On Tuesday, leaders from Naylor Association Solutions facilitated an Action Lab with association professionals and industry leaders about improving the strategic planning process. Attendees broke into small groups and discussed their experiences and recommendations for how to set a path toward success. The crowdsourced approach to what’s worked (and what hasn’t) led to lively and worthwhile conversations for association leaders, who were able to take away these three pieces of tactical advice.
1. Data should be at the foundation of your strategic plan.
Your data will give you the best idea of who your association is and who you serve. It provides a solid foundation for which to build your strategy on. Tip: When looking at your data, consider it through two lenses:
- Who your members are – their demographic and contact information.
- What your members do – how they engage on your platforms, the education and events they attend, and the products and services they purchase.
2. Choose a model that will work for you.
The point of strategic planning is identifying what you can and have done well, areas for improvement, and new directions you need to go to continue to be a sustainable, successful association. There are a number of models that can help you at various stages throughout this process, including:
- SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis
- OKR (Objectives and Key Results) Model
- SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Timebound) Goals
3. Get your board on board.
Your board plays an essential role not only in setting strategy but also implementing it, so keeping the board focused on the future is key. Provide your board with timely updates with the important information they need to know to make informed decisions. Tip: “Strategic Plan Updates” should be a standing item on your board meeting agenda.
Want to read more about strategic planning, check out this new article on Association Adviser from Naylor's Chief Revenue Officer Walt Phillips: 7 Practical Ways to Design a Better Association Strategy.
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If you planted a seed, how would you ensure it’s growing? You’d likely water it often, make sure nothing or no one disturbs the soil, and hope for no extreme temperatures. But you wouldn’t dig it up to check on it – that would ruin the seed’s growth!
Growing plants takes patience and persistence. So does personal and professional growth, says Greg Bell. Greg, an author, thought leader and motivational speaker, delivered an inspirational Game Changer session during ASAE’s 2021 Annual Meeting about nurturing your personal growth and the growth of your organization. He opened by asking everyone a simple question:
What’s going well?
What’s going well in your life? In your career? Even in the worst of times, we can all find something going well, even if it’s just, “I woke up today.”
Next, ask yourself, Who is that connected to? Who is helping you work toward your goals? How does it make you feel?
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It’s time that we rethink the ways we look at ethics.
Conversations about ethics are often thought to be (and in some cases rightly are) punitive in nature. We tend to only talk about ethics once they’ve been breached. Instead, our expectations around ethical behavior should be part of an ongoing dialogue across all areas of our associations, agreed Nabil El-Ghoroury of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Lindsay Childress-Beatty of the American Psychological Association, and MaryAnne Bobrow of Bobrow Associates, Inc. The three presented a Learning Lab titled Ethics 101 for Association Professionals at the ASAE 2021 Annual Meeting.
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 Securing your organization's digital assets has never been more complicated or essential today. Almost half of attacks are aimed at small and medium-sized organizations, including associations. These attacks cause data and revenue loss. COVID increased risks as everyone started working remotely. What can be done to protect your association against cyber threats?
Dan Brandt Lautman of DelCor Technology Solutions, asked three association executives about the cybersecurity questions that keep them up at night, and how they work to resolve those fears.
In short, the panel recommended employing five basic cybersecurity precautions:
1. Use multifactor authentication to protect your data from unauthorized users.
2. Brush up on your risk profile and risk tolerance when it comes to your electronic data.
3. Create an incident response plan, because cybersecurity threats will happen to you.
4. Engage all stakeholders with an ability to help protect your organization.
5. Stay vigilant – the cyber landscape is constantly evolving and new threats crop up every day.
The best way to not lose sleep over cyber issues is to stay aware.
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Dr. Moogega “Moo” Cooper has been faced with the awesome responsibility to guard the galaxy … literally.
She is the planetary protection lead of the famed NASA Mars 2020 mission, and she told attendees to her Game Changer session at the ASAE 2021 Annual Meeting that the being part of an innovative culture that embraces new ideas with perseverance, curiosity and respect for the other professionals in the room is what led to a successful launch.
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Don't miss these recommended sessions:
 Game Changer: Happy Not Perfect: The Power of Flexible Thinking
Presenter: Poppy Jamie, entrepreneur, influencer and mindfulness advocate
10-10:45 a.m. EDT
Learning Lab: Enhancing Your Organization's Leadership with Emotional Intelligence
Presenters: Jodi Fisher and and Kirsten Reader, Impact Association Management
11-11:45 a.m. EDT
Learning Lab: Everywhere Automation Can Be Implemented in Your Association
Presenter: Lisa Rau, founder, Fionta
1:30-2:15 p.m. EDT
Closing Keynote: Turning Obstacles into Advantages
Presenter: Michele Sullivan, Fortune 500 business executive, author, motivational speaker and strategic business advisor
4:15-5 p.m. EDT
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COVID-19 has continued to impact all association throughout North America due to travel restrictions, limited face-to-face interactions, and significant budgetary contraints from the economic fallout from the pandemic.
Live events still rank as the No. 1 member communication channel in 2021. However, the top COVID-related challenges our survey respondents reported are:
1. Rebuilding pre-COVID attendance levels
2. Maintaining pre-COVID levels of advertising or sponsorship
3. Declining member retention
Find out what else association communicators are saying about their challenges and responses to the pandemic by downloading our free 2021 Association Communications Benchmarking Report.
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 Did you know you don't have to attend a Digital Summit to start learning from the brightest minds in marketing? Check out Digital Summit's online resource library for accessible videos and articles about:
- Email marketing
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Storytelling and content
- Marketing tech
- Lead generation
- and more!
While many resources are available to the public, all Digital Summit attendees receive exclusive access to recordings from their event. Rewatch your favorite session for tips you may have missed the first time. Or watch a session you wanted to attend but couldn't fit in! Log in on this page for instant access.
Haven't yet attended a Digital Summit conference? Check out our fall schedule!
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Non-dues revenue is the oil that helps associations drive forward in support of their missions. The challenges of the past 18 months have left most associations scrambling for new ideas about how to generate revenue to support their programming.
The Association Adviser staff has been hard at work reporting on new ideas for non-dues revenue generation and diversification. Check out our latest articles about non-dues revenue online, any time, at AssociationAdviser.com.
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Engage members, job seekers, employers, and sponsors with your career center through a career fair that’s in-person, online or both. Naylor’s expert team can help you integrate your career center with on-site events, generating more valuable connections and nurturing relationships.
- The power of virtual and onsite integration
- Help candidates arrive prepared with access to online job previews through your association’s job board.
- Empower employers to plan interviews with integrated calendar.
- Enhance candidates’ experience with pre-event, virtual meet-and-greets.
- Maximize ROI with paid employer event registration and job postings via our e-commerce platform.
- Encourage job seekers to highlight career fair attendance in your career center’s resume database.
- Encourage employers and candidates to keep the conversation going with real-time messaging and chat.
Download our infographic – 4 Benefits of Hosting Virtual Career Fair Events – or visit our Naylor Career Fair offering page.
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