winning a Seat at the Conference Table
Artificial intelligence has moved into customer service departments. Whether it’s Alexa, Watson, or Hal, you can’t visit a website without a super-friendly little bot popping up on the right side of your screen. We are accustomed to the convenience of getting questions answered immediately. Associations haven’t been so quick to jump on the AI bandwagon.…
Read MoreTaking It Down to the Studs—Simplicity Streamlines AAHA’s Road to Excellence
“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry What do Spotify, Robinhood, and HelloFresh have in common? Here’s a clue. The word “easy” has pride of place throughout all their promotional materials. These companies save their…
Read MoreWhen the Team Travels to the Future and the Board Lags Behind—How Do You Develop Leaders for the Digital Era?
What happens when your team drives the DeLorean Back to the Future and the board isn’t along for the ride? The office might boast the latest technology with a staff that is ready and able to grow and change. But if the board is stifled by narrow perspectives and retro thinking, do those other pluses…
Read MoreA Day of Blue Sky Thinking—Recapping .orgCommunity’s 2021 Innovation Summit
Greg Larkin, our keynote speaker at .orgCommunity’s July 14 Innovation Summit, was quick to admit that he was feeling a little rusty being in front of an audience for the first time in over a year. “I’m freaking out,” was what he actually said. Personally, I counted down the days until my reentry to…
Read MoreEmpower Strategy by Incorporating Trends
Getting strategic planning right is challenging in the best of times. This season of disruption adds additional complexity and brings significant shifts in perspective that are important to recognize as associations prepare for the years ahead. I’ve been advising .orgSource clients to integrate strategy across organizational activities since long before the pandemic. If I ever…
Read MoreCustomer Experience Lifts Service to the Stratosphere
These comments from McDonald’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski to New York Times journalist David Gelles describing how the pandemic would change the company’s business resonated with me on a couple of levels. “We had to pivot to basically being an entirely drive-through, delivery, and curbside pickup business, and I think that’s going to still be an…
Read MoreStrategies for Innovation Stop Groundhog Day Thinking
In the movie Groundhog Day, actor Bill Murray is condemned to live the same day of his life over, and over, and over again. Groundhog Day thinking is the seductive loop that lurks in offices and conference rooms tempting us to reject fresh ideas for recycled solutions. How do you resist the pull of the…
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