The Association Innovation Blog by Jeff De Cagna

7DoB Day 7: Reaching a conclusion

Well, we've come to the end of another Seven Days of Blog.  It wasn't everything I wanted it to be and I'm sure it wasn't for you either.  I'm very sorry about that, but I promise to make it up to you in the weeks ahead.  As I've already announced, I am going to be blogging the Great Ideas Conference in Phoenix and I will be launching a new blog in the next ten days or so.  So stay tuned for more things to begin happening!

On a personal note, I'm quite pleased that the New England Patriots won tonight's Super Bowl.  I root for the New York Giants on a regular basis, but in these playoffs I had no trouble cheering for the Pats because Bill Belichick, Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel were all Giants assistants at one time.  And besides, no serious Giants fan could EVER root for the Eagles under any circumstances!

Have a great day!

7DoB Days 5&6: Very sorry everybody!

Just a quick post tonite to apologize for not posting yesterday.  It's been a busy couple of days as I prepare to travel next week.  (Perhaps the timing of this latest edition of 7DoB wasn't the best, huh?)  I hope you will forgive me for being remiss.

There are so many things I want to blog about, and so little time!  Perhaps that is the problem...I have TOO MANY potential blog topics.  And so it probably doesn't make sense for me to launch another blog, but I am going to do it anyway.  (What can I say, I am a glutton for punishment...;>)  I'm not going to share all of the details right now, but I will tell you that what I have planned is an all-audio blog (the text lovers are rolling their eyes right now!) with a podcasting feed.  I'll make another announcement next week after I get back from my trip.

I appreciate your support of TAIB!  Thanks so much for sticking with me...

7DoB Day 4: Solving the Association Puzzle

I've been remiss in not announcing that my friend and colleague Cecilia Sepp has launched her blog, Association Puzzle, after receiving one of my three Gifts of Blog a few weeks ago.  Cecilia and I worked together about 10 years ago (Good God, has it been that long?) at what was then known as the American Corporate Counsel Association, and is now called the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Cecilia's blog will discuss a variety of association issues, with a particular focus on handling relationships with volunteers.  I know that it will be incredibly valuable for everyone in the association community and I hope you will jump over to her site and subscribe!

I hope that in 2005 we will continue to develop the association part of the "blogosphere," and build a more robust set of blogs to explore our issues.  No matter what, TAIB will be there to contribute to the conversation!

7DoB Day 3: ASAE/The Center Merger and HBR 20 Breakthrough Ideas (AUDIO)

A rather long audio post (sorry text lovers!) about the merger between ASAE and The Center, as requested by Ben Martin, CAE of VSCPA. Also, a brief mention of HBR's list of 20 breakthrough ideas for 2005, and the essay of Dean Roger Martin of the University of Toronto's business school. Very good stuff!

BIG NEWS:  As of right now (10:55 pm on 2/2/04) you can download a FREE COPY of the HBR 20 Breakthrough Ideas from the website I listed above.  Just look for the link in the frame marked "Harvard Business Review."  I don't have any idea how long the offer will last...

7DoB Day 2: Three years and counting

I feel like I shortchanged you guys yesterday by only posting the Einstein quotation, and very late in the evening at that.  Sorry about that.  The days just seem to get away from me and I find myself blogging late when I'm too tired to compose.  I'll try to work on that.

Today is the three year anniversary of my consulting practice, Principled Innovation LLC.  I don't write about my company too much on the blog because I want this conversation space to be free of the whole biz dev thing.  But the last three years have been incredible fun and a truly powerful learning experience for me.  So, for right now, I'd like to share six things I (think) I know now about being "out on your own" that I didn't know then.  I'm sure I will add to this list in the months ahead.

7DoB Day 1: Just a quotation

To get the TSOB going, I just want to offer the following quotation tonite from Albert Einstein:

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

Words to live by if you're an innovator.  I'll have more for you tomorrow.

One month down...

The Seven Days of Blog begins tomorrow, but before we get started with that, I thought it might be worth stepping back and reflecting on the first month of 2005 which feels to me like it has just flown by.  So I have a couple of reflection questions for you:

• What has been the most (positively) surprising development so far for your organization?
• What has been the most (positively) surprising development so far for you personally?
• What are you looking forward to in February?

I can't wait to see some of your responses.  If there is interest, I can pose these questions at the end of each month.  I think this kind of reflection can be invaluable.  Look forward to reading your thoughts.

Don't forget that TSOB starts Monday

Just a reminder that the next edition of The Seven Days of Blog begins on Monday, January 31.  If you have ideas on what you'd like me to write about, post them as comments.  I really want to hear from you!

One thing I know I'll be writing about is Harvard Business Review's list of breakthrough ideas for 2005, which just arrived in today's mail, along with the rest of the February issue of course.  Good stuff...very interesting and nice fodder for a great conversation, which I hope we're going to have!

The Seven Days of Blog returns!

Okay TAIB readers, I've decided that it's time for another edition of The Seven Days of Blog!  For those of you who weren't with us in the spring of 2004, I hope you'll check out last year's edition by clicking on the link in the first sentence.  Basically, during The Seven Days of Blog (TSOB), I post at least once everyday for seven consecutive days on various topics of my own choosing and yours as well.  Let's try to get some conversations going!  Who knows...there may be some surprises this year as well...;>)

The next TSOB will begin on Monday, January 31 and will continue straight through until Sunday, February 6. So, between now and this coming Monday, I hope you will post ideas and thoughts below about some of the topics you'd most like to read/hear about on TAIB.  (There will definitely be at least one audio post during this TSOB.  I know most people prefer text, but I like audio.)  I have a few thoughts on things I would like to write about, including offering some of my perspectives on "Innovate America," the final report of the National Innovation Initiative.  (BTW, the link above is to a PDF of the report.  You will need Adobe Acrobat reader.) 

So let me know what's on your minds and I'll try to write about it.  I promise to pull in as many of your topics as I can.  Remember, the fun begins on Monday!

7DoB Day 8+: Closing Thoughts

Well, the first-ever Seven Days of Blog has now come to an end. I hope those of you who have been reading and listening to the blog in the last week have found it interesting and provocative. I'll be picking up on the themes I've suggested in my postings in the weeks and months ahead. And stay tuned for another Seven Days of Blog during the summer!

Today, I learned that the Air Conditioning Contractors of America has started a blog called ACCAbuzz. I've added it to my online reading list and I encourage you to check it out. I'm very pleased to see that some associations are trying out blogs and I hope others will follow suit. If you're aware of other association or association-related blogs, please contact me. I'd like to add them to my list.