Regular communication with the board throughout the strategic planning process is important, particularly when ambiguous or contentious issues arise. There should be no surprises along the way. However, the board meeting that takes place near the end of the planning process could be the most important piece to the creation of your strategic plan. This […]
Strategic Planning: The Board Meeting Read More »
My canine companion, Sita, was hurt in a conflict with an unknown animal in our backyard two weeks ago. She came into the house with deep lacerations on her front and back leg. She is okay now, after a trip to the emergency room, a ton of antibiotics and some time spent inside the infamous
Taking Care of Each Other Read More »
You’ve gathered member and market intelligence. The obstacles and opportunities facing your association have been identified? What’s next? Assessing your organization’s capabilities, step four in my 7-step framework to association strategy. Does your association have the skills and resources to tackle the opportunities and challenges facing it? Do you have what it takes? Assessing your
Assessing Your Organization’s Capabilities Read More »
Wu wei is a concept that comes from taoism, and literally translated it means action through non-action. This is often interpreted to mean doing by not doing anything. This interpretation reminds me of managing people, which I did for many years at the World Bank. When there was a minor issue, a manager’s first course
Gathering member and market intelligence – steps one and two in my 7-step framework for association strategy will yield candidates for the 3rd step: identifying opportunities and challenges. A challenge is any obstacle that your organization will face on its path to growth. An opportunity is a favorable condition or significant achievement in line with
Identifying Opportunities and Challenges Read More »
Writing today from up in the sky on my way to Orlando from Chicago. As fortune would have it I am in the midst of 15 days of back-to-back engagements, mostly at home in the DC area, but also in the two cities mentioned above plus Las Vegas. Consulting, as a colleague says, is lumpy.
Sustaining Momentum Read More »
While gathering member intelligence is the second step in my 7-step Framework for Association Strategy, it should be a continuous process. Keeping your finger on the pulse of the most important people in your organization is integral to success. I have identified five groups of association members: Board of Directors Informal Influential Leaders Members at
Gathering Member Intelligence Read More »
When I was a little boy my mother earned her PhD studying the precognitive development of blind children. Her graduate work included studying theories of child development. I learned from her that play can be understood as the activities children engage in to make sense of their world and orchestrate important aspects of their own
Understanding your market is critical to success in a world of constant disruption. Gathering market intelligence, the first step in my seven-step framework for creating an association strategy, must be a continuous process if you are going to stay ahead of a continuously changing business landscape. Your market intelligence should focus on three key
Gathering Market Intelligence Read More »
In my work, I have the great pleasure of meeting true luminaries, ordinary people who have succeeded at extraordinary efforts. Susan Neely is such a leader. Today she is CEO of the American Beverage Association (ABA) and later this summer, she will assume her new position as CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers. During
Visionary: Susan Neely Read More »
