Learning Along The Way

Enjoy Renewal Member Perks!

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:14:00 +0000

I just received an email from the Entertainment Book asking me if I want to sign up for their automatic renewal program. By doing so I would receive exclusive Renewal Members’ perks like:

$5 off your Renewal books every year
Free shipping on your Renewal books every year
Early delivery---15 full months to use each book
10% off additional books you buy as gifts or for yourself
Renewal Members-only exclusive offers and discounts
50% off additional Member Fine Dine Cards
New! FREE Companion mobile app -- view your book on your phone

Hmmm, what if one of the associations I belong to was to send me a similar email, would I sign up for their automatic renewal program? What about you, would you sign up? I wonder what type of perks would entice the typical association member to choose to automatically renew their membership from year to year. How about:

$5 off the next years dues
Free shipping on your next order from the association’s bookstore
5% off the next Annual Conference registration fee
Admittance to a free webinar held exclusively for Renewal Members only

Does anyone have other ideas to add to this list? Do you know of an association that has tried this?

Not a Blogging Expert?

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:43:00 +0000

I cannot believe that, once again, I have let so much time pass since my last Blog post. I was creating a list of blogging tips for a client when it occurred to me this would make a great blog post. This makes me wonder how many other blogging opportunities I have missed in the past. This should also tell you, the reader, that I am no expert on the subject of blogging! I have however been thinking about some of the blogging opportunities I have missed and have created this list of tips and blogging ideas that I hope will be an encouragement to those who may be new to blogging. Please share some of your personal blogging tips by leaving a comment.

Blogging Tips

Become familiar with blogging by reading and following other blogs. Go to http://blogsearch.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wb and search for blogs on a particular subject to get started.
Draw attention to your blog by using catchy titles for each of your blog articles.
Draft a blog article to keep up with a running list of ideas that you do not have time to blog about just yet.
Challenge yourself to post something on a regular basis but not too frequently that you become "that person" who always posts a million things.
Be yourself, a blog is the ultimate expression of an individual. By the way, make sure you have a full profile of who you are somewhere on your blog site.
Ask yourself how your readers will benefit from reading your post.
Connect with your readers by asking for their comments.
Ask your readers to share a link to your blog with others.
Categorize your blog articles by assigning labels to them.
Look over your blog thoroughly before publishing.
Promote your blog by cross-posting your blog articles on other social media sites (ex. as soon as I post this article on my blog I will immediately send a message on Twitter: “Blog Update: Not a Blogging Expert?” with a link to my blog.) Post on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Web site, etc.
Promote your blog by including a link in your email signature.
Add pictures, videos, podcasts, etc. to your blog to make it more stimulating.
Include your Twitter feed on your blog site.
Visit other blogs and leave comments. Networking in this fashion will likely draw more visitors to your site as well.

Ideas for Blog Articles

Create a “How to...” article.
Post a “Top 10” list.
Summarize interesting articles you have read, videos you have seen, etc.
Send out a question on Twitter and recap the answers in an article on your blog.
Monitor tweets that go out from people you follow on Twitter and then pick several tweets that are worthy of re-tweeting and write a blog post about these posts and why you think they are worthy of re-tweeting. (ex. http://spdracrrr.blogspot.com/2009/12/need-retweet.html)
Write a post summarizing what you have recently read on a certain topic.
Do you know other people that blog? Write a post highlighting some of their blog articles and don’t forget to ask your readers if any of them have blogs. One more reminder, don’t forget to give credit to the bloggers your highlight.

Want more ideas? Check these articles out!

I created a draft of this article nearly a year ago and have kept a running list of some helpful articles I have read on the subject.

7 Questions to Ask On Your Blog to Get More Reader Engagementhttp://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/12/02/7-questions-to-ask-on-your-blog-to-get-more-reader-engagement/
13 Ideas to Inspire Your Blog Contenthttp://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/13-ideas-to-inspire-your-blog-content/
20 Fantastic Content Ideas For Your Online Communityhttp://engage365.org/2010/07/20-fantastic-content-ideas-for-your-online-community/
36 Blogging Articles You Loved The Most in 2009http://www.howtomakemyblog.com/status/36-blogging-articles-you-loved-the-most-in-2009/
50 Content Ideas to Create Blog Posts - Part Ihttp://www.bizactions.com/n.cfm/page/e105/key/133161766G1603J1576254P0P10137501T0/
100+ SMB Blogging Ideas to Kick Start 2010http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/01/100-smb-blogging-ideas.html
Blog Like A Pro With 100 Tipshttp://www.dragosroua.com/100-ways-to-improve-your-blog/

Please don't forget to share your tips in the comments section below. Thank you!

