Featured Articles

Build a Consensus-Friendly Culture

By Sherry Budziak posted 5 days ago
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A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. -Martin Luther King This quote from Martin Luther King defines what great association leaders do best. By promoting a culture that supports working together toward common goals, they create an environment where consensus happens. A consensus-friendly culture might seem more like a utopia than a real-life possibility, especially these days. Getting a group of diverse people on the same page is not easy. When difficult decisions must be made quickly the challenge is even greater. A remote work environment only adds complexity. The current situation is not likely to change ...
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Turning a Tanker into a Yacht: 6 Tips for More Effective Association Governance

By Sherry Budziak posted 11 days ago
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Associations aren’t known for their ability to easily change course. The benefits of organizational agility have gained traction over the last few years, but most groups haven’t taken the concept further than lip service. Associations tend to plow through the bad weather rather than navigate around it. That’s understandable; getting a 2-ton bureaucracy to pivot is a daunting process. Being nimble isn’t just about shedding layers. Agility is as much a state of mind as it is a dynamic organizational structure. Cultivating the vision to recognize shifts in the business landscape and initiating the decision-making processes to quickly address challenges and seize ...
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Eight ways to learn with WSAE

By Kristin McGuine posted 16 days ago
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Here at WSAE, we are committed to providing resources to support our members in achieving their goals. Education is the foundation of success.  Webinars . Webinars are offered once or twice monthly. Join live, or review our webinar archives list of recorded webinars to watch whenever fits your schedule.  CAE and CMP exam prep. WSAE partners with the Michigan Society of Association Executives (MSAE) to offer CAE preparation courses that incorporate study guides, reading comprehension questions, flashcards and practice tests. MSAE offers their member rate to WSAE members, which represents a $100 savings. In addition to CAE prep courses, MSAE ...
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Consultants Can Lighten the Burden of Leadership—How to Get the Advice You Need

By Sherry Budziak posted 19 days ago
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Lately, we’ve all been doing a complicated juggling act; and, just when you think you’ve nailed the rhythm, another ball gets tossed into the mix. Managing a remote workforce , making tough financial decisions, planning a virtual conference , budgeting for the unpredictable, and finally, strategizing how to get your team safely back to the office are just a few of the challenges. It’s a lot to handle, especially when there isn’t a clear end in sight. The good news is help is available. People think of consultants as guides for long-term projects. But we are also white knights. A consultant can provide just-in-time rescue from a difficult situation ...
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Outrun Disruption: Use These 7 Strategies to Build a Resilient Organization

By Sherry Budziak posted 29 days ago
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COVID-19 is a once-in-a-lifetime disaster. But disruption, whether from biology, technology, or culture, is here to stay. We can’t stop the challenges; But we can be resilient enough to take them in stride and move forward to become stronger. What exactly does resilience mean? Why is it important, and how do you build it into your association’s DNA? Recently, .orgSource has been studying this question. We’ve researched, conducted focus groups, and compiled interviews with forward-thinking industry leaders. Those conversations led to our two Association 4.0™ books: Positioning for Success in an Era of Disruption and An Entrepreneurial Approach to ...
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Get Your Association on the Offensive—Mitigate Impacts of COVID-19

By Sherry Budziak posted 06-03-2020
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"In my mind, it's inevitable that we'll have a return of the virus … when it does, how we handle it will determine our fate," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, April 30 . Dr. Anthony Fauci’s warning might make you want to put your mask over your ears instead of your nose. We would all like to see no COVID-19, hear no COVID-19, speak no COVID-19. Unfortunately, ignoring the health and economic danger is impossible, and neglecting to plan for an extended roller-coaster ride with Coronavirus is probably a recipe for disaster.   According to Rantt Media as of May 17, only nine states reported ...
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Professional Ethics Takes a Team Approach

By Kristin McGuine posted 05-27-2020
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This article, by author Richard Kyte, Director of the D. B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership and Endowed Professor of Ethics at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, originally appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of VantagePoint magazine , the quarterly publication of WSAE. When Gallup released the results of their annual survey of honesty and ethics in the professions earlier this winter, nurses once again earned the top spot. This marks 17 straight years that nurses have ranked higher than any other profession. Eighty-four percent of respondents rated them very high or high in honesty and ethical standards. Medical doctors came in ...
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Six Strategies for Success in the New Reality

