Nordstrom is famous for their return policy. They’ll accept an item that may not even be from their store. For this courtesy, they have gained a die-hard fan base. Before Netflix was an idea, Nordstrom knew a thing or two about the value of personalized service. Since 1901, the company
Our Year in Review The .orgSource and .orgCommunity teams send our best wishes to our clients and friends for a happy and productive 2023. But, before we welcome a new year, let’s toast 2022! We got our tribe back from the flatland and into three dimensions. Visiting with clients and
Don Dea and Hugh Lee, the co-founders of DigitalNow, are colleagues I look to as voices from the future. In an interview for our book, “Association 4.0: An Entrepreneurial Approach to Risk, Courage, and Transformation,” Don made this prediction. “In order to help workers adapt, associations will need to find and hire
Like a string of beads, it is our unique differences and intricacies that make us so appealing and attractive. We would not be as beautiful if we were all the same. It’s the contrast and asymmetry that makes us worthwhile.— Lindsey Lunsford, M.E.M., eXtention Foundation, 2019 Impact Collaborative, DEI Fellow One
I’d like to introduce you to a group of unsung heroes. While the pandemic was making kids cranky and parents crazy, members of the California IT in Education Association (CITE), were on the frontlines restoring order. They worked tirelessly, often putting their health at risk, to ensure that every child
Smiley or sad—which describes your culture? Some people work on a dream team. Others are ready to be a statistic in the Great Resignation. What makes the difference? If your answer was people, go to the head of the class. When I want to explore interpersonal dynamics in the workplace,
Is anyone else tired of dystopian predictions? Today, I’m going to consider perfection. This may not be what most people imagine as utopia. But the realm of Association 4.0™ is pretty close to my ideal for my clients and their organizations. Several years ago, .orgSource coined the phrase Association 4.0
Is a hacker haunting your future? Or is your data dilemma more like a recurring headache? Data shouldn’t be a challenge. It’s an asset that should work for you. Two-point-five quintillion bytes of data are generated online daily, according to SaaS Scout Research Group. Data is the meta product of
Smart CEOs understand that the quickest path to success is the one where the team travels with you. Skill-building across the organization isn’t just good leadership, it’s good for leaders. Professional development is a wise use of resources. Just be sure to make yourself part of the group. Your own
These comments from McDonald’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski to New York Times journalist David Gelles describing how the pandemic would change the company’s business resonated with me on a couple of levels. “We had to pivot to basically being an entirely drive-through, delivery, and curbside pickup business, and I think that’s going
We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now. Martin Luther King, Jr. The proof that we are citizens of the world, no matter how fiercely we choose to localize, was one of the pandemic’s profound lessons. Technology has created an interdependent global economy.
Anyone who has spent time here in Chicago knows that the weather can turn from sunshine to flurries in the time it takes to stroll a block down the Mag Mile. This fickle about-face seems to be happening everywhere. We spent the last year urging people to stay home. Now
I frequently write the words digital and success in the same sentence. Technology is important. A weak infrastructure at the beginning of 2020 meant it was a very hard year. As much as I value electronic connectivity, culture or the human side of business will always be the imperative. We
Associations can’t fulfill their missions without innovation. Innovation helps organizations create and improve processes, products, services, and experiences for their members, customers, staff, and audiences. Technology helps us turn innovative ideas into reality, but innovation is powered by organizational cultures that support and nurture an innovation mindset. 10 elements of