Will Your Association be Impacted by Any New Trends in 2010?

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:10:00 +0000

The 100 Things to Watch in 2010 (and the 40 That Might Matter to Your Business) list has been posted on the OPEN Forum (part of American Express Open).

Several of the items on the list could directly or even indirectly impact non-profit associations:

#2 Airline Subscriptions – United has already started an annual subscription for checked luggage. It shall be interesting to see how many other airlines create similar type subscription plans in the future.

#5 Bacon Everywhere – association meeting planners, keep this in mind as you are planning those receptions!

#7 Buycotting – oh how many industries this could potentially affect.

#11 Electronic Library – I’m still waiting for the CAE study materials to be available. I would gladly start a boycott if someone could make this happen.

#12 Foursquare – I’ve not explored the Foursquare community yet so I’m not sure if this is possible. Does anyone know if it can be used to invite others to an association event? Could an association use Foursquare to help promote a meet-up at a certain venue?

#13 Greening the Palate – again meeting planners, this is something to keep your eye on.

#14 Hand-Me-Ups – as this begins happening more of our older members will become more technologically enabled.

#15 Handwriting – does this mean that handwritten thank-you cards will once again be in vogue?

#18 Lifestreaming – for those associations that haven’t gotten onboard with blogs or Twitter yet, you are soon going to be further behind the times.

#19 Local, Nonprofit Online Newspapers – if legislation is passed allowing newspapers to gain nonprofit status will some associations have more competition?

#21 Mobile Money – it is hard to imagine that we will soon be able to send money via our cell phones but it looks like this could become a reality. So, how does an association get prepared to receive this type of payment?

#22 Mobile Ticketing – like Mobile Money, how does an association prepare for this new technology?

#23 More Virtual Currencies – again with the technology changes…

#25 Organic Fast Food – those who are health conscious will be able to eat a little healthier while traveling. I wonder how soon before these restaurants start appearing in airports?

#26 Paying for Online Content – this could definitely benefit associations as there would be less competition with companies that are giving valuable information for free.

#34 Slow Communications – while this may definitely have some benefits I’m not sure how well it will go over.

#36 Trip Bundling – will marketing for the annual meeting take on a different look as trip bundling becomes more popular?

#38 TV/Web Integration – I’m not really sure if this will have an impact on associations but what if you run across some interesting tweets of what your association president is watching on TV???
“…the remote control IBM is developing that automatically blogs or Tweets what the user is watching.”

Please visit the OPEN Forum for the full list and to read more about the trends I mentioned above.

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/marketing/article/100-things-to-watch-in-2010-and-the-40-that-might-matter-to-your-business-ann-handley

Finally, what are your thoughts on these trends? How many do you think will start to have an impact on associations in 2010?

Need a Retweet?

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:39:00 +0000

My Top Ten Retweets

5 Ways To Spread Content, Whatever It Is - http://shar.es/10ExL
Why CFOs Should Venture Beyond Linked In http://bit.ly/1gpvi5
Make PDFs social-media ready http://sbne.ws/r/2MQQ
Cool article on using hashtags for businesses http://tinyurl.com/ngt7d3s
A Shift in Our Focus - Members’ Customers http://bit.ly/2VPoua via @AddToAny
RT @brianjohnriggs Social Media Flower for Volunteer Leaders. Nice analogy for SM and associations http://bit.ly/1yd8z6 #AMgtCo
The Three Most Popular Social Networks for Business (and Why You Should Use Them) : MarketingProfs: http://bit.ly/3fZxvc via @addthis
RT @tweetmeme Andy’s Answers: How to help your speakers talk about your event http://bit.ly/4O6GE3 #asae #AMgtCo
RT @kikilitalien: Does ur assn use: publicly available social net. tool, private social net. solution, both? http://twtpoll.com/upfb2g #asae
RT @chrisbrogan How Events Can Use Social Media http://bit.ly/5ppy7b

Retention and Procrastination

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:14:00 +0000

First of all, I would like to congratulate and send best wishes to all those who have studied hard and recently sat for the CAE exam. You, and all the CAEs before you, are an encouragement to me as I study and prepare to sit for the exam in December 2010.

