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Industry 4.0 is a Rocket—Don’t Let a Strategic Plan Designed for a Bicycle Leave You in the Dust
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Arthur C. Clark Industry 4.0 is killing science fiction. With each new technological miracle, the window of time and imagination between fantasy inventions and real products and services grows smaller. Here are some examples: This fusion of the physical and digital worlds characterizes the new industrial revolution,…
Read MoreStyle Grabs Attention/Substance Wins Hearts—A Website Content Strategy Makes It Happen
Animation, riveting images and a contemporary color palate get you noticed. But a content strategy is the secret to giving your audience a more meaningful relationship with your website, your brand and your organization. A website redesign is a significant investment in resources. The temptation to take shortcuts is understandable. But even Ferrari-sleek graphics, won’t…
Read MoreMarketers, Promote Yourselves! Get the Buy-In You Need for a Successful Content Strategy
We’ve all experienced the meeting from hell. The chair lost control. People were frantic to have their say, and nobody got heard. The same kind of communications nightmare happens when you don’t impose order on your content. A thoughtful content strategy ensures that the message you deliver will be one that makes people listen. It’s…
Read MoreHiring a Consultant Can Be a Make or Break Relationship—Here’s How to Court Success
When you sign a consulting contract on the dotted line, the stakes are high. You’ve called in the experts to guide a project that will have a significant impact on your association’s future. It’s almost always a highly visible, big-ticket item. People across the organization are invested in a positive outcome. None more so than…
Read MoreLiftoff or Crash Landing? Prepare to Launch a Successful Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation Series, Part Two Reading your monthly membership report can be like getting a bad diagnosis—over and over again. The meeting registration is no bowl of cherries either. But there is a bright spot. The board has agreed that it’s time for action. That tired, old AMS that’s been limping through its paces is…
Read MoreThe Human Face of Digital Transformation
You installed a new LMS, CMS and AMS; redesigned the website; migrated to the cloud; and purchased the latest computers, printers and tablets for your staff. Was it a digital transformation? Sorry, you’re only about halfway there—maybe not even. You’ve got the technology covered. It’s the transformation process that’s trickier to understand. Googling digital transformation…
Read MoreEliminate Roadblocks to Planning—Integration Transforms Strategy into Action
Strategy Meltdown—The screen play INT. The corner office of the Association for Ad Hoc Planning – Afternoon The executive director and membership team are seated at a conference table. They are hunched over laptops. The executive director is frowning. The membership manager looks like a deer in the headlights. Executive Director These numbers are (pause)…
Read MoreFrom Beast to BFF – Getting the Media to Eat Out of Your Hand
Is snagging an article in the Wall Street Journal a superpower? Do you need a genetic mutation to catch a reporter’s eye? If the media keeps turning up its nose at your association’s newsworthy accomplishments, it might seem that way. Getting your organization in print (in a good way) doesn’t require magic. During her recent…
Read MoreBuild a Journey to Yes Using Marketing Automation
Technology creates paradoxes that are as upside down as Alice’s adventures in Wonderland. Aimee Pagano’s recent 30 on Thursday webinar, Survival Kit for Building Your Buyer’s Journey, brought this message home. Machines are giving us the ability to understand and communicate with members more personally than ever before. If you seek to deeply engage constituents…
Read MoreSolutions Day Speakers Chart Paths to Success in Uncertain Times
.orgCommunity’s year is book-ended by two signature events. The wrap party for Solutions Day is over. But before we roll up our sleeves for the Innovation Summit (February 28, 2019), we’re taking a moment to recap the exhilaration of a great learning experience. When I needed help with the Solutions Day launch video, I turned…
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