Archive for December, 2009

Board Composition and Answering the Right Questions

December 29, 2009

One of my clients recently asked me to weigh in on what would be the “right” composition of the Board. They are considering adding permanent positions to the Board (via a bylaws change) so that four different publications editors would be Board officers (they currently have two).

So what do you think? Is this “wrong”? I will admit my initial reaction is a wrinkled brow–why would you need all those editors on the Board? Doing the work of the association (publications) and the ultimate decision making authority (the Board) are two different things. Though I know enough about associations to know that there are probably examples in the industry of every “strange” composition you can think of. I’m not sure there is a “best practice” here (not to mention my general issue with the concept of best practice).

So here’s my advice to this client. Make sure you are answering the right question. The question is not how many editors should have voting rights. The question is, what structure will enable the Board to do its job most effectively. Form follows function. You have to decide what the function of your Board truly is, because only then will you be able to determine the appropriate composition. Like much in association management, our current systems, structures, and processes exist simply because that’s how we’ve always done it. That doesn’t mean they are bad, but they might need to be re-examined.

Does your Board set a direction for the organization, or does it manage competing interests of functional units? Does it make strategic choices, or does it manage the implementation of programs. Depending on how you answer these questions, you could compose your Board in a variety of different ways.

Personally, I think most associations would benefit from a strategically focused Board of directors. For this particular client, publications are very important. But I think there are plenty of ways to ensure the strategic importance of publications is reflected in Board decisions–outside of changing the bylaws and adding permanent director positions.

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I Could Have Had a V8! – Board Orientation 101

December 16, 2009

The other week I was preparing for a Board Orientation session for one of the associations I work with.  Thinking about the association, I trotted out all of the usual suspects, i.e. strategic plan, board structure, marketing plan, budgets and financials, conflict of interest policy, antitrust info, strategic versus operational Boards, Board meeting calendar, etc.  All of the things that make an association exec’s heart sing. Bob Harris, CAE has a great list of all the important topics to cover on his website.

What I forgot from my stint as a volunteer Board member was that as much as I needed to know all of that info, what also mattered to me was the nitty-gritty of how to navigate the meeting. It took the Board’s president-elect to remind me. He filled in the pieces he found difficult at his first meetings. Which airport should people fly into to get to our office in Rockville? What’s the best way to get from the airport to our office? What social events/dinners are usually planned? Are they dressy or casual? What if they want to bring a guest? Who pays for dinners? Who pays for drinks? How do people dress for the meeting? Will breakfast be served? How much time should they allow to make a flight on the way home, etc.

When he added those items to the agenda, it reminded me that for new Board members it’s as much about navigating the system as knowing all of the background that will make them an informed Board member. Once there’s a comfort level with how to get it ‘right’, a new Board member can then focus on the strategic issues before the Board and feel safe in participating at a fully-engaged level.

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Coming To Terms With Social Media

December 9, 2009

If I’m honest, I’m not particularly comfortable with social media. Blogging is new, and at this point, rather forced. (But, I am a fantastic lurker! I love reading what other people have to say on blogs and listservs.) I signed up for LinkedIn and Facebook, but mostly because I felt like I had to. I’m still struggling to understand how this all fits. Before Facebook, I didn’t know what my friends’ status was (and I still don’t since I haven’t logged on for 3 weeks) and that was OK. When I first started using Facebook, I was completely overwhelmed. Was I suddenly expected to know all the details of my friends’ lives? Because it felt like information overload, I stopped using it. Now, when I log on once a month, I have 50 requests and posts and messages. So, I gave up. But after I got over the guilt of not using Facebook, I realized that I’m not missing out! I still know what I have to know about the lives of my friends and family. Most people don’t talk about any serious problems or internal struggles they’re having on Facebook – they pick up the phone and connect with someone. So, I’ve decided that it’s OK for me to use social media on my terms (I’m different and that’s OK). I don’t have to go on to Facebook everyday. I don’t need to respond to blogs. Social media is a tool like everything else (Jamie had a great blog post about that recently). It’s not something that should control me, but rather should be something that enhances my knowledge and relationships. Finding that balance of how to use these tools is different for everyone and people should not expect to use – or have others use – them all in the same way.

