Seth Kahan on Big Change

I have been interviewing association CEOs since the pandemic began. Two recently told me that with all the pressure in their organizations right now, their organizations are “evolving” quickly. Both were optimistic in the next 18 months; they were going to be where they were hoping to be in five years in terms of nimble […]

Proactive Evolutionary Leadership builds on the past, adapts to the present, and prepares to thrive in the future. The associations thriving today are being driven by Proactive Evolutionary Leaders. Below are six tactics I see being employed by the most successful CEOs through my 100 CEOs initiative, and conversations with other expert consultants. They see

We are living in a disruptive world with tremendous pressure. Many association leaders hunkered down, figuring out how to make it back to stable ground; they are missing the boat. The most successful CEOs are doing something very different; they appreciate and liberate the stress of the moment and leverage it to create the organizations

It’s almost mid-October 2020, and the global pandemic is still not under control. Many organizations are trying to figure out how to return to serving members the way they always have. It is unlikely we will be able to do that. We must forge a new future. Finding a new way forward will require pausing

100 CEOs – I am talking to 100+ CEOs to learn about how the pandemic, the economy, and fight for racial justice shape their organizations. A significant shift in their responses began in September. During early talks – March thru August – CEOs talked about getting back to normal. Now they are talking about the

The times are changing, and they are not going to stop. Could you have dreamed that this is where we would be just seven months ago? Maybe yes, if your organization engaged in regular Strategic Foresight activities. Research shows that if you ask people what the future will be like, they take the current circumstances

Disruption is causing things to change often, and organizational leadership is constantly juggling. Associations must be able to react quickly while sustaining current value generation and revenue-producing activities. All while maintaining the ability to transform your organization to leverage the new ideas and trends emerging from the disruption. The most successful organizations have a process

Last week I covered ‘collective impact’ and ‘common agenda’, an excellent way to achieve your association’s goals by joining forces with other organizations and activists. A collective impact project needs a backbone organization. The backbone organization takes accountability for coordinating and leading the effort. Accepting the role of backbone organization is a fantastic way for

The country and world are facing many challenges right now. Now is the time for organizations to focus on making a collective impact. Achieve collective impact by identifying partners who share objectives and pulling together to work jointly towards those objectives. One example of an organization doing an outstanding job of making a collective impact