Associations 101

Technology for Associations

2008-04-14T14:27:00.001-05:00

Learning 2.0 For Associations

From: jtcobb, 5 months ago

This is a version of slides prepared to accompany a presentation for ASAE's 2007 e-learning conference.

SlideShare Link

Two Years and Running

2007-10-22T15:01:00.000-05:00

I am going into my third year as the executive director of AENC and time sure has flown by. It is amazing to think about how much has happened in the short period of time.

We have seen some great things happen here at AENC - our yearly revenue has increased, most of our events are seeing increased attendance, our membership numbers are looking pretty good and I get a good sense members are pleased where the organization is going. Not because of any vibe I am getting, I get that feeling because members either tell me that personally or I hear by word-of-mouth what people are saying about the organization and it is all positive.

So, short post for today, but it is time for me to really get back into posting at least once a week on this blog to make it something of worth. I am also going to try and include a link to a helpful web site each week. We will see how that goes -- www.nonprofitcenter.com.

Cheers for now!!

Quick Changes with Technology

2006-09-15T08:34:00.000-05:00

As I was writing my recent post, it reminded me of something that I just had to write about.
The topic is about how quickly technology changes. And as quickly as it changes, there is always something that lags behind.
Now as all of you know, this is topic that could be the subject for an entire web site and there is not enough space in this brief blog to cover everything, so I will touch on what lead me to write this.
If you don't think what I wrote above is true, think about this for a moment.
The Blog is a wonderful communication tool. It is a way for individuals to share thoughts and ideas on the Internet and millions can read your ideas and them post comments to yours, etc., etc.
The funny thing is, while using the blogger.com web site I noticed something really strange. After I had completed a blog posting one day, before posting, I went through and ran the spell check feature on the site. Its very simple and easy to use. However what struck me as funny is what word keep popping up as misspelled over and over again. Can you imagine what the word was?? It was blog and blogger. That's right. A web site devoted to allowing people from all across the world to share ideas through a blog and shows the word as being misspelled. I believe it says the word should be bloc.
It just goes to show, sometimes technology moves so fast, we forget about the little details of something like, make sure the word blog appears in the dictionary.

Here We Go Again

2006-09-15T08:18:00.000-05:00

Well, it has not been quite two months since I last posted to the blog, but it is pretty close.
As I sit here typing today, I realize it has been exactly one year since I came to work here at AENC. The time has truly flown by.
In my first year at AENC I have truly had the chance to experience the life of an association executive through 4 Membership Luncheons, 5 Association Forums, our 2nd Annual Speakers Showcase, our annual Trade Show (another blog topic, indeed), our annual Golf Outing, Annual Meeting, dues renewals, 5 magazines, about 48 editions of our electronic newsletter, the strategic planning process, the annual audit, a tax audit (curiosity of the IRS), the Resource Guide, planning for the Leadership Retreat, the AENC Silent Auction, the nominations and elections process, committee chair and member selection, the Scholarship and Awards process, two ASAE Annual Meetings, planning with two other state societies on a CEO & Volunteer Leader Symposium, the budget process, the launching of our online membership database (where members can register for events and update personal information online), and the pre-planning for our bi-annual Legislative Reception. Is it possible that I left something out? I am sure, but isn't that enough you say?
Well, fact is, its only enough if the members are extremely satisfied with where the organization is.
About two weeks ago, the AENC Leadership meet in Virginia Beach at the Cavalier Hotel where we conducted our Leadership Retreat. Bob Glaser, our president this year, had the vision to lets take the products and services that AENC provides to the membership and look at ways we can make them better. It was a great event and some great information came out of the event. I look forward to working with our staff, our board and all of our committees to take what came out of the event and begin to make some things happen.

2006-2007 AENC LEADERSHIP

I'll be updating you on the progress!!

An association Soliloquy

2006-07-21T08:53:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

Ok, so the last week has been insane to try and get to my blog and post. If you ever decide this for your association, I would highly suggest you do what ASAE does and get a "Blog Board". The following is a reprint from an article in the Midwest Society of Association Executives'Association Focus. It was written by Mark Miller, CMP.

Soliloquy of an Association Executive

I have an advanced degree in Public Relations, Human Relations, Business Management, Political Science, Marketing, Graphic Arts, Hotel Management and Marriage and Family Counseling.

I can instantly recognize the voices of all of my members over the phone and can recite from memory the exact date of their dues renewal and whether they have signed up their spouse or significant other for the Annual Banquet

On demand, I can relate the exact voting histories of every Legislator on every voting issue that was, might have been, would have been, could have been or should have been of interest to my members.

I can make a meeting room both warmer and colder at the same time.

I can predict the exact number of people that will attend a banquet, three days before I even set foot inside the meeting facility.