All that said, I do recognize the value of social media and have had to figure out how it will work as a tool for my association (the Association of Water Technologies, AWT). To make sure we didn’t miss the boat completely, I signed up AWT for all the biggies – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Groups– if for no other reason than to claim the name. We also started an internal wiki for volunteers to collaborate on projects. Of the major social media tools, we’re only using LinkedIn, right now. But, I am trying to sell my Board on the idea of an interactive conference platform that allows attendees to connect – it’s kind of like Facebook, but designed for the conference. We’re also finding that our standard means of reaching our members – email – is becoming a little stale and we’re seeing a decrease in open and click-through rates. Social media tools, such as Twitter, might be a great way to re-engage the membership, so that is something we’re looking into as well.

So, I’m making my foray into social media grumbling slightly (to myself; I try to be enthusiastic to my Board), but knowing that it is a great way to help people connect and enhance their association experience.

Posted in Marketing and Commmunications | Leave a Comment »

May I Supersize Your Order?

December 8, 2009

THE UPSELL! Two words that strike suspicion and horror into the hearts of many consumers. But think about it. How many times have you said yes when the drive-thru cashier asked, “Would you like to supersize your order?”

Customers will often spend more if you just ask. But what if we looked at the upsell as a tool that lets our customer know just exactly what is available to them. Would that make it feel less like an undignified or unprincipled acquisition of a sum of money with little effort on your part?

As the Member Services Manager for a trade association, I am often in a position to upsell or, more simply put, offer extra buying opportunities to my customer/client. For example, if one of my members decides to participate in a training seminar, I can offer to sell them the workbooks that will make the training seminar easier to follow. And if you’re coming to the training, would you like to take the Certification exam that will give you the edge over your competitors should you pass. You would like to take the exam? Let me suggest some study materials available for sale through our bookstore. A supplier member calls and wants to exhibit at our annual Convention and Exhibition. I would be remiss if I didn’t offer them the opportunity to advertise in our quarterly publication which would allow them to showcase their product to attendees, or offer them an opportunity to sponsor an event at the Convention to raise their profile, and demonstrate their support of our organization, to our attendees.

Now, believe it or not, I do all of this, not to squeeze extra funds from our members, but to highlight the many benefits that our organization provides. Benefits that will help them elevate their professional standing, and grow their bottom line. Benefits that they might not even be aware of.

So, instead of viewing the upsell as a money grabbing scheme, see it for what it is – a highlight of the benefits and services that your organization has to offer. You’re proud of your products. Don’t be afraid to promote them! And you have nothing to lose. Remember, the customer makes the final decision on how much they want, or need, of what you are providing. They can always say no!

Posted in Marketing and Commmunications, Membership | Leave a Comment »

Selecting a Typeface? Try the Periodic Table.

December 7, 2009

If you are having difficulty selecting a font, try the Periodic Table of Typefaces. This is an excellence resource that can help the expert or novice typographer in selecting a typeface for a given project.

For the novice there are a few more consideration that are necessary:

First, let us clarify the difference between the words, font and typeface. Typeface refers to a “family” or a group of letters that have the same style, for instance: Arial, Helvetica, Times, or Garamond. Font refers to the more specific description within a typeface such as Bold, Italics, Roman, or Oblique.

Next, consider how your audience will read composition. If it is running text or paragraphs on a printed page, try not to get fancy, be considerate of the reader, oldstyle typefaces such as Times, Garamond, and Caslon will be you best choice. They are the easiest to read for running text. When someone is reading running text, the mind sees each word as one image, that is why one can read through a paragraph quickly. It is the shape of the word that your mind sees, not the individual letters. This shape is primarily defined by the ascenders (e.g. the line of the lowercase “d”) and descenders (e.g. the line of a lowercase “p”). When you use “all caps” you have destroyed the one word image, and the mind must slow down and decipher each letter. The moral of the story: never use all caps in a paragraph.

