Welcome to THE PODCAST

Some say consulting is the dark side. We take offense! Elisa and Andrew are the good guys! Heck, we’re association superheroes and have been consulting and advising nonprofits and membership organizations for quite a while now. Today, we pull back the curtain to discuss, vent, tease, and explore the good and the bad of the consultant/client relationship. How do you get the most out of the engagement? Are there credentials for consultants? Who makes up the current field of consultants? Does your RFP communicate your needs? Join us for this “off the record” episode of Association Transformation.

She makes change fun and elevates innovation. Join Elisa as she chats with a true association renaissance woman, Belinda Moore of Strategic Membership Solutions. Accept and adapt - We know associations have to fundamentally transform, given the incredible pace of change and the opportunities presented by technology, but Belinda reminds us that everything is interconnected! We preview the 2024 Associations Evolve Journal and chat a little AI. Don’t miss this international conversation and meet Association Annie.  Get a free download of Belinda’s tongue-in-cheek look at the world of associations through cartoons: Association Annie – Herding Cats 

We admit it! We’re intimidated by all the digital possibilities presented by AI and automation, especially when it comes to composing the perfect newsletter. So Elisa and Andrew called in an expert for Episode 80 of Association Transformation. Erica Salm Rench, COO of rasa.io helps us navigate content curation best practices, personalization strategies, and ensuring reliable sources. This episode will bring you up to speed on the new normal for open rates, ways to save time building newsletters, and the realities of data decay. Now we get it! 

The band is back together as Andrew and Elisa chat with digital strategist and social learning expert Joanne Jacobs of Disruptor Co. After exploring “Why Most Webinars Suck” in Associations Evolve 2023, we discuss the future of online learning and tools to engage in a sincere and memorable way. Did you know that depth perception impacts memory, making it harder to remember the information we receive digitally? In this episode, we explore ways to make digital experiences dynamic, including recommended platforms, the power of cohorts, and “top and tailing” strategies. Dive in and share with us what’s working for you! 

For associations and other non-profits, one of the key issues is finding a balance between resources required and funds available. This week Andrew is joined by Julie Krieger, founder of Onsomble to explore the various options for optimizing our human capital, from volunteering to outsourcing to in-house teams. 

Is your association on the verge of a surge in participation? The king of association membership research, Tony Rossell, Senior VP of Marketing General Incorporated,  joins Association Transformation to discuss all things recruitment, retention, and member engagement! Without her trusty co-host, Elisa and Tony celebrate the power and potential of membership, affirming their shared belief that membership still works for associations! Check out episode 74 to learn more about ready, aim, fire strategies, and how to avoid analysis paralysis. Andrew – we missed you and the accent! 

Financial! Fiduciary! Fund! Finance! Pick your nonprofit “F-word” of choice. Between bank collapses, inflation, stock market fluctuation, we had to call in the big guns this week. This week, Marc Labadie of RTD Financial joins us to discuss FDIC protections, reserves, insurance, and financial governance. As a financial adviser,  specializing in membership associations, he gives us nonprofit-specific insights into today’s volatile economic environment. Counting Down the Biggest Reserves Mistakes Recap:

#10: Not Having FDIC Insurance Coverage on all Operating Reserves

#9: Not Investing Long-Term Reserves Aggressively Enough

#8: Not Maintaining an Adequate Emergency, Strategic or Short-Term Reserve Fund

#7: Not Taking Advantage of Maximizing “Free Money”

#6: Not Understanding the Total Cost of Maintaining Reserves

#5: Investing Too Many Reserves in Private & Illiquid Investments

#4: Not Formalizing a Policy for Levels of All Reserve Balances

#3: Not Educating New & Rotating Board/Committee Members on Reserve Goals

#2: Not Understanding the Reserve Levels Needed to be Sustainable for the Long-Term

#1: Not Dedicating Annual Savings as Part of the Annual Budget

You’ve heard the debate: Association CEOs should come from industry. Others insist the chief staff executive should be a tested nonprofit leader. Well, we found a unicorn who breaks all the stereotypes. Elisa and Andrew are joined by Terry Baker, CEO of the Society of American Foresters, who reminds us that leadership success isn't based on industry versus association but rather the intentional combination of both. Oh, and he shares his leadership secret of “puppy proposals"... 