And speaking of studying, I picked up this great study tip from @sgiarde:

"Take the domain test then read the domain and then retake the test. Only then do check your answers."

I have been feeling a little discouraged with my dedication to reading so I thought I would look around for some other study tips. I found quite a few helpful resources that I have listed here in case I need them for future inspiration (and just maybe, they might help some other candidates that are studying for the CAE exam).

According to Carin Mason, CAE the following are good study tips:

So, off to Ben's Blog I go...
I found that Ben has moved his blog and some of the links in his older posts are no longer accurate. You can however find some of his 13 different tips here:
Tips 1 - 5
Tips 6 - 9 I couldn't find these :(
Tips 10 - 13

Over on the YAP site I found a posting from Maddie Grant that mentions a couple of sites to help you remember what you read: http://yapstar.org/discussion/topic/show/109975?ssot=1. These were helpful since I've found it difficult to retain some of the content I have been reading.

The other problem I have is procrastination. How do you think the writing of this posting came about. Yes, you guessed it, I'm procrastinating from reading.

I guess I should probably go study now...

By the way, if you have any study tips I would love to hear about them.

Transitioning a Client When an Executive Leaves

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:14:00 +0000

I was excited to receive my copy of ASAE's AMC Connection December 2009 e-newsletter. You see, this newsletter contains my first ever published article, "Transitioning a Client When an Executive Leaves".

I've reprinted the article below for those of you who can not access the e-newsletter. However, I would encourage you to join ASAE if you haven't already. They have many great resources, like this newsletter, to offer association professionals.

What about you, do you remember your first published article? I also would love to know what you think of the article. Do you have experience or examples to share?

An AMC Story: Transitioning a Client When an Executive Leaves
AMC Connection, December 2009
By: Linda Owens
You arrive in the office one morning to find a letter of resignation from an employee. He's given two weeks' notice; not nearly enough time for a smooth transition. Learn the best steps to take when dealing with a situation like this one.

You arrive in the office one morning to find a letter of resignation from Chris, an employee who has served as an executive director for the past six years. He's given two weeks' notice; not nearly enough time for a smooth transition.
Your first reaction may be:

"Oh no, what will we do now?" Chris has served as the executive director to one of your larger clients. You feel Chris' departure is a significant loss.

"It's for the better. I have had this nagging feeling about Chris' performance over the past six months which has required several serious coaching sessions."

Either way, you are concerned about the immediate transition steps that need to take place. You worry about who will manage the day-to-day priorities of the association in the interim, and may feel as though a search for a new executive director needs to happen immediately.

Not so fast. When an executive director leaves the organization, it provides an opportunity to take a step back and assess several areas: your current organizational structure, your client base, your long-term goals, and the capabilities of your staff. So, don't panic. Often, what seems like your worst nightmare at the moment can result in an opportunity to reassess your company's priorities and make changes that will result in increased efficiencies and enhanced effectiveness.

When an executive director leaves, whether it is because they resigned or were dismissed, it's time to consider your options by taking the following steps:

Begin an assessment of your organization. Do you have the correct structure in place? Maybe your AMC has grown and it is time to move to a more departmentalized structure. How is your client base performing? Maybe this is a good time to let go of the client that has been struggling to pay the freight for the past few years. What about the staff? Maybe the executive director's departure will afford you the opportunity to promote a star employee who has really proven him/herself.

Write a plan. Draft a clear and precise plan that details the responsibilities of the outgoing executive director, as well as who will handle all other aspects of the transition during the interim period between the executive director's departure and naming a new key contact person.

Get on the same page. Schedule the outgoing executive director to spend time with management reviewing the client's production schedule to determine the status of all projects. If a new executive director has been selected, that person also should be involved in this meeting.

Communicate. Inform the staff of the changes, what you know for certain and the decisions that are still pending. Any change to a client's team has an effect on the entire office. Communication is vitally important in keeping a staff functional and positive in spirit. People are social creatures and tend to discuss what is going on around them. It is important for staff to have factual information otherwise there will be a lot of speculation, and much of that speculation will be incorrect.

