Anticipating Trends Across Industries: A Case Study
Many years of working in the association space, and two very different industries within it, have taught me a thing or two about using foresight to an association’s advantage. Now, with ASAE’s ForesightWorks, all of us have access to the resources we need to scan for trends and anticipate changes before they happen. What kind of impact […]
The Future of Work for Associations
Over the next few years, staff structure at associations will undergo huge changes that will present opportunities for more efficient and nimble operations. This is made clear by several Social, Technological Economical, Environmental and Political (STEEP) factors, listed below. (The #CAEProud crowd will remember the acronym!) MORE WITH LESS Lessons learned from the Great Recession have […]
Trends in Education-to-Employment: Part I
In the past few years, I have conducted a tremendous amount of research into the education-to-employment system. The more I learn, the more I am convinced that associations have an important role to play in defining skills and competencies and in providing education to make a dent in the wicked problem we are being presented with […]
Political Black Swans: Ignore Them at Your Association’s Peril
In 2003, widespread protest broke out around me in Azerbaijan, a country formerly part of the Soviet Union.Violence erupted just a few blocks from my office with clashes between protesters and the police, the torching of cars and mass arrests. The country’s capital was brought to a standstill, and the work of our organization was […]
Virtual Conferences: Knowledge Co-Created in Real Time
The virtual conference that AssociationSuccess.org held for the first time in November shared the same characteristic of pretty much anything we’ve ever done: it was an experiment. We had no idea what was going to happen (something I am far more willing to admit after the fact, as the ol’ fake it till you make it adage rings a […]
Association Culture: What Not To Do
What does a healthy workplace culture look like? It can be hard to picture your ideal working world. But I bet we can all think of what we don’t want in a workplace. I’m going to relay my experience of working for an organization that got culture wrong, in the hope that we can all learn […]
Why Branding Matters – and How to Maximize Yours
As an association, thinking about the strength of your brand can often be a secondary concern. While social media and the business press are replete with themes surrounding “personal brands”, making the concept appear like nothing more than a vanity project, the importance of your brand can’t be understated. Without a strong brand, your organization […]
Data in Action: Acquisition and Analysis
When exploring new markets as an association, whether that be in new geographical regions or new types of services, it is imperative that you have a map to guide you. You can acquire the information you need before diving in and investing in a project through careful research and data analytics. I work for a […]
How to Prepare for Future Generations of Association Membership
For better or worse, millennials are a hot topic among associations right now. As a millennial myself, I’m always wary of these discussions. About half the time it’s people of other generations complaining about millennials, and the rest of the time it’s a feeble discussion about how to prepare for millennials who will be entering your […]
Women in Tech Survey: Foresight in Action
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the largest technical association in the world, with over 400,000 members in over 160 countries. Our members come from a huge variety of backgrounds. They are in electrical and electronics engineering, computing, communications, robotics, and automation, and much more. They work in academia, private industry, and government. […]