Has the “rubber band of change” snapped? Dana Aragon of the National Society of Professional Engineers joins us for a broad and triggering conversation. From the band-aids of innovation used to get associations through the last 36 months to nonprofits reverting to the “way things have always been done”. Elisa, Andrew, and Dana deconstruct the association model and discuss how to survive and thrive despite “crisis burnout.” 

All boards know that strategy is important; but almost all also find it daunting. Planning forces directors to confront a future they can only guess at. Worse, actually choosing a strategy entails making decisions that explicitly cut off possibilities and options, and a board may well fear that getting those decisions wrong will wreck their organisation's chances of long-term success. This week, to kick off Season 4, Elisa and Andrew are joined by Larry Paska from the National Council for the Social Studies, who explains their formula for defining and delivering a strategic plan that is realising sustained success for the NCSS and its members. 

Association management is a vocation; it is a profession; and for an increasing number of people, it is a career choice. It is a craft which requires a complex mix of skills, knowledge, and experience, dexterously combining knowledge of association culture, structure, and politics, with a wide spectrum of professional expertise, ranging from strategy and advocacy to marketing and event management, and everything in between. Defining and maintaining shared professional standards is therefore imperative for the long-term success of the profession. Elisa and Andrew are joined by sector specialist, CAE evangelist, and host of Nonprofit Conversations, Cecilia Sepp to discuss the transformative power of professional recognition and accreditation.

At this year's ASAE Annual Meeting, keynote speaker Marcus Whitney encouraged association professionals to reexamine their perception of innovation and offered practical lessons on how organizations could be creative and goal-oriented. But what else did we learn from #ASAE22? Elisa and Andrew are joined by association community specialist, blogger, and fellow podcaster, Kiki L'Italien to discuss the lessons learned from Nashville.  You can listen to Kiki's podcast at https://associationchat.com.

The Entomological Society of America (ESA) is a non-partisan scientific organization which represents a broad spectrum of opinions united under one principle: the promotion and advancement of scientific inquiry, discovery, and communication. Within the context of its diverse membership, the ESA has devised a successful approach to engaging in topics of broad  social interest, including statements on Why Black Lives Matter to Entomology at the start of the George Floyd movement, the January 6  insurrection (Our Place in Democracy), the Hidden Costs of War (in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine), and the recent ruling from the Supreme Court on Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization (On Women's Pursuit of Science). We contend that a modern membership organization has an obligation to participate in societal debate and to influence social narratives wherever possible; and in Episode 60 of #associationtransformation, Elisa and Andrew are joined by Chris Stelzig, Executive Director of the ESA who explains the organization's methods for addressing social responsibilities through constructive dialogue and informed debate.   If you're not at the table, then you're probably on the menu.

This week's episode is sponsored by our friends at Cambridge Publishing Ltd (www.cpl.co.uk). Elisa and Andrew are joined by Martin Bewick, Senior Content Strategist at CPL to explore the value of devising an association's content strategy and the impact of cultivating a content culture.  There is no single 'right' model and Martin helps us understand the process for creating a content strategy that works hand-in-hand with your wider business, marketing and communications plans to ensure you tell a consistent story to your members.  Download CPL's report on Channelling the future at https://www.cpl.co.uk/news/channellin....

Salesforce recently published its 7th annual report on marketing within the global nonprofit environment. Over 8,200 marketing professional from more than 30 countries were surveyed on the shifts which have occurred in marketing strategies, priorities, and challenges during 2021. It makes insightful reading and this week Elisa and Andrew are joined by marketing specialists Lorraine Cox, CMktr and Stefan Bradham, CAE to explore recent changes and trends in content strategy, member engagement, data innovation, and digitisation.You can download the report at https://www.salesforce.com/form/sfdo/....   Mark Schafer's book Marketing Rebellion: the most human company wins can be ordered at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marketing-Re....