Notification should take place as soon as possible, even if they have to be told that final transition plans have not been made; the discussion should be open and frank. Consider involving staff in the transition and search process. It also is helpful to meet individually with those employees that are directly impacted by the change to give them an opportunity to share how they are feeling about the changes. This will help alleviate some of the stress that naturally occurs when there are significant changes in an employee's role within the organization.

Determine board input. During the transition, decide how much input the board of directors should have and, possibly, in the candidate selection process as well. There are some clients that interact on a daily basis with the staff and who place a high regard on the executive director, so it would be important to notify the board of directors immediately. There are other clients with whom it would be very important that you have a transition plan firmly in place to reassure them that the AMC has a clear transition plan in place. In either case, the executive director's scheduled departure should be communicated as soon as possible. This communication with the client leadership should include regular and frequent updates on the transition process; all such communications should be done face-to-face, whenever possible, and should be done by a senior executive of the AMC.

Resist the urge to rush the interview or selection process. Conduct a behavioral-based interview, asking questions that will help you determine if your candidate is a good overall fit. Don't forget the importance of background checks and be sure to call those professional references. Do not settle for a less than perfect fit for the client or you will surely regret it later.

Once the new executive director is selected, she should immediately be introduced to the board of directors and an announcement should be sent to all of the client's members. With your new executive director in place, it is time to start grooming her for success. Extra involvement from the AMC management team may be needed during the learning curve, particularly in the case where an executive director is replacing someone who was dismissed or who has had continuous performance problems. Perform a 30-60-90 day review to assure that the new candidate is indeed a good fit and continue to check-in often with the new executive director and the association's leadership.

Now, pat yourself on the back for successfully putting out another fire.

Linda Owens is general manager at IMI Association Executives in Morrisville, North Carolina. Email: linda@imiae.com

Associations as Agents of Change

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:30:00 +0000

As mentioned in my last post, I am currently reading Professional Practices in Association Management. Today's reading included the chapter, Sustainability - Associations as Agents of Change in the Collaborative Economy, written by Richard C. O'Sullivan.

This chapter got me to thinking about the definition of a change agent. After some thought, I would say being an agent of change is about being a catalyst at the right moment or opportunity.

A change agent lives in the future, not the present. Regardless of what is going on today, a change agent has a vision of what could or should be and uses that as the governing sense of action. To a certain extent, a change agent is dissatisfied with what they see around them, in favor of a much better vision of the future.

While I agree that associations should be agents of change, I also feel that executive directors have opportunities to be agents of change. The founder of The Forbes Group, Paul Forbes, once observed, "The reason most strategic planning fails is that people are reluctant to discuss their own death." Richard C. O'Sullivan reminds us "...that those who have risen to the top of their professions or industries and populate associations boards usually have the most to lose from profound change!" What would happen if the associations we manage had "Creating the Future" as their mottos? Executive directors in-part inhabit that future and our job is to guide them into a successful future rather than a future of death, right?

A successful change agent recognizes the opportunity for change, identifies the best approach, and becomes the catalyst that facilitates that change, whether by design, planning, or inspiration. Executive directors cannot do it alone, but we can be a strong influencial force that drives the necessary momentum to get the ball rolling.

For more information on the topic of Sustainability and Associations as Agents of Change you may also want to check out this post written by Deirdre Reid. A Shift in Our Focus - Members’ Customers

Preparing a Budget? Have You Considered All Possible Outcomes?

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:51:00 +0000

I've once again set out on the CAE journey and I'm currently reading the recommended materials for domain #1-Strategic Management.

In the third chapter of the Professional Practices in Association Management, 2nd Edition, John B. Cox, CAE book it talks about future analysis. Granted I read this chapter late at night but still, not having any practical experience with future analysis, I felt I needed to dig a little deeper. I pulled up Wikipedia and found that a page for "future analysis" hasn't been created yet. Wikipedia did however refer me to a page on "scenario analysis"

Scenario analysis is a process of analyzing possible future events by considering alternative possible outcomes (scenarios).

