One key is the relationship between the board chair and chief staff officer The best sign of a healthy association is a strong partnership between the board chair and the chief staff officer (often called Executive Director). Strong partnerships are fostered by maintaining an open stream of communication, by [...]

One in four security breaches are caused by human error, according to IBM’s 2016 Cyber Security Intelligence Index. Could one person’s error can cause a breach which would affect 100% of your association’s members? Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent human error, but you can use these helpful [...]

Have you ever been in a situation where you walked into a room and didn’t know anyone? Not only were you the new kid in town, but no one came to welcome you or help connect you to the group. This type of environment would deter anyone from ever [...]

It can be exciting to find out that a new slate of directors has been nominated to serve on your association’s board of directors. It’s a promise of new ideas, new perspectives and positive change. What if you were approached to join your association’s board? Would you know what [...]

After Introducing Social Media to a Reluctant Association, you need to figure out how best to take advantage of it. When used well, social media can work for your association by building awareness, promoting advancements, and connecting with prospective members. Social media can be overwhelming, but it is manageable. Read [...]

Cash flow is one of the most important aspects of managing an association. One key element of proper cash flow management is appropriate management of accounts receivable. Studies have shown that many businesses struggle to collect payments from clients, especially small businesses. It can be even trickier for associations [...]

For those of us who work in the association management world, mid-November to January is our busy time of year due to membership renewals. Processing, keeping track of, and following up with association members regarding their renewals keeps us busy. If you do not have a plan in place [...]

Have you attended meetings where you didn’t know anyone in the room? Perhaps you simply knew the name of the person sitting next to you. Maybe you’ve only ever heard someone’s voice over the phone. The question is, how do we learn more about the people with whom we [...]

Starting a new job can be scary, but jumping into the association management world was certainly a challenge that I was ready to take on. During my first few weeks, I had a lot to figure out. Going in as a new association coordinator for two associations, I already [...]

Recently we were in a situation where a regularly planned in-person Annual General Meeting (AGM) for a national association couldn’t take place as part of a traditional conference. Our option was to hold a telephone meeting to bring members together in a less traditional way. During this process we [...]