#association40
Challenging Conversations—Tackling Risk
If your association is lucky enough to have an investment portfolio, a discussion about risk has probably been on the board’s agenda. Financial managers make understanding the group’s risk tolerance a defining component of their strategy. These conversations are limited to bottom-line issues. But risk doesn’t always come with a dollar sign attached. Although money…
Read MoreFlat, Tall, or In Between—Is It Time to Evaluate Your Organizational Structure?
Even small associations tend to stack layers of management like the cake at a royal wedding. As many as five tiers of responsibility (junior positions, middle managers, executive staff, committees, and the board of directors) are not unusual.
Read MoreAssociation 4.0—A Playbook for Success
Every great team needs a playbook—a blueprint that outlines the rules you live by and your strategies for peak performance. At .orgSource we call that collection of wisdom our Association 4.0 framework. It is the product of ongoing research to prepare our clients for success in digital markets. Many of the characteristics we identified are…
Read MoreUse Technology to Put People First—How the Country Music Association’s Members Took Center Stage
Until AIs can think for themselves, digital systems are tools that do their best work with human ingenuity as the driver. And one of the puzzles technology excels at helping us solve is how to understand each other. The presentation Tiffany Kerns gave at .orgCommunity’s recent Solutions Day event, centered on that idea. Tiffany explained that although the Country…
Read MoreWhen the Talent Does the Shopping—Recruiting in a Crowded Market
Are you Gucci or Goodwill? Both brands have an audience. But when employees are shopping for a new look, it’s best to be the high-end option. Customer centricity doesn’t apply just to members anymore. Today, it’s equally important to give your employees that white glove treatment. And, if you’re looking for new talent, it’s time…
Read MoreClose the Gap Between Knowing and Doing—Be a MarTech Trend Spotter
Whether I’m writing about marketing, strategy, or technology, one idea always surfaces. Understanding members at a granular level has never been more important. We all know this, right? Yet, it seems that even big corporations are struggling to deliver the level of personalization that customers expect. Harvard Business Review Analytic Services recently released a report…
Read MoreAre Dues on the Chopping Block? Solutions Day has Answers.
This week’s food bill could have financed last year’s luxury vacation. The grocery store receipt is an emphatic reminder of the need to provide member value. Interest rates are rising, and fears of a recession are spiking concern across the economic horizon. Are membership dues on the chopping block? If you aren’t giving members professional…
Read MoreMake Change Your Most Significant Advantage
This idea from an article in the “Harvard Business Review” caught my attention. “As the shelf life of business strategies grows shorter, a corporation’s transformation capability becomes its only enduring advantage.” Authors N. Anand and Jean-Louis Barsoux go on to ask: “With serial transformations becoming the norm, a key strategic question for any corporate leader…
Read MoreDrones, Robots, and Farmers—Prepare Your Association To Meet Fast-Moving Technology Trends
To make a point about technology and its impact on the future of work, Hugh Lee, Co-Founder of Fusion Productions, told me this story: “Several years ago, we invited some young presenters who were developing cutting edge farming technology to digitalNow. They were using drones to fly over fields and analyze the irrigation and fertilizer…
Read MoreBuild a Mission Worthy Team
When the first crew of astronauts departs for Mars, Suzanne T. Bell’s work will play a large role in their success. Bell is an associate professor of industrial and organizational psychology at DePaul University. She studies team composition. During the Mars mission, astronauts will be confined in a space the size of a studio apartment…
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