I will go out of my way to negotiate a $49 rental for a $42,000 Lincoln Town Car for a 24-hour period, but will gladly accept a $265 rental for a $400 VCR for 20 minutes of use.

I take personal blame for poor mail delivery, high gas prices, long check-in lines, poor airline service, wrong zip codes, over-regulation of government and ethnic conflicts around the globe.

I have enough Frequent Flyer points to fly around the world, but donÂt have enough time or money to get off the place.

I am expected to smile, empathize, sympathize, console, be political, be apolitical, (and when to do which), sing, dance, program the computer and fix the copier.

I am an Association Executive; I can do all these things and many more, while still finding time to take every phone call from my members.

Is this of any interest?

2006-07-11T08:08:00.000-05:00

The other day I was having coffee with two potential members/speakers and I told them about my blog challenge. Which, I honestly admit, is a little tough. I haven't quite held to my committed every other day challenge, but I am trying.

The reason it is tough is not because I don't have the time. Because you know we always have time, its simply what you make a priority to take up that time.

And its certainly not because I don't have any thing to say. If you have had the chance to meet me on one or more occasions, you know I rarely lack anything to say.

The big reason I think this is such a challenge is the same reason it is a challenge to communicate with association members -- what you are saying has to be important to the reader.

During this morning conversation, the question was posed to me, well, what other blogs do you read and why. Well, the answer is simple. I read blogs that are of interest to me. You wouldn't catch me reading a blog about the TV show "One Tree Hill" or "Laguna Beach". It just wouldn't happen. But now I love to read about what other association professionals, golfers or weather buffs are saying on their blogs. Why, because it is of interest to me.

When you begin a blog, you need to make sure there is someone or some group of people that will find your blog interesting. That is unless you just want to write to see yourself in print on the world wide web.

The blog is no more than another communication tool and it has to be well thought out and provide relevant information. The difference in this and any other tool is that, unlike your monthly magazine, it can be updated in real-time. And unlike your web site or e-news letter, it can create a two-way communication.

So, if you are taking the journey down the road of blogs and you are in association executive, you are in luck. You have the first part of the battle won. You have an instant audience that shares something in common with you. Go out there and create something worth reading and worth chatting about.

Annual Meeting and Canes..oh my

2006-07-05T11:18:00.000-05:00

One of the great challenges in being an association executive is that when things go wrong, whether anticipated or not, you have to take the heat for it. There is nothing right about that, it is simply a fact of life.

However, I have learned that you can also use this in your favor. If something goes great and it wasn't planned, you should also take credit for it, right?

Take for example our AENC Annual meeting, which took place June 4-6 at the beautiful Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort Wrightsville Beach.

One key to any successful meeting is a well planned and thought out script for the event. It’s like an hour-by-hour, and in some cases, minute-by-minute play book of what is supposed to happen during an event. Sometimes things come up that aren't scripted, and, as mentioned above, sometimes they don't work well and sometimes they do.

There were portions of our annual meeting that couldn't have been scripted better if you had a Hollywood writer at the keyboard.

The first perfectly unscripted moment was on the first day of our education sessions. They were scheduled from 8:30-12 in the morning and there was some concern going into the meetings about attendance at the sessions. Might I remind you, we were at the beach, at an oceanfront resort, during the first week of June. Need I say more?

Well, as the script called for -- from about 5:30-6-30 a.m., there appeared a great thunderstorm, which produced several early morning "wake-up calls" to all of our attendees. And then, just so no one would have to feel guilty for having to miss any of the sessions, it rained all morning and proceeded to clear up just around lunch time. After lunch was when we planned our free time/optional activities. It was sunny and warm and hardly a cloud in the sky. Again, it couldn't have been scripted it any better.

Our evening plans called for our annual awards banquet. This is where we recognize our three major yearly award winners and thank our outgoing president and welcome our new president. This year's banquet was a little different. The event was being held offsite at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside (about a 25 minute drive from the host hotel) and happened to be on the first game of the Stanley Cup playoffs, featuring NC's own Carolina Hurricanes. Several folks asked me during the day if there was going to be a TV nearby so folks can catch the game. I promptly asked our folks at the Hilton and they said they will take care of it. So, as scripted, the event ended and the 12ft wide screen and LCD we were using for our awards presentation was converted into a TV screen and we became the satellite location of the RBC Center. We had a DJ in the background and Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs on the BIG screen and nearly 200 instant hockey fans.

Then to make things even better, the score was tied with about 30 seconds left in the game. It was 10:55 p.m. and the LAST bus was departing from Wilmington to Wrightsville Beach at 11 p.m. And there were still about 100 people watching the game in the ballroom. Again, just as scripted, the Canes' score with 34 seconds left and then defend a goal with 3 seconds left that would have brought us back to a tie. Game 1 was over, the Awards Banquet complete and all got on the bus without a second to spare. So, do the words, "You couldn't have scripted any better," mean anything to me? Absolutely!!

