The Association Innovation Blog by Jeff De Cagna

Association Forum launches podcast

I'm pleased to say that Association Forum of Chicagoland has joined me and is now producing a podcast for the association community.  The podcast, hosted by Forum CEO Gary LaBranche, will be weekly and is part of a project that has three goals:

1. Demonstrate podcasting as an association product or service;
2. Share lessons learned and knowledge gained on podcasting with the association community;
3. Provide greater access to association management knowledge and information.

I urge you to listen to Gary's first effort and to support the podcast in the weeks and months ahead.  Podcasting is a powerful tool for associations, and I'm pleased to see that it is beginning to enter into our community's awareness.

By the way, the article from the July 2005 FORUM that Gary mentions was authored by yours truly and it can be found here. 

asae & the center annual meeting: part one

Well, I'm back from Nashville, and I have to say that I had a REALLY GREAT time at the ASAE & The Center Annual Meeting.  The staff did a fantastic job.  It was obvious that a great deal of creativity went into the planning for the meeting, and all of their efforts paid off by elevating the energy and enthusiasm level throughout.  The buzz among the attendees was awesome...everyone I talked to had fun and learned a great deal.  Most importantly, no one walked away from the meeting with the impression that this was your typical cookie-cutter ASAE meeting.  The spirit of the merged organization was unleashed in Nashville. Now it must be sustained everyday, day after day.  I'll offer a few thoughts on that subject on another day.  Today, I want to focus on some reflections on Nashville.

My For Immediate Release Interview

On Friday, I was interviewed by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson of the For Immediate Release podcast.  The interview is now available for download, and I hope you'll take some time to check it out.  (It is 55 minutes in length.)

For those of you who listen to my podcast, Associations Unorthodox, you know that I met Shel at the International Association of Business Communicators conference in DC in late June.  Shel introduced himself as "a big fan" of my podcast, which was a truly thrilling thing to hear, because until that point I wasn't sure whether anyone other than my friends were listening.  It was a very exciting moment for me, and I was even more excited by Shel's interview invitation.  I hope I didn't disappoint him and I hope you'll enjoy the conversation!  I look forward to your feedback and pushback...

Now this is a great idea...

Today, I received an e-mail from ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership that allowed me to proof my name badge for the upcoming Annual Meeting in Nashville.  Here is an image of what I received:

This is a terribly exciting development, not only for ASAE & The Center and for meetings in general, but for me personally.  I have struggled my whole life with the challenge of getting others to spell my last name correctly.  I cannot tell you how many hundreds of times over the decades other people have substituted their judgment for mine when spelling my last name.  People have actually argued with me about it, suggesting that the space in my name is not necessary or not a mistake.  The joke I make is that if I could get back all of the time I've spent correcting error-filled spellings my last name over the last 37 years, I'd still be 18 years old!

To me, this very simple e-mail is more than just excellent customer service.  For me, it is a sign of respect, a recognition of my individuality and a very simple step that allows me to regain control over how I present myself to others.  Oh sure, an incorrect name badge could be corrected at the meeting.  But now I'm know that ASAE & The Center cares about me as a person, not just as a meeting attendee, and that's a wonderful feeling.  Bravo!

UPDATE:  Rich over at the Trade Show Marketing Report pokes fun at my enthusiasm about the badge proofing option.   But Rich doesn't get my mail...today's extraordinary new spelling of my last name:  DeAcagna.  Now that's one I haven't seen before...full marks for originality.

The XtremeASAE Blog fun has begun...

It is with great pleasure that I announce the XtremeASAE Blog is now live and ready for you to visit!  This blog will be a resource for both Annual Meeting attendees and for members of the association community who are unable to join us in Nashville.  My advice to you:  subscribe today!  You can do that by visiting the site and entering your e-mail address in the Subscribe box on the right side of the blog.  When you subscribe, you will receive ONE E-MAIL per day with all of the updates to the blog for the previous day, so you won't have a bunch of new messages cluttering up your inbox!

I'm personally excited about this new blog, because we have such a great group of bloggers and we are actively seeking your participation in this blogging experience.  If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please email us at xtremeasaeblog@gmail.com.  We look forward to engaging you!

ASAE Annual Meeting blog launches Monday!

Great news!  ASAE & The Center are moving forward with a blog for the Annual Meeting in Nashville!  The blog will launch on Monday and I'm pleased to say that a group of association bloggers will be managing it, with the advice, guidance and support of the ASAE & The Center staff. It is an honor to be a part of that group, and I know that you're going to be pleased with what we're doing.

We're writing this blog for everyone who is attending the meeting, of course, but we're also doing it for the overwhelming majority of association professionals who won't be able to join us at Opryland.  We want the blog to be a useful resource for everyone, something you'll check daily over the next month and even after the meeting.  We will also make it a little bit provocative--dare I say "xtreme"--to capture your attention and spark your imagination!  And we very much want to get you involved!  More on that to come...

So get ready...and check out the various association community blogs over the next few days for updates.  It's very exciting!

A new home for The Association Blog

Fellow blogger Kevin Holland has moved The Association Blog from its previous location on Blogger to a new address on WordPress.  Hey nice banner Kevin!  Very moo-ving...good luck in your new home!  Here's a little Fourth of July housewarming gift for you.  Very patriotic!

The EMSAL debate continues

My friend Ben Martin of the Certified Association Executive blog has posted a response to my posting from late May regarding the EMSAL (executive master of science in association leadership) proposal.  You can read the comment I posted to his blog offering my take on his most recent points when you click through on the bold red "a response" link above.

I'm really glad that Ben has stayed in this conversation with me.  He's a great guy and very smart.  Thanks Ben!  I'm really looking forward to what comes next...

Building the case against best practices

Michael W. McLaughlin of Deloitte Consulting has published an excellent article called "The Worst About Best Practices."  Like me, Mike is frustrated by the prevalence of best practices and the thinking they promote.  As he writes:

The problem with best practices is this: That approach lulls people into thinking that a best practice really exists that can be successfully transplanted.

I agree.  TAIB readers will recall that I selected "the impending death of best practices" as one of the Top 5 issues facing associations in 2005.  Great organizations do not create value for members, customers and stakeholders by copying the work of others.  They understand that in today's marketplace, creativity and originality are the primary drivers of value.  When association leaders try to replicate the experience of others because it seems expedient or efficient to do so, they surrender the opportunity to dazzle their members and give ground to for-profit and non-profit enterprises willing to embrace the challenge of innovation.  In this sense, then, whether and how our organizations use "best practices" is truly a question of leadership judgment, and one that association executives and volunteers cannot afford to get wrong.  To them, I offer the following advice:  let's dump best practices and focus on building better practice in our organizations. 

UPDATE:  I have added a new poll on best practices.  Please cast your vote.

New podcast on Associations Unorthodox

Just a quick note to let everyone know that there is a new podcast posted to Associations Unorthodox, the first podcast I've done in a month.  I'll be podcasting again later in the week.  Please check it out!