-
Technology improves the consent agenda
Wil Riley and Bob Harris Association ManagementThe consent agenda is a tool to facilitate more effective board meetings. Adding technology to the concept improves ease of use and impact. In today’s fast-paced world, we must respect volunteers’ contributions of time and talents. It will be difficult to convene a quorum if directors feel the meeting wastes their time. It is especially problematic when so much of a meeting is used for reporting: listening, reading, discussing and approving. One wonders how the board gets to the essential business of mission and goals if reports consume most the time. A consent agenda may be the solution, technology may be the mechanism.
-
What happens after go-live?
Deborah Ike Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementYou've launched the new product or went live with the software upgrade. The team completed the mission. So, what happens next? Do you forget the work of the last several months and move on to the next project? That's the simplest thing to do since, after all, there's always another project to jump into. However, what about all the lessons the team learned along the way? You don't want to lose those and repeat the same mistakes with the next project.
-
Make your company’s email practices more effective than ever
Lisa Mulcahy CommunicationsEmail — it's essential for your business, of course. But are you using it as productively as possible or is it actually taking away from your company's efficiency? From shaping email content to helping your employees deal with the onslaught from their inboxes, there are easy and effective strategies you can adopt so email further enhances your overall success throughout every single workday. Use these pieces of science-driven advice to whip your email system into shape today.
-
Association CPR: Commitment, performance and results
William D. Pawlucy and Robert C. Harris Association ManagementCPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a procedure to support and maintain breathing and circulation on an individual when breathing or the heart has stopped. Performed promptly it can support life until medical professionals arrive. In an association, CPR may restore life to an underperforming organization. In this case, CPR represents a renewal of Commitment, Performance and Results.
-
Fire fast, even in an employee market
Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementPay is up. Jobs are increasing. And the opportunities of the gig economy continue to unsettle traditional job paths. None of this changes the fact that it is better for culture, retention and the bottom line to fire fast. But how do we balance the imperative to fire fast with the more basic need to have staff? Here are a few tips on how to fire fast, even in an employee market.
-
Directors wear many hats
Robert C. Harris Association ManagementThe director walked into the board meeting with an agenda of her own. She said, "My chapter expects the state board to resolve our situation." What hat was she wearing; a chapter director, a board member? She got on the board because the bylaws allow for representation from each chapter. This director had a bad assumption about governance. She was obsessed with the problems of her chapter rather than a shared focus on advancing the mission and goals of the state association.
-
Results-driven credentials that demonstrate your value
Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIf employers hire people to produce desired results, why not build a results-driven résumé to prove you are the best candidate? Why not give yourself an edge in your career search by building this résumé that tells employers you are a candidate they must consider? Whether it’s a for-profit (or a nonprofit, i.e., "not-for-loss") employer, businesses and institutions are looking for people who can deliver results that positively impact the bottom line.
-
Job-hopping: A red flag or a promising sign?
Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementTo many recruiters and hiring managers, job-hopping used to be viewed as a warning sign that the candidate was flaky and uncommitted, or a bad worker who would soon be fired. But now, that perception seems to be changing as a result of several factors. In a good economy and at almost full employment, many companies say they’re struggling to find good workers and they’re turning to the best place to find them: industry competitors. This creates an ideal situation for employees with in-demand skills. On the flip side, there are also workers on the lower end of the pay spectrum who may be changing jobs in an effort to make ends meet.
-
3 behaviors that bad bosses do well
Simma Lieberman Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementWe often talk about the traits of great leaders. Harvard Business Review, Inc. magazine, Psychology Today, and numerous best-selling books often share the latest research on leadership. Great organizations sustain themselves with great leaders at every level when they employ the right practices. But what happens in organizations with bad leaders? There is a misconception that just because someone has the title of leader and a great product that they are good at leading people. Here are three behaviors that bad leaders do so well, their employees end up hating them, retiring in place or just quit.
-
Lessons on conflict management from my 6-year-old
Candice Gottlieb-Clark Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAs I was driving my daughter home from school one day, we discussed her most recent, holiday-inspired work of art. I suggest that we temporarily place it where we had hung her "Blue Dog" painting. She agrees — and then, a few moments later, asks, "Don’t you like my Blue Dog?" Surprised, as I absolutely love her artwork and frequently tell her so, I say, "Of course I do." Then, I go on to explain the limited space we have for hangable art. "But," she says, "I heard you say you didn’t like Blue Dog." And she was right. I had said exactly that a couple weeks prior.
All Association Management Articles