Posts by Sherry Budziak
Make Data Your Competitive Advantage
Can you guess the answer to this question? Virginia (Ginni) Rometty, Executive Chairman of IBM, recommended making these critical marketing shifts within the next 18 months or risk being left in the dust: What year was it? Surprisingly, Rometty made these remarks in February 2013. She was speaking to CMOs and CIOs at a leadership…
Read MoreThe Digital Marketplace Is a Learning Machine—Keep Pace With 8 Simple Steps Toward Business Transformation
This text appeared on my phone the other day: Hi Kristina: I’ve been waiting for you. I’m Rose, Resident Mischief-Maker at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. As your virtual hook-up, just text me for housekeeping requests, restaurant reservations, room service orders, guest services, and more. Just reply “Rose” and, I’ll show you everything I can…
Read MoreHappy Endings Brighten a Challenging Season
Most of us won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving as usual. Gatherings will be a slimmer version of the traditional mega feast. There’s no need to hunt down the extra table leaf and chairs. The good news is maybe Uncle Harry, who you love to hate, won’t be there. The bad news is that you’ll probably miss…
Read MoreDeliver Leadership, Leverage, and Leads for Virtual Sponsors
Networking is one of my favorite conference activities. Meeting someone who expands my horizons or helping a colleague make a critical connection, is satisfying in a way that’s hard to beat. It’s not as easy to experience that glow in cyberspace. Nowhere is the gulf between an in-person and a virtual encounter more important to…
Read MoreMy Zoom Background Is My New BFF – Critical Conversations About Work in the Age of COVID-19
The pandemic ended breakroom chats, Friday happy hour, and pizza around the conference table. But there is a bright side. We are learning to be remote together. We can draw on each other’s ups, downs, and sometimes sideways experiences to grow stronger and smarter. .orgCommunity, .orgSource’s networking and educational partner, is hosting a series of…
Read MoreSometimes It takes a Dachshund to Make People Consider Change
Why did I use this cute pup to illustrate my post? You know what they say about babies and dogs, they get people to pay attention, and this message is important. Several weeks ago, I wrote about the results of a survey .orgSource conducted. That’s another reason for the dog. Survey results tend to make…
Read MoreSmall Associations—Cut Through the Clutter to Find the Right AMS
There’s low-fat, chipotle-spiked, lime-laced, dairy-free, and enriched with avocado. Mayonnaise isn’t alone in its overwhelming diversity. An explosion of products can make selection, especially something as significant as a new association management system, a black hole that drains organizational resources. For small associations (10 employees or less) that don’t have the bandwidth or the budget…
Read MoreKeep Scary Surprises Out of Your Virtual Event
Bugs and ghostly echoes are fun on Halloween. But don’t let unanticipated hauntings turn your virtual conference into a scare-fest instead of a success. On October 28, my business partner, Kevin Ordonez, and I will host a webinar to tell you how to stop the vampires and ghouls from invading your online event space. Our panel which…
Read MoreSurvey Reveals Disconnect Between Current Strategies and Market Realities
Is it déjà vu? Back in 2018, my business partner, Kevin Ordonez, and I wrote a book. It was the result of months of thinking about how associations would need to change in the digital age. When we named our work, Association 4.0: Positioning for Success in an Era of Disruption, little did we suspect,…
Read MoreAn Updated Education Menu Keeps Members Coming Back for More
The pandemic has elevated trends that were bit players to the big screen. This phenomenon was highlighted in the presentations at .orgCommunity’s recent Solutions Day. If you weren’t able to attend our signature event, no worries. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be writing about what I learned. Associations stake their relevance, as…
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