By Sherry Budziak posted 05-05-2020
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The economic and social challenges of this pandemic have cast a harsh spotlight on leadership. If you are sitting in the corner office, you have a unique opportunity to prove that you belong in that big chair. Although there is no playbook for this crisis, there are attitudes and behaviors that support the heavy lifting required to motivate your team and advance your mission in the face of extreme disruption.   Several years ago, we realized Industry 4.0 , or the intersection of the digital and material worlds, would be a proving ground for leadership, and .orgSource began exploring the future of associations through that lens. This research resulted in ...
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Digital Leaders Fly Ahead of Disruption

By Sherry Budziak posted 04-27-2020
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Technology is our silent partner in the challenging job of keeping the economy moving during COVID-19. This health crisis has taught us that the more we make the digital world our world, the better equipped we will be to manage both business and life in the face of disruption. Associations who were early adopters of digital strategies made the transition to a remote workplace with minimal distraction. For others, the abrupt technological, administrative and cultural shift has been destabilizing. I have heard about challenges ranging from lack of equipment to the complete inability to accommodate virtual business.  If your organization was, or is, struggling ...
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Scenario Planning Builds a Resilient Future

By Sherry Budziak posted 04-21-2020
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Should we cancel the conference? Are layoffs needed to keep the organization afloat? How much of the reserves can we safely spend?   Responsibility for the decisions that make or break an organization is the tough side of leadership. Selling a solution to everyone who must agree can be even harder. But you don’t need nerves of steel and a will of iron to survive. Having problem-solving strategies at the ready and understanding how to use them effectively will pay you back in hours of lost sleep, make you feel better about going to work and give you a tool to build a more resilient association.    Be Ahead of the Curve One way to avoid the most challenging ...
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Virtual Meetings Grow Association Communities—How to Get Started

By Sherry Budziak posted 04-01-2020
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Canceling a conference is a decision that most association CEO’s never imagined they would be forced to make. But many organizations recently faced that challenge, and more will probably do so in the near future. Fortunately, technology now gives us alternate ways to continue our work, including providing members with education and fellowship. Virtual conferences and meetings are more than an option. They are an increasingly popular way of convening that organizations should embrace for reasons that go well beyond the current challenge. Every association that depends on an annual meeting for a major percentage of budget should have virtual plans ...
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An Integrated Digital Strategy Is a Lifeboat in Turbulent Water

By Sherry Budziak posted 03-30-2020
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In a crisis, like the current pandemic, an integrated digital strategy can make the difference between business as usual and a meltdown. Travis Cheatham, Director of Technology Operations and Digital Solutions at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, has firsthand understanding of how the right approach to technology can impact an organization’s ability to navigate tough times. If COVID-19 has brought your association’s technology deficit out of hiding, Travis’s perspective on AACE’s digital transformation will be both helpful and hopeful. Travis Cheatham   When a hurricane hit Jacksonville, AACE didn’t worry about the accessibility ...
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Remote Doesn’t Mean Removed—Lead a Successful Virtual Team

By Sherry Budziak posted 03-20-2020
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Living in the shadow of COVID-19 can feel like being stuck in a bad science fiction movie, but there are positives to be found in this challenging situation. Many of us will have the opportunity to be our best personal and professional selves. If you are heading a remote team, you can be a leader who helps your group to find stability and motivation despite the uncertainty and fear that is as easy to catch as the virus. The association community is a latecomer to the remote workplace. Until two weeks ago many organizations were still reluctant to integrate regular work from home policies into their business practices. In contrast, the majority of the for-profit ...
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Turn Panic into Purpose—Lead Through COVID-19 with Confidence