I continued searching for more information, hoping to find some practical examples of how associations have used scenario analysis, instead I happened upon these little nuggets on the Microsoft Office Online site:

Conducting scenario analysis
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA011996481033.aspx

"Predicting the future is never easy, and that's particularly the case when developing a budget. Business conditions often change unexpectedly during the fiscal year — competitors introduce new products, suppliers go out of business, or new regulations change corporate strategy. As a result, budgets can become outdated or even an impediment to financial decision-making.

Sidestep this problem by ensuring that your budget contains the key variables, or key drivers, that affect financial performance. Using scenario analysis, you can evaluate how changes to these key drivers could affect your business. Decision-makers will then be able to identify those key drivers that generate revenue, as well as those that put the organization at financial risk."

Use scenario analysis to test budget assumptions
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA011996501033.aspx

"...business and finance leaders should incorporate two practices into the budgeting process:

Identify budget drivers Managers can take advantage of the budget process to identify the drivers that affect financial performance.

Perform scenario analysis After key drivers have been identified, managers can perform scenario analyses to evaluate a range of situations in which changing drivers will affect revenue and therefore have a direct impact on the budget.

These two practices can help organizations create budgets that are more robust to accommodate a range of business conditions that have an impact on financial performance."

45 Lessons Life Taught Me

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:27:00 +0000

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written." My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. The second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end - is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

My first Twitter poll – very easy!

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:32:00 +0000

One of my newfound toys is twtpoll. So far I've used twtpoll for a frivalous reason. Ex. @crashclint and I disagree on this one...do most people prefer quality buffets or regular restaurants? http://twtpoll.com/r/679vre BTW, I won the bet..I won't give away the answer here...you can still vote and see the results.

I also just tried using twtpoll to survey the AMC community. Ex. AMCs, do you use different email addresses w/ difference domain names (@clientA, @clientB) for each of your clients? http://twtpoll.com/r/utxct9

Of course, now my mind is churning on other uses for twtpoll.

BTW, there are other polling applications out there but twtpoll is simple and links with my twitter account.

One down side to using twtpoll is you have no way of knowing who voted and therefore you can not get in touch with them afterward.

Social Media: A Fad?

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:40:00 +0000

We have several clients that are dipping their feet in the social media waters. We have one client that thinks, "the addictive behavior of social networking is worth a good conversation". And I've had someone recently ask, "How long will this fad last?".

I'm off to gather some information so I can discuss this addictive fad called social media... I've decided to to use Twitter, one of the more popular social media tools, to begin gathering my information.

Tweet #1
Useful In-Depth Data on How #Twitter is Being Used - RT @Michaelgass http://snipr.com/qn29g #adagency

By clicking on Michael Gass's Twitter profile I learned that he is a New Business Consultant to Advertising and PR Agencies utilizing social media. I'm not sure if that qualifies him as an expert or not but out of curiousity I venture off to the web link he has provided. Note that this link takes you to his blog and one of the first things that catches my eye is:

"I’ve shared before that Twitter is the leading traffic generator to my blog. I currently receive more visitors to Fuel Lines through Twitter than through SEO or my email newsletter."

Michael's blog post goes on to share some highlights from an analysis prepared by Sysomo Inc, a social media analytics company. Their report provides insight on how people are using Twitter. Michael also has a list of links that deal with Twitter and how it is being used for Ad Agencies. I'm more in search of how associations are using Twitter so I'm going to move on. You may still want to visit Michael's blog though because the summary he prepared is concise, easy to read and interesting.

Tweet #2
GWilliamsonYYC: Is social media just a fad? click here to find out http://bit.ly/nL1P8

This tweet led me to this video which has some convincing stats stating that social media is more than just a fad.

I continued my research and found the following:

The “social” in social media is what sets social media apart from other kinds of media.

I love this quote that I found on "The 12 Elements of the Social Media Mindset" blog posted by Rajesh Setty.
http://www.lifebeyondcode.com/2009/08/25/the-12-elements-of-the-social-media-mindset/

The Power and Peril of Online Communities

View more presentations from Rachel Happe.

A comprehensive listing of associations that are already using social media.
The Association Social Media Wiki has several good case studies of how other associations are using social media.

I have discovered that there is so much material on the Internet regarding social media that I could spend an eternity reading each and every article. My observation is that the majority of the blog posts and articles all say the same thing: social media is much more than a fad!

