Culture, Community, and Technology—A Successful 2022 Convergence
Our Year in Review
The .orgSource and .orgCommunity teams send our best wishes to our clients and friends for a happy and productive 2023.
But, before we welcome a new year, let’s toast 2022! We got our tribe back from the flatland and into three dimensions. Visiting with clients and colleagues in person was a highlight of the year.
The motivation to build stronger relationships, both remote and in-person, resonated across the association community. With the introduction of culture to a digital environment, we saw interpersonal dynamics in a new light.
.orgCommunity, our professional development and networking organization, was thrilled to host two in-person events that brought people together to explore those themes and discuss significant issues that emerged from our post-pandemic experience.
Sparking Innovation
Speakers at the Innovation Summit on June 9 offered inspiration to any leader whose imagination needed a recharge after a long winter.
Once associations had an automatic corner on their markets. Digital venues and options put an end to that peaceful era. Sometimes a wake-up call isn’t a bad thing. Complacency doesn’t grow organizations or help members meet professional challenges.
Sharon Rice, .orgSource Managing Director of Business Strategy, is one of those insightful people who discovers hidden opportunities and helps leaders outline a path and a process to seize the moment. She explained how to use Blue Ocean Strategy to give your organization the edge in crowded digital markets.
With platforms and products multiplying across the internet, education is one area where that fierce competition is on full display.
Jennifer Michael, Chief Operating Officer at the American Board of Medical Specialties described how to create learning experiences that are variegated, tailored to the audience, and transformational. She explained how ABOMS found a user-friendly solution to supporting members on their journey to professional certification.
The Great Resignation made recruiting the best talent another competitive arena. Jamie Notter, Co-Founder at Propel, showed us how to integrate culture, strategy, and execution to help teams deliver peak performance and improve employee retention. “If you want your best people to stay, then you must show them that you are actively dealing with the silo issues, the lack of agility, the slow pace of innovation, or anything else that messes with their success,” Jamie advises.
Non-dues revenue is a hot topic in any business climate. Teri Carden, Founder and CEO of 100 Reviews, facilitated a panel discussion on how to turn your next great idea into gold. While Kevin and I offered advice on one of our favorite topics, Association 4.0 Leadership.
Even when the speakers hit it out of the park, it’s always about the people. I’ll admit that lunch and the networking reception were high points of my day. I’m never tired of hearing what my friends are up to and celebrating their latest accomplishments.
If you’re looking for a unique peer-to-peer opportunity in 2023, mark your calendar for .orgCommunity’s Leadership ColLAB on March 2 at the OLC Education and Conference Center in Rosemont, IL. Sharon will facilitate a 360-degree discussion about trust. We’ll explore what trust means and how to keep it growing in your team, your board, and throughout your professional environment, even in challenging circumstances.
Sharon is excited to introduce the highly collaborative World Café style of dialogue. This format uses informal conversations to explore key questions and weave thoughts and ideas into a collective tapestry of knowledge. The goal is to arrive at actionable strategies for building trusting relationships.
Discover Solutions
.orgCommunity revolves around putting innovation in a practical package that you can take back to the office. Solutions Day exemplifies that idea. The September 29 conference was a meeting of minds and a journey to discovery. We invited industry providers and association thought leaders to describe their partnerships.
They shared stories about strengthening member relations, growing resources, and using tech tools to eliminate the zombie effect, or those repetitive tasks that drain creativity and enthusiasm.
Our headliners, Tiffany Kerns and Al Dea, provided unique perspectives on the intersection of culture and technology.
Tiffany is Executive Director of the Country music Foundation and Vice President of Industry Relations and Philanthropy for CMA. She explained how the organization used data to realign its vision and create authentic human connections and a highly personal experience for every member.
As the Founder of Better Works Labs, Al helps organizations create cultures that thrive through transition. “You can’t use an old map to explore a new world,” is wisdom from Albert Einstein that Al uses to explain his perspective on navigating change. “To succeed in digital markets,” he advises, “leaders must learn to think differently. You need to constantly update your personal GPS to the current coordinates.”
From “How to Become the Most Interesting Person in the Room” to “Connecting Membership Dollars to Outcomes,” an afternoon of 12 additional flash presentations left us with a goodie bag brimming with ideas to apply to our work.
Solutions Day returns to the OLC Education and Conference Center on November 2, 2023.
Watching, Listening, Learning
Learning is the special ingredient that makes a career meaningful and gives purpose to our daily activities. I wish that everyone was able to recharge with a mini-sabbatical from the office for professional development. But we are fortunate that podcasts and webinars make an exciting educational experience as easy as reaching into your pocket.
.orgCommunity produced 38 educational videos, 21 podcasts, and 6 live webinars this year. This content is available to members on our Knowledge Center along with a continuously updating roster of information and publications from our industry partners including advice on technology, marketing, and data analytics in multiple media formats.
In case you still enjoy soaking up knowledge the old fashion way, we also added over 45 new posts to our blog library.
Growing Together
Even the most interesting speaker can’t substitute for the knowledge that we gain through collaboration with colleagues and friends. I can’t put a price on my peer-to-peer relationships. These special opportunities for exchanging stories and lessons learned make me a more competent and confident professional.
In 2022, .orgCommunity hosted 16 Leadership Circle Conversations, giving VIP members the unique experience of sharing achievements and challenges with others who are on the same professional journey.
Creating Community
In total, .orgCommunity provided 37 hours of credit toward the gold standard in our industry or becoming a certified association executive. Association professionals already enjoy a close kinship. I hope that these opportunities for learning and partnership help “our village” to thrive, grow, and promote excellence throughout the professions we represent and the career we have chosen.
The teams at .orgSource and .orgCommunity wish you and your at-home and work families a Happy New Year and a 2023 filled with rewarding experiences.