Not to brag, but the Canes' of course would go on to win the Stanley Cup, making Hockey the first professional sport in NC to win a world championship.

Customer Service Starts at Home

2006-07-05T10:42:00.000-05:00

My wife and I are building a new house in Wake Forest and this past weekend my best friend and I had to make a trip to Lowe's Home Improvement to buy some supplies for putting in a surround sound system.

When we were checking out I was chatting with the lady behind the register about how she was, if she was excited about the Fourth, did she have any plans, etc. As we exited the store and got back in the car, my friend turned to me and said why do you always talk to people and ask them how they are doing when you don't really care? My immediate response was, well, actually, I do care how she is. Why would I waste her time or my time if I really didn't care?

Are you guilty of that in your association? Do you spend time and energy putting together surveys, sending them out to your membership and then compile the results just so they can be shared at a board meeting and never be heard from again?

If you find your organization doing that in any way, what you are saying to your members is that you don't care.

If you take the time to ask the question, but really don't care what the response is, you should probably quit asking the question, as would be the case with the lady in Lowe's. If this is happening in your association, you might want to regroup, because caring about the wants and needs of members in your association should be job one.

I remember our current president telling me this past year that if you are going to ask people what they think, you better be prepared to act on it. Don't just ask the question if you don't care what the answer is going to be.

On the subject of member feedback, one of the things I have tried to do this year as a first time association executive is not just rely on member surveys and evaluations to get a feel for how the association is going. Anytime I get to be in front of a member, I try to ask them a question.

My former boss and mentor, Tim Kent, once told me that anytime you are with a member, you should at least ask them: how is the association meeting their needs? How is business? You don't necessarily need to give them third degree like in an interview, but make it conversational. Don't write anything down, but when you get a chance to sneak around the corner, make some quick notes for later.

In my first few weeks, I was always getting asked by members how I liked the job or how I was settling in. I would respond, but then would quickly turn the question back on them and ask them what about you. What can AENC do for you?

My Own Blog Challange

2006-06-28T09:17:00.000-05:00

I have tried really hard. No, that's really not true. OK, I have thought really hard about updating my blog more often with news from my first year as an association executive and I have managed to only scrape together about three postings. That's about one posting every three months. Not too good, huh?
There must be a lot of credit given to folks like Jeff De Cagna and Ben Martin who update their sites on an almost daily basis. So, I in keeping with what Jeff did recently, I am making a commitment to update my blog at least every other business day. That amounts to about 13 postings in a month.
For those of you who aren't familiar with blogs (I have only really been at this for about 9 months) it is a place where a person can share thoughts and ideas and create a two-way flow of communication.
When Internet commerce started taking off, the phrase "Virtual Store Front" came into being. This was neat, but it you still didn't get the feeling of talking with someone. Then came chatrooms or bulletin boards, where people could leave each other messages. Now we are at Blogs -- a place where I can share my thougts with the entire world and maybe someone finds it useful and chooses to comment about it. Or perhaps it gets spread around from blog to blog. Perhaps even something might find its way on a Wiki. We will talk about that later.
So, the point is, I will try really hard to make myself a part of the Blog community by posting a little more regularly.
The one thing I am challanged with in creating a blog is a feel like I slight egotistical as I write this thing. I mean, out of the nearly 300 million people in the world, besides myself and my wife because she loves me, how many people really care about what I have to say.
But you know, this is a fascinating point and actually leads me back to the field of association managemnt.
Me siting here getting ready to create and maintain (posting more than once every two months) a Blog titled Association 101 is a lot more than creating something with no rhyme or reason. If I had no greater purpose than to just hear myself talk to hear myself talk, I wouldn't be doing anyone any good and wouldn't really be spending my time wisely. This is the same for how we create products and services for the members of our associations. You wouldn't just create new publications or seminars or member benefits with no thought to why you are doing it. Hopefully you have realized there is a greater purpose out there for why you do the things you do. Hopefully you have realized who your audience/customer/member is and what things are of interest to them.
In the next 13 post, over the next month, I will talk about the association profession from a new executive's perspective and things I have learned, which I had learned and hope to learn.

