Breaking the Rules for Open Community

Web 2.0 means community now reaches beyond geographic location or membership status, pulling together anyone with a will to contribute or a desire to be involved. It also means many of the old rules about managing communities no longer apply. Here's how four associations have changed the way they work to engage their communities online.
By: Lindy Dreyer and Maddie Grant, CAE

Legal Risks of Social Media

Associations are reaping the benefits of active engagement with social media, but legal risks come with the territory. With your members and staff happily (or unhappily) blogging, tweeting, and posting status updates, is your association protected from liability? (Titled "The Risks of Going Social" in the print edition.)
By: Whitney Redding

16 Ways to Show Staff You Care

Simple steps to inspire, motivate, and encourage the people you work with.
By: Vinay Kumar and Joe Isaacs, FASAE, CAE

Build a Diversity and Inclusion Board Strategy

The National Association of Realtors made diversity initiatives a priority more than 10 years ago as demographics among its members and their clients began to shift. With the help of its local and state associations and commitment from its staff and leadership, NAR has started to build a more inclusive organization and board.
By: Samantha Whitehorne

Don't Forget to Debrief

Take a cue from the military and assess results of your activities against your objectives.
By: Apryl Motley, CAE

A Fine-Tuned Innovation Culture
Innovation is too often treated as a luxury or a topic for a one-day seminar. In truth it ought to be an essential part of everything an association does. Innovation expert (and jazz pianist) John Kao explains how to move away from your "sheet music" and start experimenting.
By: Mark Athitakis

The No-Excuses Guide to Greatness
A decade after his game-changing book Good to Great, Jim Collins has wrapped up one of the most influential leadership research projects in the world. The final book in his series, Great by Choice, examines why some organizations thrive in an environment of "uncertainty, chaos, and luck." Good news: Leaders have more control than they think.
By: Kristin Clarke

Stretch Yourself, and Other Advice for Weathering a Mid-Career Crisis
When one association executive found herself out of a job, she turned to her personal network for support and to some age-old advice from her parents to keep her focused while she reoriented her career. Here are some lessons she learned along the way. (Titled "Stretch Yourself" in the print edition.)
By: Apryl Motley, CAE

Know How to Say "No"
That little word packs a big punch and can be difficult to say, especially to your members, your volunteers, or your boss. But with good intentions and a smart strategy behind your "no," you can turn an uncomfortable situation into a productive conversation.
By: Samantha Whitehorne

Tap Into Your Members' Creativity
The American Medical Association challenged its members to come up with a winning app idea for its first-ever AMA App Challenge. (Titled "These Apps Are Just What the Doctor Ordered" in print edition.)
By: Summer Mandell

Associations Now Video

Using Appreciative Inquiry

Shelly Alcorn, CAE, principal for Alcorn Associates Management Consulting, shares how your association can utilize Appreciative Inquiry research to get powerful results. For more on using Appreciative Inquiry and how Alcorn used it to conduct her own research, read "What I Learned From Talking With 200 Association Executives" by Shelly Alcorn, CAE, in the November 2011 issue of Associations Now magazine.

CEO to CEO: Work-Life Balance

Steve Turckiewicz, CAE, president and CEO of the Montana Bankers Association, shares his tips on balancing work and your personal life. Read this month's CEO to CEO print edition here.

Features

• Cover Story:

  Help Your Association Change Course
  By: Don Harrison
  To put your association on a new track toward transformational change, you need leaders who will express, model, and reinforce new ways of doing business. Find out how to serve as a sponsor for change in your organization. (Titled "Change Course" in the print edition.)
• The No-Excuses Guide to Greatness
  By: Kristin Clarke
  A decade after his game-changing book Good to Great, Jim Collins has wrapped up one of the most influential leadership research projects in the world. The final book in his series, Great by Choice, examines why some organizations thrive in an environment of "uncertainty, chaos, and luck." Good news: Leaders have more control than they think.
• Enabled Employees Are Happier Employees
  By: Mark Royal and Tom Agnew
  Without the right resources and a supportive organizational structure, even your most motivated employees can become frustrated. Don't squander their energy and commitment. Draw engagement and enablement together and watch your staff take your association to new heights. (Titled "Help Your Employees Step Up" in the print edition.)
• A Fine-Tuned Innovation Culture
  By: Mark Athitakis
  Innovation is too often treated as a luxury or a topic for a one-day seminar. In truth it ought to be an essential part of everything an association does. Innovation expert (and jazz pianist) John Kao explains how to move away from your "sheet music" and start experimenting.
• Smart Planning for Sustainable Meetings
  By: Jeff Waddle
  Even a modest association conference can consume a vast amount of energy and natural resources. But that also means minor adjustments—from eliminating bottled water to using locally sourced food—can lead to major savings in both environmental impact and expense. If you get your destinations and attendees on board, your next meeting can be a greener one.

Departments

• The Case for More Conversation About Diversity and Inclusion
  By: Jeffrey Cufaude
  Honest discussions about diversity and inclusion aren't easy. As one association professional discovered, the range of reactions can be difficult to manage, but that doesn’t mean he'll shy away from fostering those conversations. Here's a glimpse of what you might encounter when you discuss D&I.
  