By Sherry Budziak posted 03-15-2020
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My email and phone are burning with questions and concerns from leaders facing the tough decisions that COVID-19 is forcing upon us. Choices that plunge a budget deep into the red and threaten member engagement are gut-wrenching, but the difficult decisions are easier when you have expert advice.   We looked to our colleagues Adele Cehrs, author and CEO, When + How Agency , and her partner Chip Massey, former FBI hostage negotiator and special agent, for advice. Adele and Chip are seasoned crisis managers who have a long history of successfully navigating disruption. I’ve summarized some of their strategies for changing panic into purpose and keeping ...
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The Best Solution Begins With a Beautiful Question

By Sherry Budziak posted 03-05-2020
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What do you think these three questions have in common?   “How might we survive and flourish amid tensions and contradictions?” Elsa Fridman   “What is it about your business today that you can’t answer?” Brian Panosian   “What if competitors worked together?” Michelle Rigan-Ranson   In the eyes of author/journalist, Warren Berger, each of these questions is beautiful. Berger describes a beautiful question as one that is ambitious but also actionable. The search for an answer returns more than facts, it might alter your perception and bring about significant change.   Asking the right beautiful question ...
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Introducing--Association 4.0™: An Entrepreneurial Approach to Risk, Courage and Transformation

By Sherry Budziak posted 02-11-2020
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Of all the experiences involved in writing a book, and there are many—both frustrating and fascinating, what you learn is the most rewarding. Association 4.0™: An Entrepreneurial Approach to Risk, Courage and Transformation , which I wrote with my business partner Kevin Ordonez, is my second adventure as an author. The entrepreneurs we interviewed taught us how some of the most innovative leaders in the association community manage the precarious business of growing a company from start-up to maturity.  The book launch is planned for .orgCommunity’s, February 20 Innovation Summit , in Schaumburg, IL. Participants at the event will have the ...
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Fast Track Your Way to Innovation

By Sherry Budziak posted 01-21-2020
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Is your association innovative enough to survive in the roaring twenties? Before you answer, name three strategies you use to promote creative thinking. If they don’t roll off your tongue, consider this: Blockbuster— had a chance to buy Netflix and didn’t. Toys R Us—let a contract with Amazon derail their ecommerce opportunities. Xerox—never capitalized on the many breakthrough technologies developed at its Palo Alto Research Center. Some readers might believe these cautionary tales don’t apply to associations. Associations are about mission before value, right? They don’t have shareholders anticipating big gains. There are organizations with ...
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To Succeed in Industry 4.0 Become an Association 4.0™ Leader

By Sherry Budziak posted 12-26-2019
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Deploying a smart factory may not be in your future. But association CEOs who are looking for success must embrace attitudes that keep them in front of these, and other trends associated with Industry 4.0.      By 2021, one quarter of the top 100 consumer goods companies will be using 3D printing to create custom products on demand. By 2025, 75 percent of the total workforce will be Millennials. Their resumes will list skills we barely register today. By 2027, many employees will count robots among their co-workers. Why should you care about this melding of the cyber and physical worlds? Because along with the IT miracles that characterize it, ...
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Industry 4.0 is a Rocket—Don’t Let a Strategic Plan Designed for a Bicycle Leave You in the Dust

By Sherry Budziak posted 12-16-2019
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Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Arthur C. Clark Industry 4.0 is killing science fiction. With each new technological miracle, the window of time and imagination between fantasy inventions and real products and services grows smaller. Here are some examples: Doctors in the United Kingdom recently created an artificial cornea using human cells and a 3D printer. Dactyl, a robot, is capable of teaching itself how to manipulate objects with its fingers. The robot uses neural-network software to experiment randomly with movement. Each time the task is performed more accurately the neural connection grows stronger. ...
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Style Grabs Attention/Substance Wins Hearts—A Website Content Strategy Makes It Happen

By Sherry Budziak posted 12-04-2019
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Animation, riveting images and a contemporary color palate get you noticed. But a content strategy is the secret to giving your audience a more meaningful relationship with your website, your brand and your organization. A website redesign is a significant investment in resources. The temptation to take shortcuts is understandable. But even Ferrari-sleek graphics, won’t make posts that have been gathering digital dust go viral. Your web provider will thank you for taking the time up front to create a thoughtful content strategy. Starting the project with clearly defined parameters around voice, messaging and audiences ensures that the old adage form follows ...
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