Six Months and Counting

2006-03-11T14:47:00.000-05:00

In this day of wonderful technology, I am sitting here at my in-laws condo in North Myrtle Beach and looking out over the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. The condo they are staying in has wireless Internet access and I am sitting here on Saturday afternoon watching the ACC Tourney and posting today.
The great thing about technology is it has allowed us to be able to do so many things that were not even thought about 10, 5 or even 2 years ago. If ten years ago you told me I would be able to sit on my couch with a lap top and search the Internet I would have told you that you were crazy.
I also love going to web sites like Google and Amazon because they are so intuitive. When you do a search in Google, you don't even have to spell a word correctly anymore. It will just come right out and ask you did you mean, ABC? Also, on Amazon, I love ordering music off the web site because not only can you get used CD's at a reduced cost, but it will also tell you others that bought that CD also bought X. You can look up reviews and also hear samples of the music. And better yet, when you come back to the web site after viewing something it remembers what you like to look at.
So, how can we translate that old school philosophy of one size fits all in Associations? Should we even try? Can we ever get to the point that each member has customized member services just for them?
The answer to that is I don't know.
What I think we can do is try to do a better job at listening to our members needs and wants and try hit on as many targets as you can. You are never going to be all things to all people like an Amazon. But you can try really hard to create an organization that listens to its member's needs.
Just recently we held an Association Forum and I was speaking with a member who hadn't planned on attending the seminar and her reason was it just didn't fit. I said that was one of the challenges of this position is how can we provide professional development to all people all the time. Her comment back to me was you are never going to do that. Just keep trying. If you do seminars on 5 different topics, chances are at any given time 10-20 % of the members are going to be interested. Every once in a while you may click and get more than 20%, but you can't always shoot for that.
So, as I got really frustrated knowing that we brought in what I thought was a great speaker last week and only got about 10% of our members, I can't give up. Some topics on going to bring a specific group out. Another topic will bring out a different group. You just have to keep at it and after the end of the year, chances are at least 60% of your members will have attended about 2 seminars over the course of the year. I hope!!

Finally -- A Post

2006-03-01T15:18:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been SEVERAL months since I last posted on my blog and I am so excited because I have now renamed it and I hope to make this a regular part of my routine.
So, Jim, why did you rename it?
Well, originally I ran across a buddy of mine's blog and the topic was about him preparing for and later passing the CAE exam. I thought it would be a great idea to do one myself and so I did. The only thing was, the topic didn't really have a life of its own. Once you have talked about it in one or two blogs you kind of feel like Forrest "And that's all I got to say about that" Gump.
With a blog idea that was very stale, it sat there in never, never land until a few weeks ago when I renamed it "Association 101."
Why that title? What does it mean?
On September 15, 2005, I entered a new journey in my professional career and became the Executive Director for the Association Executives of North Carolina.
Today, nearly six months later, I am still on the job. And you know what? It was everything I thought it would be and more. I absolutely love being an association executive. Its a lot of work a lot of the time, but I do have moments of calm.
The organization, AENC, has been around for over 50 years. As a mater of fact, we just celebrated our 50th anniversary and I am the third executive the organization has hired to lead its captive staff. Before that time, they were lead by an association management company (AMC) and before that it was volunteer lead. One of my current staff members at one time lead the association as its executive when it was an AMC. My other staff person has been here nearly 5 years. They are both incredible and are the primary reason I agreed to come to work here at AENC.
You hear some horror stories about the new executive who is hired and their primary job role is to come in and clean house and fix everything that is broken in the organization. Thanks goodness that was not my role.
Is everything 100% perfect here? No, but we are closer to perfection than we are to total disaster.
So, what is this blog going to be about? Well, its going to be about me and my life as a new association executive. I plan to post on this weekly and hope to provide a link to our AENC members so they can see what is going on here at AENC from "Behind the Desk."

Passing the CAE

2005-02-08T13:04:00.000-05:00

I have been inspired by Ben to also give my thoughts on passing the CAE exam. What an amazing time it was.
I couldn't agree more that it was like investing in something only to actually see the fruits of your labor. When I think about putting money in my 401(k) I know it is going to be so long before I see that and putting in all the time and energy into studying and reading for the CAE exam was quite an investment.
I was so excited the day I got my letter, I was jumping up and down, screaming, like I had one the lottery or had found I passed the one exam I needed to pass so I can graduate on-time.
I am having a hard time finding myself now. So, what do I do with this new found designation? Other than put it on my email signature and get new business cards, what does it really mean?
Well, to me it means that I care enough about the association management profession that I took the time to go through this process and I want to add something postive whether it is in my current postion or in another position down the road. I am trying to balance myseld between - now that I have this designation I am going to find an exec job somewhere, but I am trying to let that subside a little and not just go out and find the first thing that pops up.
I do feel like having those three letters after your name says something about the person you are. It also says something about the dedication you have to this profession and that you want to do the right things for the right reason. Not enough has been made about what having a CAE designation means to your ethics, but I think, and I hope it means a lot. It means not only do you know quite a bit about the profession, but you know enough to when you don't know enough and can seek help. You also will ask the question of not just can I do this, but should I do this.
I am glad I saw Ben's posting, it has really let me check myself and what the CAE means to me.