Organizations that employ the strategy of Continuous Disruptive Innovation (CDI) are a rare breed. They require disruptive leadership teams who create tremendous long-term value by nurturing periods of sustained ideation and value creation. They build platforms or networks that give rise to the development of a series of offerings, each of which creates further disruption within an industry.  Think Google. Think Apple. Elisa and Andrew begin to explore the basics of CDI and consider ways in which the membership world can apply the principles of CDI to the long-term development (and redevelopment) of their value propositions.

When he defined the concept of "attention economics" in 1971, Nobel Laureate Herbert A. Simon wrote that "...a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention...".  50 years later, and in a data-rich world, the overwhelming wealth of information available to us means a dearth of something else, i.e. the scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes - our attention. In this week's episode, and in the first of a series of conversations focused on attention economics, Elisa and Andrew define the concept and begin to explore how membership bodies need to understand, respond to, and flourish within the attention economy.

Storytelling is humanity’s oldest technology for connection, identity, and sense making. And today it’s the mission-critical competency for knowledge-era leaders. The world's most influential leaders are telling stories, including association leaders and Elisa and Andrew are joined by the Storyteller Leader, David Hutchens and discuss how to bring the power of authentic human connection to your most urgent work, including the narrative assets — the value-holding stories — that you can bring to the work you’re doing right now.  For more information visit www.storytellingleader.com and freely download the entire set of canvas resources.

They call it the "great resignation" but is it really going to turn out to be that? Certainly, as with so many professions, post-pandemic, association executives are reassessing their priorities, reexamining their career paths, and rethinking what it is that they want from work. Bob Corlett, Founder & President of Staffing Advisors joins Elisa and Andrew to explore the trends which are rapidly emerging in the non-profit jobs market and executive recruitment.

Since last year's Associations Week, it's fair to say that the membership sector has more than proven itself adept at managing change. There's no doubt that associations have demonstrated their worth as creative, adaptive, flexible, innovative, ambitious, and responsive focal points of many professional communities. But at what cost? Heightened member expectations, increased demands to "do more with less", constantly competing priorities, and a digital culture that facilities (and arguably demands) 24/7 access to services, are all combining to threaten the exceptional endeavours of our sector, as well as the emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing of staff and volunteers. Are we slipping back into old ways? Are we defining the value proposition as quantity over quality? And are we forgetting that what drives membership is that unique sense of belonging  amongst a community of peers? Elisa and Andrew take some time out to discuss and reflect on the health and wellbeing of our industry.

Have you ever been in a meeting with someone who is clearly giving you the same presentation they've given before to other audiences? There are some telltale signs: a generic set of benefits, little anticipation of objections, a lack of details that speak to your specific situation. Chances are that you tuned out somewhere along the way because you didn’t feel connected to what they were telling you. They weren’t talking to you but just a generalized "someone".   Nona Phinn, President & Chief Messaging Officer at THuS Marketing + Branding Services joins Elisa and Andrew to discuss the (not so new) need to know, prioritise, and target your audience. 

Every four years the best are brought together to compete. What makes the best of the best in association leadership? Andrew and Elisa undertake an Olympic discussion of gold, silver and bronze competencies. In advance of the IAL releasing its leadership systems map, this week we explore the changing and emerging skills required of gold medal CEOs and how to employ and frame competency outlines in general.

How would you score in a communications audit? Shannon Powell Rodockerjoins Elisa and Andrew in exploring the impact of good (and bad!) communications and introduces us to the process and value of routinely auditing, investing, reviewing, and refreshing association communications. Visit www.remembermkt.com for more details on the audit toolkit.

Disagreement, misunderstandings and tensions amongst team members are not uncommon. Indeed, conflict amongst people is a natural part of everyday life but in the context of our professional lives, conflict does not need to be destructive. Instead, it can and should be used as a tool that allows teams to take action to accomplish a particular goal. Getting issues out in the open and on the table allows teams to evaluate a problem or question with more complete information and, in the end, to make a better decision. And crucially, a culture of constructive conflict always generates a strong sense of team cohesion. Gina D'Andrea Weatherup joins Elisa and Andrew in exploring the practical tools for improving a team’s transparency and communication within a trust-based environment. Visit www.chantillymediationandfacilitation.com for more details on creating happier workplaces.

