Whether I’m writing about marketing, strategy, or technology, one idea always surfaces. Understanding members at a granular level has never been more important. We all know this, right? Yet, it seems that even big corporations are struggling to deliver the level of personalization that customers expect. Harvard Business Review Analytic
This week’s food bill could have financed last year’s luxury vacation. The grocery store receipt is an emphatic reminder of the need to provide member value. Interest rates are rising, and fears of a recession are spiking concern across the economic horizon. Are membership dues on the chopping block? If
Remember Blockbuster? Technology eats business models for breakfast. In 2016, I wrote a post titled, “Could Membership Organizations Become a Dying Model?” This article still has a top slot in my site’s analytics. It seems the question isn’t settled. But time and technology have me looking at the issue through
If you imagine that AI, robotics, and automation are launching a future where you issue commands to mechanical workers while relaxing with a cold one, I’ve got bad news. A recent conversation with Kim Robinson, President of FrontlineCo, highlighted the idea that the business changes we’re experiencing are not streamlining
This idea from an article in the “Harvard Business Review” caught my attention. “As the shelf life of business strategies grows shorter, a corporation’s transformation capability becomes its only enduring advantage. Authors N. Anand and Jean-Louis Barsoux go on to ask: “With serial transformations becoming the norm, a key strategic
If you imagine that AI, robotics, and automation are launching a future where you issue commands to mechanical workers while relaxing with a cold one, I’ve got bad news. A recent conversation with Kim Robinson, President of FrontlineCo, highlighted the idea that the business changes we’re experiencing are not streamlining
We’re all challenged for time. If you wonder why members aren’t more engaged with your association, that’s one big reason. There aren’t enough hours in the day. When you want volunteers to serve on a committee or support an initiative, it’s critical to give them a rewarding return on the
Are you using binoculars or a mirror to create communications? It’s more than an understatement to say that we have the tools to focus on our members. The ability to know our customers down to their preferred publications, favorite conference destination, and hot button issues has never been easier. The
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,
When Dan Stevens was a newly-minted entrepreneur, his father wrote him a letter that changed his life. “My dad said that if I was doing things the same way next year as I did this year, I should be very nervous. That warning woke me up. “Even in 1986, my
A comment Adele Cehrs, CEO and Founder of When + How agency, made stayed with me. Adele, who thrives on a healthy dose of risk, said this, “Chutzpah is what drives me and other entrepreneurs to keep reinventing ourselves. If you could bottle that it would be a wise idea
If you recently discovered that your IT bench is missing some important players, you are not alone. As increasing numbers of organizations move toward digital transformation or to strengthen data security, there is a shortage of talent to take them where they need to go. Outsourcing, once a stopgap solution,
Dust off the crystal ball, slosh the tea leaves, and toss the I Ching. It’s that time of year when the pundits make predictions about what’s in store for the next 12 months. Based on our last two turns around the sun, these more intuitive schemes might be as reliable
Celebration isn’t a word I would typically use to describe a conference, but there was a festive feeling at .orgCommunity’s Solutions Day. Gathering with colleagues again was inspirational. Even online, the participants could sense the excitement. Presenter, Dean West, called the pandemic a black swan. The term comes from finance