Helpful AMC sessions at ASAE

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:16:00 +0000

A question was posted on the AMC Institute group on Linkedin asking for feedback on sessions at ASAE that AMC owners would find particularly useful. My response is as follows:

For clarification, I am not the owner but rather the general manager for an association management company. I attended both the AMC pre-conf & ASAE and found portions of each to be extremely helpful.

The session, "Good to Great Principles in Action: Lessons Learned 8 Years into the Journey" was one session that I found useful for an AMC as well as for an association. Rick Olson, president/CEO of KRM Information Services, Inc. discussed the lessons his company learned while applying the principles from Jim Collin's book "Good to Great". Rick candidly shared what worked as well as what DIDN'T work for his company.

I also attended the "Associations Next: Serious Questions for 2010 and Beyond" session and felt that the content of this session could easily be adapted to an AMC as well. Jeff De Cagna had us look at the following six questions:

1) What does it mean to associate?
2) What does it mean to be a member?
3) What does it mean to be a volunteer?
4) What does it mean to govern?
5) What is the meaning of strategy?
6) What is the meaning of innovation?

I walked away from the session with the following reminders that I feel are good reminders for an AMC or an association:

~ It is time to stop being afraid. We can be the change we wish to be.

~ Question everything. Create a culture where it is ok to ask questions and stay with the question as long as possible. Resist the urge to move onto the next thing.

~ Re-orient toward the future. Where are we headed? Start picturing the future now.

I also picked up a few AMC marketing tips from the "Membership Marketing on a Shoestring Budget" session. Elizabeth Engel reminded us that WOM (word of mouth) is free. With all of the various social media tools available today it is easy to encourage those that are happy with our services to spread the word. We should identify those who are already excited about our organizations & ask them to tell others (ex. have them write a testimonial & include it on our company Web site or blog & then send out a tweet of your updated blog). Another very simple tip is to add the "share this" buttons to our Web sites. How many AMC's have these on their sites?

AMCI and ASAE was great this year and I'm already looking forward to next year's conference.

Linda

Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:14:00 +0000

Since returning from the AMC Institute and ASAE09 conference I've noticed that quite a few people have been blogging about post-convention roundup and sharing their lists of "ah-ha" moments. I am still in blog-learning mode so I've decided to follow along with some of the more experienced bloggers and share a few of my take-aways as well.

I took an entire notebook of ideas that I want to investigate further. What I would like to specifically share in this post is the inspiration that I received while at the AMCI pre-conference and the ASAE conference. The first couple of days I spent in AMCI sessions and was really inspired to come back to the office and finish the accreditation program that our company has been working on since...well let's just say that it has been a work in progress for some time. If I post this goal here, for all to see, then it will finally get done, right? : )

And along the same lines of accreditation; I was inspired, once again, to begin studying for the CAE exam. I first attended an ASAE conference in 2009 (San Diego) and learned a lot about the CAE credential and also had the pleasure of seeing Tracy Seabrook, one of my co-workers walk across the stage to receive her designation! So, while I was first inspired during that conference I guess you can say that I was re-inspired this year. Assuming I can earn enough credit hours, I would like to sit for the December 2010 exam. This blog will describe my journey of preparing for the exam.

Finally, I was inspired to pull up this blog which I had started a long time ago. At this year's conference I met quite a few people who are very big into social media and each of them were very encouraging. First I introduced myself to Maddie Grant who obviously knows a lot about social media and if you don't believe me just visit her blog SocialFishing. And I was excited to finally meet Deirdre Reid in person since she and I had already connected on Facebook or maybe it was Twitter (can't remember which came first). She and I had been trying to meet face-to-face while at the conference but we always seemed to be in two different places, then I met Sandra Giarde a friend of Deirdre's while sitting in one of the sessions. Sandra was tweeting about the same session that I was sitting in so we sent messages to each other describing ourselves and where we were sitting. After the session I said something about still wanting to meet Deirdre and come to find out she was also sitting in the same session! Last but not least, I can't forget the MemberClicks folks, our own personal stalkers. Of course, if you ask them they will say that me and my husband stalked them, either way we had fun hanging out with these guys and wondering where they were going to show up next.