Would you like $10k per month of advertising for your association? In this week's episode, we delve deep into how to promote your organisation cost-effectively. Today's guest Mary Gross has worked in the non- and for-profit technology field for the last 25 years. Working with OCT Performance Marketing, she managed client accounts and worked to create and deploy marketing strategies that involve digital and social media campaigns and website development – all focused on a measurable return on investment. In the nonprofit sector, she worked with United Way of San Diego County, Nonprofit Management Solutions and 211 for 20 years and brings a deep knowledge of the nonprofit sector to any project.

The pandemic has shaken up the way we work, and the way we connect with other people. Associations have grown ever more important as they provide that space for connection.  

Elisa and today's guests, Carmen Elliott, Vice President at the American Physical Therapy Association and Dana Aragon Director of Workforce Development at the Associated General Contractors of New Mexico,  speak about how their associations have tended and supported their members through this disruptive time.  As Dana says, "information is the new currency" and "there's strength in numbers", associations have never been more valuable. 

Do we learn more through our mistakes than our successes? Andrew and Elisa discuss the importance of failure and how it makes us grow as leaders. 

 Associations, like any business, has a brand and that brand needs to morph with the transformation of the business. With some associations being centuries old, rebranding is a necessity to keep with the times. In this week's episode, Andrew and Elisa and their guests speak about this process - the how and why of an association's rebrand.  How can you identify when your organisation needs a paint job?  Who needs to be involved in the process? How much is it going to cost? And, what are the benefits - what do you get out of it?  These questions and more are addressed with today's guests Gwyn Donohue, Director of Communications & Public Affairs at PIJAC and Rob Helsby, Lead Designer at Cantarus.  You won't want to miss this episode.
 

Membership is at the heart of any association and today's guests are membership directors of the highest calibre.  Join in on our conversation where Andrew, Elisa, Kim Hall, Membership Director of National Association of Counties, and David D'Souza, Membership Director of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development speak all thing membership.  Also, tune in to find out what a fortnight is!  You won't want to miss this episode. 

In an extraordinary episode of Association Transformation, Andrew and Elisa are joined by two sustainability gurus, who also happen to be association heavyweights, to discuss the power and influence associations can drive social innovation.  Jill Poet, CEO of the Organisation for Responsible Businesses CIC (ORB), and Gwyn Jones, Director at the Association of Sustainability Practitioners (ASP), speak with the hosts about social innovation, enterprise, and entrepreneurship are and what they mean for associations.  You won't want to miss this episode.   

Andrew is joined by Cindy Sparrow, Director at Consort Strategy, to discuss the importance of good leadership at board level.  As an association executive, you know that poor board leadership could be detrimental to the reputation of your organisation and it's members. This is why identifying it early, understanding how to address it and stop it from growing is imperative to an association's success. In this week's episode Andrew and Cindy focus on a recent case study taken from the Institute of Directors and uncover key findings to analyse how not to lead a board.

As our listeners know by now, at Association Transformation, we love nothing more than investigating what associations are doing to advance their social responsibility and their members' social responsibility. We genuinely believe that membership organisations have the power and the reach to make a positive difference in the world.  

In today's episode, Andrew and Elisa have an exceptional guest on to discuss the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, goal number 1 - Ending Poverty, Everywhere.  

Jeffers Miruka, founder and President at the African Society of Association Executives and the CEO of the African Association of Agricultural Economists, takes us on a personal journey through his experience of poverty through to being one of the most impressive association heavyweights we have had the pleasure of knowing. Jeffers discusses how his experiences have influenced the practices he instills in the associations he heads and is involved in.  

You won't want to miss this inspirational episode.

