- What members want: The new meaning of value - The problem with your young association members is that they’re always changing. Each generation is a little bit different; they value experiences differently. Thanks to XYZ University for this post!
- Your non-members: Friends or Foes? - this post divides non-members into four categories; and suggests that non-members are very definitely our friends and a careful, measured and thoughtful approach to engaging with them will bring tangible results, perhaps not today or tomorrow, but in the future. This was posted on the CSAE Ottawa-Gatineau blog.
- How to Develop a New Product Pipeline For Your Association - Innovation is scary for many organizations because it is not something many are in the habit of doing. Create a practice or a habit of innovation and it becomes much much easier. This post provides 11 key steps in the process. Written by Amanda Kaiser (Smooth The Path).
- Why You Need to Tell Your Association Members`Stories Before Your Own - Guilty by association. We are the company we keep. If your association is the sum of your members, you need to be telling their stories first. Originally posted on the MemberClicks blog.
- Your Choice: Change or Irrelevance - This post is short and timely. It suggests that many organizations are well on their way to irrelevance, and provides three things you can do now to avoid it. Thanks Andy Freed for your thought leadership!
- Facilitation: plan, and have faith - what can we do – facilitators and clients alike – to make it more likely that a facilitated session will go well? Meredith Low provides some thoughts, tips, and best practices here.
- The Death of the Mall and Other Association Lessons - great analogies here on the Association Subculture blog - You don't need to obsess about entropy but you do need to challenge your ethos in the face of it.
- Membership Practices of Associations with High Retention Rates - this post, featured on the Abila blog, offers up 12 practices that associations who have high retention rates are currently doing.
- When Opinion by Committee Can Lead You Astray - how could I have a top 10 list without Jeff Hurt? In this post (which, by the way, is one of many of his posts that I think are great) says 'When we are designing a conference or planning the next steps of an organization, we need to be aware of the challenges of relying only on the opinions of a committee. Especially if everyone on that committee has the same belief. We need to seek diverse thought that challenges our conventional thinking. And encourage honest open discussion.'
- ROI to R.O.M.E - What is R.O.M.E.? Return on Member Engagement. Only when board/staff engagement and member engagement are high do innovative solutions surface through a “we” collaboration. Moving to a “we” focused community is about inclusiveness and being open to the possibilities that might surface. Thanks Dan Varroney for sharing!
What blogs did you see this year that changed the way you think?