The vast majority of typefaces are designed for titles. This is because titles have few words in them, so fancy letters can be read because your mind can slowly evaluate the information in each individual letter, and differentiate them by their characteristics. This is also why it is acceptable to use all-caps in a title, since your mind can take a moment to decipher the information letter by letter.

Posted in Creative | Leave a Comment »

The Artist’s Chosen Constraint

December 4, 2009

If an artist chooses a constraint… he presumably believes that he will benefit artistically from having a smaller sphere of choice. Some examples of chosen constraints are sonata form, sonnet, haiku, iambic pentameter; still-life painting, charcoal drawing; two-person play, comedy of manners; Greek temple, Roman arena. (Livingston)

My constraint of choice is the “cube” or as some refer to as the cubicle. At first look, the “Freedom” of the free-lance would seem a far superior choice to the graphic artist. The free-lance has the freedom to create a work environment that reflects all that is conducive to creative thinking—choice furniture, quiet music, and few interruptions. Although the cube may not possess the environmental qualities that promote creativity to its fullest, I will argue that the constraint of the cube does provide for high-quality work that is better suited to the client. Design, by definition, is problem solving, and—boy—do you have to problem solve in the cube. The tempo is fast, interruptions are commonplace, and the workload is intense—what better environment to force a designer to create efficient and effective systems that allow for good, consistent solutions. It is working within these systems that excellent work can be created. Rarely is the work clever or cerebral, but occasionally, when it is called for, it can be. That is the point, as graphic artists, our work should be a result of our clients wants and needs—which less often calls for a dramatic creativity, and more often calls for solid, consistent, and successful design. This might be a stretch—but I will liken it to Vermeer rather than Picasso.

Beyond the constraint of the cube, as an in-house graphic designer working for an AMC, I have the added benefit of possessing a pre-developed understanding of each client and their needs. Being on the “inside” I develop an understanding of each client that could never be attained from the “outside”. Also, by superseding the “getting to know you” steps, efficiency is dramatically increased.

Great design doesn’t need unlimited budgets or tons of man-hours. The constraint of the Cube can help the graphic artist produce work that is effective and efficient, and over the long haul, develops a certain client trust that can lead to a deeper relationship and greater success.

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Data is a Double Edged Sword

December 3, 2009

Although I am a fairly intuitive person in general, when it comes to leading associations, I am a big fan of data. I still think intuition is a form of data, but if you use it while ignoring volumes of quantitative data (simply because you don’t want to take the time to gather or analyze those data), I don’t think it will work out well. That’s a recipe for being scattered, following the whims of individual Board Presidents, or being trapped in “we’ve always done it that way.” Bringing hard data into the conversation typically generates better strategic choices.

But the data side of things isn’t so simple, either. At ASAE’s Executive Management Section Council meeting yesterday, ASAE staff reported that according to their research, giving a discount on membership dues was the highest predictor of non-renewal of membership. This makes me think twice about offering discounts on membership. But one of the council members then reported of a trial membership program where they gave away membership for a year (100% discount) but still had 11% renew (by paying the next year). She was pleased with the fact that she got that many new paying members. The ASAE research staff pointed out, however, that within that group 89% did not renew, which was consistent with her research finding.

My point is (and the ASAE staff made basically the same point) that the data by itself can be just as dangerous as the intuition by itself. If you take the statistical correlation that she identified (discounts and non-renewal correlate) and applied it blindly, you wouldn’t give any discounts, and you would miss the opportunity to get those 11% of the trial program as members. The 89% non-renewal rate–in that particular context–is fine.

I love data, but you have to take it through to a complete understanding before it’s really useful.

Posted in Membership | Leave a Comment »

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