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Every now and then, I get some serious pushback when I write about Millennials or generations in the workplace. People get almost mad when I imply that these differences are (a) real and (b) important to running a really good organization. The biggest objection seems to be the fact that I make generalizations about huge […]

So this month we tackled the overlap of culture with strategy. We challenged the notion that culture eats strategy for breakfast and we asked you to at least think about what our beloved-process of strategic planning is actually doing to your internal culture. Then we might have made you even more uncomfortable by talking about how associations need to […]

Last week, I sat down at ASAE’s Great Ideas Conference with well-known association contrarian Jeff De Cagna, chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation LLC. Jeff challenges association decision-makers to think differently about the future and embrace the generative work of transformation. Q. We’ve all heard the cliché that “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” but […]

This comes straight out of the book Awesomely Simple by John Spence. In each chapter he identifies critical areas (communicating properly, conceptualizing your vision, recruiting talent, etc.) and gives concrete advice on how to improve upon them. There is then a quiz at the end of every chapter pertaining to the items he lays out previously, which […]

One of the biggest strategic challenges associations face today is being nimble. Because let’s face it, agility has not historically been one of our community’s strong suits. We’ve been good at traditions. We’ve been good at saying “We have always done it that way.” We’ve been good at consistency. We’ve been good at “not on […]

ONCE A MONTH, I’LL ROUND UP SOME LINKS TO POSTS FROM AROUND THE INTERNET ON OUR TOPIC OF THE MONTH. HERE’S THIS MONTH’S READING LIST FOR YOU ON STRATEGY & CULTURE. Changing Change Management (McKinsey & Company) “For many organizations, a five-year strategic plan—or even a three-year one—is a thing of the past. Organizations that once […]

There is something comforting about a strategic plan. You do some really good, strategic thinking and then translate it into a series of goals and action steps to get you there. Even though the world seems like a swirling, giant hairball of complexity, your strategic plan can make you feel like you know exactly what […]

I hear this a lot: Culture eats strategy for breakfast (or lunch, dinner, a snack, whatever). And the notion behind the statement is understandable: Culture is a strong thing. So strong, the statement argues, that if an organization chooses a particular strategy that requires employees to behave in ways that go against the culture, it […]

Associations love their strategic plans. It’s typically a given that associations should all have strategic plans, and when you get right down to it, the structure and sometimes the actual content of strategic plan is similar across many associations. Let me guess: Your association has three main pillars of your plan that are some version […]

The typical problem with Mission Statements is that they are generic, very broad and not memorable. Most importantly, Mission Statements attempt to combine the underlying purpose of the organization with its method of advancing that purpose. This is problematic because as methods change over time, the Mission Statement needs to be redone. Something as critical to […]