Did You Haul Analog Baggage Into the Digital Marketplace?

Did your organization leap or crawl into the virtual realm? The pandemic’s challenging circumstances demanded a quick transition that left many associations carrying unnecessary baggage to the other side. Trying to manage an analog culture in the digital marketplace requires heavy lifting. The new year brings an opportunity to lighten that load. You may have…

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Are You Listening?

It’s one thing when you choose to do your job at the kitchen table; It’s another to be stuck there without an alternative. By choice, the kitchen seems cozy.  When it’s the only space available—not so much. I make that distinction because remote work shouldn’t take all the fall for the perfectly understandable cultural stress…

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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…

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The 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…

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Happy 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…

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Deliver 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…

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Small 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…

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Keep 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…

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