Today's episode is all about the impact of elections and government affairs on associations. The Trump Administration ceases to exist since the 20th of January, as the US inaugurated the 47th President of the United States, Joe Biden. What does this landmark election mean for associations in the US and globally?  Andrew and Elisa invite two experts to discuss this election, what it means for associations, how they communicate governmental affairs to members, and what they do to advocate for their sector. The US' associations are renounced for being great lobbyists, the panel speaks about the importance of advocacy and having a relationship with the government.  Today, our guests are Marco Giamberardino, Vice President, Government, and Public Affairs NECA, and Frank McCarthy, Principal McCarthy Advanced Consulting.  Join our guests and find out how your association can do more for your members by being a lobbyist and advocacy giant.

This week, Andrew and Elisa are joined by Richard Collins of CSR-Accreditation to discuss what associations can do to address their social responsibility and help their members do the same. Together, they delve into what social responsibility means in the context of associations and non-profits, what creating a standard of social responsibility actually looks like, and how associations and their members can realise these standards and achieve accreditation.

Using social media successfully is a business imperative. The prospect of doing so can however be a daunting one. It's difficult to know what platforms to use, how to create the best content, how much money to spend, how much content to share. So, what is the best way to use social media? What techniques should be used to maximise engagement, recruitment, advocacy and revenue? Knowing how to navigate the hidden complexities of social media and how to add value to your organisation using these tools is what we are talking about today. Karlyn Ankrom joins us for the first show of 2021 to discuss the urgency of social media in growing and sustaining business. Karlyn is the founder of Oh Snap! Social and the creator of the Fan Firestarter Framework, a new approach to social media marketing made specifically for businesses "tempted to fake their own death and flee to Tahiti at the mere thought of content creation!"

Within the voluntary environment of association governance, it can be difficult to find time, resources or suitable avenues for personal development, and yet for directors to be successful as effective leaders, a commitment from associations to their directors’ continual professional development is critical. To help us understand what makes real and effective board training we have invited 3 highly experienced guests.  Joining Elisa and Andrew on the podcast is Shawn Burnam, Vice President of Operations at Performance Contracting Inc., Chris Williams, Director of Membership at the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry and Steve Hayes, President of TOPRA.

COVID has presented many unprecedented challenges to our community, the most immediate being financial. Navigating economic uncertainty requires confidence, creativity and innovation which, in turn, requires strong and effective financial literacy and leadership. Kevin Madden joins our #transatlanticconversation to discuss the (often unsung but) pivotal role of the association CFO. 

In this week's episode Andrew and Elisa start lifting the lid on governance as an opportunity for #associationtransformation. In conversation are Monica Million, Immediate Past President of NENA: The 9-1-1 Association, Nicola Rylett-Jones MInstLM, trustee of the The Institute of Leadership & Management and Caroline Bovey BEM, Chair of the The British Dietetic Association (BDA).

The Institute of Association Leadership has decided to start a new chapter in its life and joining Andrew and Elisa on the podcast are the people making it happen. In today's episode they talk to Rennie Schafer, Lucy Reece-Raybould and Ian Thompson about the organisation's evolutionary process, why they decided to take on the challenge and what they hope for the future.

Remember that connecting is universal. Connecting is a human necessity even in a time of pandemic. It spans industries, age groups, levels of career, and its need is even greater in a post-COVID world especially with in-person meetings on hold. So what are associations to do to serve their members and deliver the expected networking value?

As non-profits continue to cancel in-person meetings, virtual events are now a mainstay in the association space. Following the largest virtual conference yet (14K registrants, with nearly 8K attendees spending more than 10 hours on the platform over the course of 3 days), we discuss key takeaways, lessons learned, and “unmute” our very own event and digital production guru Andy Carrol, Creative Director at AM&C Media. Together we debate the potential of virtual experiences, dependence on engaging content, and the desperate need for quality production. Your virtual events don’t have to be apologetic replacements for the live experience. Not to miss, this timely and pertinent exchange will help you frame expectations and take your digital conference experience to the next level.

Given the disruption to global travel and consequently to the convention, conference and business meeting experience, we want to better understand the impact of these events on the sponsors and vendors. From their perspectives, what has been the shift in focus and the impact on their ability to get in front of and serve their clients in the non-profit space. Sector supporters and suppliers David Abraham (Wattle) and Troy Woodham (Naylor) join us to explore.