Blog
Who’s Allowed to Make the Call?
Another observation that has fascinated me since my earliest years in associations is: Who’s allowed to make the call? What do I mean by that? Well, if you search for “stories of outstanding customer service,”…
Read More →
Who’s Allowed to Be Honest?
One of the observations that has fascinated me the most over my years of consulting is this question: Who’s allowed to be honest? What do I mean by that? Well, let’s flip it around. Have…
Read More →
What Are Your Loss Leaders?
A few years ago (pre-pandemic), I had the chance to attend an invite-only business book launch event with a room full of (other than me) pretty high-level people. Puzzlingly, the author, rather than giving their…
Read More →
Have It Your Way
Almost 14 years ago, I addressed a question first raised by Jeff Dc Canga: How will we manage the change from a pre-set package of options (membership) to an individually negotiated exchange of value? In…
Read More →
Don’t Stop Thinkin’ About Tomorrow
Fourteen years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a futurist session held in honor of the 50th anniversary of the CAE program. After a dense presentation by facilitator Marsha Rhea, we broke into 10-year,…
Read More →
Innovate Now! But How?
Associations are constantly being urged to innovate, but frankly, in a world of generative AI, venture capital, nanotechnology, medical advances, and big R&D budgets – none of which we have access to on a regular…
Read More →
Velvet Rope or Come Party with Me?
Scene one: I’m in New Orleans on vacation wandering down Frenchmen Street in Faubourg Marigny looking for a good place to hang out and hear some tunes on a Wednesday night. First stop: the Spotted…
Read More →
What if associations offered no agenda at the next staff retreat other than “show up and talk about how we can be better?”
What if the only thing associations focused on was: “How can we be better?” I think this gets to some of the other questions, like: What if we forgot about petty internal politics and focused…
Read More →
What if associations decided that sometimes, telling a member ‘no’ is an acceptable practice?
What if (perish the thought!), we actually told members NO? I actually suspect that most associations already do this, but we do it in the wrong way. We say “no” all the time. Only it’s…
Read More →
What if associations required every staffer to cold-call one member each week just to connect and listen?
I am reupping this post from 2009 with only minor edits, because every word of it remains true. What if EVERY staff member had to talk to members on a regular basis? Despite the existence…
Read More →