• Market Your Meeting Through Video
  One association recruited conference speakers to shoot their own video promotions and saw an increase in the event's attendance.
  

• Put the Mind Into Marketing
  By: Newton Holt
  The seven "Rs" of changing people's minds.
  


• Don't Forget to Debrief
  By: Apryl Motley, CAE
  Take a cue from the military and assess results of your activities against your objectives.
  


• 8 Social Media Guidelines for Your Employees
  By: Katharine Foster Meyer
  Avoid embarrassment and liability with a clear social media policy for staff.
  


• Give Advocacy a Boost With Social Media
  By: Dave Phillips, CAE
  How tweets, posts, and blogs can add punch to your political action.
  


• Communication That Works
  A new survey reveals what information members want from their associations and how they want to get it.
  


• Smart Leaders Build Emotional Intelligence
  By: Linda Talley
  Are you self-aware, empathetic, and in control of your feelings? If so, you'll lead effectively.
  


• An Opportunity in China
  By: Andrew S. Lang, FASAE
  When the global marketplace changed, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries seized the day.
  


• A Strong Showing for Nondues Revenue
  Even associations that rely most heavily on dues dollars get more than half of their revenue from other sources.
  


• The Favorites Game: The Lowdown on Luck
  By: Kristin Clarke
  

  Great by Choice coauthor Morten Hansen on his favorite business myth, nonconforming leader, and more.

  
  

• 9 Questions for Developing a Disaster Plan
  By: Daniel M. Sutherland
  How being prepared helped the Outer Banks Association of Realtors deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.
  

• CEO to CEO: Team Building and Capturing Knowledge
  The best team-building activity and capturing knowledge from a departing employee.
  


• Create a Smart Resume
  By: Peter Weddle
  A career expert explains how to revamp your resume to show that you're an intelligent worker.
  


• Connect With Congress
  Learn about The Power of A Week and what it can do for your association.
  


• Smart Moves
  A roundup of new hires and personnel announcements in the association industry.
  


• Comments
  Readers share their views on recent Associations Now articles.
  

• Ad Index
  A list of Associations Now's advertisers.
  

• Make Long-Distance Telecommuting Successful
  By: Summer Mandell
  Although thousands of associations are headquartered in Washington, DC, those that aren't often station a staffer or two in the area to represent the organization on Capitol Hill. Find out how some solo association professionals make the telecommuting relationship work. (Titled "Long-Distance Connections" in print edition.)
  

Now Online

February 2012

From the Acronym Blog

"Truth is not simple and one sided, yet many of the stories we tell about our organizations are just that. ... Valuing and embracing the messy truth is a critical leadership capacity these days, and one that seems to be in short supply."

—Jamie Notter, in a comment to an Acronym blog post, "Resolved: Embracing Your Messes," on January 5, 2012.

Related Resources

"Smart Planning for Sustainable Meetings" explains how minor adjustments to association conferences, like eliminating bottled water, can lead to major cost and environmental savings. Here are some additional resources on going green:

• "Drive Revenue by Helping Members Go Green," by Kristin Clarke, Associations Now, December 2011
• "The Foundation of Green Building," by Jacqui Cook, Associations Now, June 2011
• "Tips to Make Transportation at Your Conference Greener," by Julie Stelter, Meetings & Expositions, May 2011
• "Success Through Sustainability: 15 Top Association Trends," by Kristin Clarke, Associations Now, April 2010

Recommended by Readers

"16 Ways to Show Staff You Care," by Vinay Kumar and Joe Isaacs, FASAE, CAE

An excerpt: "We've served associations as both senior management and as trusted vendor partners for more than 30 years and have observed what contributes to organizational success among those who take seriously the adage 'we are only as good as our people.' The art of developing positive staff relations can fill books, but [these] 16 simple truths … will foster trust and dedication, promote a shared vision and performance excellence, and inspire staff leadership and creativity."

Rated "four stars" by online readers. Add your ratings and comments to articles and resources throughout www.asaecenter.org.

Links Highlighted in This Month's Issue

Did you just visit this web page after you saw the URL www.asaecenter.org/associationsnow in an article in the magazine? Here are the related resources mentioned throughout this month's issue:

Page 9: Links:

• "Getting More Players on the All-Star Team," by Jeffrey Cufaude, Idea Architects, August 24, 2011
• "Diversity in Association Management - the Association Subculture Weighs In," by Shelly Alcorn, CAE, Association Subculture, August 26, 2011
• "Are Some More Equal Than Others?" by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE, Thanks for Playing, August 25, 2011
• "A Good Conversation About Inclusion," by Jamie Notter, Get Me Jamie Notter, August 29, 2011

Page 14: Link: "Human Potential: Shift—The Science of Changing Minds," by Newton Holt, Executive Update, May 2004.

Page 41: Extra: See extended Q&A with John Kao in "A Fine-Tuned Innovation Culture."

ASAE Greater Washington supplement, page 3: Link: "Learn to Love Networking," interview by Summer Faust, Associations Now, August 2011

"Now Online" in previous issues:

2012: January
2011: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September/October | November | December
2010: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September/October | November | December
2009: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
2008: March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December