Lean Startup for Associations Part 1: Beyond the HPPO Realm
“Too many startups begin with an idea for a product that they think people want. They then spend months, sometimes years, perfecting that product without ever showing the product, even in a very rudimentary form, to the prospective customer,” says a description on Eric Ries’ Lean Startup website. “When they fail to reach broad uptake from […]
How We Transitioned From Brick-and-Mortar to a Virtual Workspace
I work with ARMA International, a completely virtual organization. In the fall of 2016, we transitioned from our brick-and-mortar office with the option for employees to regularly work remotely into a completely virtual environment. How did this process work out for us? And is the future of work virtual beyond our organization? THE STATE OF THE […]
Staff Culture: More Than Just a Trend
Culture has become a hot topic as of late. It affects our workplaces and, in associations, it affects our membership. We have experienced a culture shift. When I was researching my book Talent Generation, one of the main conclusions I came to was that we have been operating for quite some time according to a 20th […]
There’s a Dog Bed in my Office…
I started bringing my dog Amy into the office shortly after adopting her. Being an older dog, with a laid-back personality and an affinity for people, I had a feeling she would be a good fit with the team. To be quite honest, I had other, more selfish, reasons for wanting her with me at work: […]
How to Improve Technology the Agile Way
When I think of organizations looking to make improvements to their technology, I always picture this cartoon: a team of cavemen pushing materials on a cart made of square wheels while two friends stand next to them waiting to install round wheels. The team struggling to push the cart refuses the offer of help, claiming […]
Innovating for Inclusion: How We Engaged a More Diverse Community
The word ‘innovation’ is often treated as an end in itself. Being innovative floats around as an ephemeral goal of all projects, and a mark of a successful enterprise. But what are we innovating for? What is our purpose? AIGA Minnesota has been pioneering an innovation initiative for a few years now, sprung into being by […]
Why You Can’t Trust Your Website Analytics: Part One
How much do you trust your website stats, e.g. Google Analytics? The answer should be ‘not that much’. Data from three separate UK membership organizations reveals a steady decline in the proportion of visitors who are captured by Google Analytics. Initial data discrepancies Year Out Group were concerned their website visitor numbers in Google Analytics have […]
What New Members Want
Through my research into new member engagement, conducted alongside Amanda Kaiser at Kaiser Insights, we found that programs designed to welcome new members into an organization get results.They can boost member renewal rates and improve a member’s experience for the long haul. There are many ways to go about engaging new members, and focusing on in-person experiences […]
The Ups and Downs of Revamping Communications
What is the aesthetic and overall experience that members have with your association? How do communications play into that experience? Do you need to shake it up? At the Greater Kalamazoo Association of Realtors, we realized that while our meetings and services were of value to our members, we weren’t doing enough to make them exciting […]
Digital Transformation: At The Intersection
What exactly do we mean by digital transformation? It’s clear that transformation represents a break with tradition – but this break in terms of technology could be manifested either in what we do or in how we do it. Digital transformation proper, in my opinion, happens at the intersection between the what, the how, and the technological developments at play. This […]