I got busy and wasn't able to make it to the tweet-up but I understand there were about 40-50 people that showed up. I believe it was Jeff De Cagna that said, "the tweet-up blows the myth that people who are online are somehow recluses, hermits or anti-social people sitting at their computers not being social....but when we come to events like this we all want to get together face-to-face..." I so enjoyed getting to meet people that I have been talking to online and I look forward to connecting with more online friends!

First Stop

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:24:00 +0000

One of the first stops on my journey was Cindy Butts’ AE on the Verge blog. She writes about Association management, meetings and mania. Seeing that I work for IMI Association Executives, an association management company her blog caught my attention. Her most recent post also caught my attention and I hope she doesn’t mind if I copy part of it here. If you like this post then you will definitely want to visit her blog.

Here's a decades old "what it takes" job description of an association chief executive officer position ... slightly modernized by an AE who found it posted on the wall of his new position. No idea who the orginal author is or was. This is actually only a portion of the document ...

The Association Executive

"The AE must be a person of wisdom, vision, innovation and ambition, an after dinner speaker and a night owl, but able to travel all day and make reports out at night and never fail to appear fresh and happy the next day.

The AE must be a 'man’s man' (even if the AE is a woman), a model person, a Plutocrat, a Democrat, a Republican, a New-Dealer, an Old-Dealer, and a Fast Dealer, an information technology specialist, a politician, a mathematician, an economist, an airplane and auto mechanic and an authority of construction ware, codes, laws and marketing techniques along with being an Internet guru.

The AE must be competent as a steno and typist, able to write 150 words a minute or type 300 words per minute while making sure the audio/visual equipment is working, leading all discussions and keeping interest and order without rolling their eyes or in some other way disclosing how they really feel about the discussion.

The AE must be able to give their staff the attention they want and the best advice on work, children’s diseases, home financing and in-law problems and be prepared to make allowances for emergencies but never look too serious or hurt when asking them why they were late, went over budget, or why their basic assignment for which they were hired wasn’t done correctly the first time or even the last time. And all of this must be done in accordance with all applicable employment laws, good taste, discretion, and an understanding they won’t appreciate any of it during a performance review.

The AE must attend all meetings, conventions, funerals, baptisms, weddings, visit hospitals and jails, contact and soothe the feelings of all members, prospective members and former members in the AE’s territory and take time out for good-will work on their own personal time with the local and national chapters along with peer chapters around the nation and region.

The AE must keep the building clean, know the Governor, and own a vehicle that is neither larger than any member’s nor smaller. Must be able to compute mileage, drift, ground speed, gas consumption per block per minute, wear and tear on tires and depreciation on the paint job. The AE’s vehicle must be new enough to create respect in all who see it but old enough to avoid charges of “putting on the dog” or having a member ask why the AE is paid too much.

The AE must know about labor law, intellectual property law, tax law and criminal law, but never venture an opinion if a lawyer is around. The AE must know the law of supply and demand and how to make an expense account and voucher stick the first time it is submitted especially if it is from a member of association leadership and counter to association policy.

The AE must have unlimited endurance and be adept at frequent over-indulgence in alcoholic beverages, unhealthy banquet food, wind, and gab. The AE must be an expert talker, liar, dancer, traveler, Bridge, golf, and poker player, authority on palmistry, upcoming elections, physiology, psychology, hydraulics, hunting, pop culture, sports scores and standing, and world politics.

The AE must be plain enough to be trusted by the spouses of members but still attractive enough to be interesting to those same spouses ... in spite of all this ... be the picture of the person on the go!"

About Me

noreply@blogger.com (Spdracrrr) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:30:00 +0000

About Me

I'm Linda Owens, general manager for IMI Association Executives. I have worked for IMI since 1993, and like most, I fell into the industry. My background is in accounting but my thirst for knowledge quickly had me working in other areas of the company as well.

I am currently studying for the CAE exam. I only recently became involved with ASAE so I will not have enough credits to sit for the exam until probably December 2010 but I've decided to start studying early. If anyone needs an online, encouraging, study buddy please feel free to contact me!!!
Linda Dalton Owens

About IMI Association Executives

IMI Association Executives Inc. is an association management company (AMC) located in Morrisville, North Carolina, just minutes from Research Triangle Park. IMI is the management choice for 17 non-profit trade and professional associations that are local, state, regional, national and international in scope.