Blog
Dream Big
In 2011, an Ignite presentation inspired me to write: Everything in our environment is whispering: “Protect your ass. Guard your turf. Trust no one. Rock no boats. Prepare for the worst.” In other words: “Think…
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Creating Balance
Summer’s drawing to a close, which means we’re all getting back into the swing of a busier season, with the EVEN busier holiday season and year-end just around the corner, which has me thinking about…
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Associations, Apprenticeships, and the “Toolbelt Generation”
Recently, I’ve noticed renewed attention to the role of non-collegiate post-secondary training in helping people find lucrative, productive, fulfilling work. The Washington Post has reported on the need for “millions” of apprentices in careers that don’t…
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Associations, Chapters, and Climate Change
My co-author Shelly Cumbie Alcorn and I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Mariner Management’s Peggy Hoffman to discuss The Time Is Now: Association Resilience and Adaptation and the Anthropocene Climate Disruption, our…
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What Do You Believe In?
I’m pretty much just re-upping this post, because it’s a good one. Back in 2011, Bisnow published an article that included this quote: When you ask most people about their jobs, they tell you what…
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Filling Your Well of Ideas
With a significant portion of the association community (although not me) in Cleveland this week for ASAE24, I’ve been thinking about ideas and how we all go about getting them. One of the challenges of…
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Who’s Allowed to Have an Idea?
I’ve been thinking about innovation a lot recently, in part because of a big client project that just wrapped up and in part because the tenth anniversary of Innovate the Lean Way: Applying Lean Startup Methodology…
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Pay It Forward
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my 27 years in association management is: When somebody hits you up with a request for a favor in a professional context, ALWAYS try to help…
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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,”…
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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…
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