Association Hunger Games: Victory or Defeat?

!!

!Association!Hunger!Games:!

Victory!or!Defeat?!!

Tuesday,!Aug.!12,!2014!9!–!10!a.m.!

Room:!201AB!Hashtag:!#asae14!LO3!

!Donna!Oser!CAE!Director,!Leadership!&!Executive!Services!Michigan!Association!of!School!Boards!doser@masb.org!517.327.5923!@donaoser!

Aaron!D.!Wolowiec!MSA,!CAE,!CMP,!CTA!The!Meetings!Coach!

[email protected]!

616.710.1891!@aaronwolowiec!

!!

!!All contents copyright 2014, ASAE, except noted selections which have

been reprinted with permission of the copyright owner.

Association Hunger Games: Victory or Defeat? !

Biographies !

Donna!Oser,!CAE!!Director,!Leadership!&!Executive!Services!Michigan!Association!of!School!Boards!(MASB)!!

Today’s!rapid!advancements!in!technology,!diverse,!multigenerational!work!force,!and!changing!economy!present!significant!challenges!for!associations!and!nonprofits.!A!Certified!Association!Executive®!with!15!years!of!experience!in!nonprofit!management,!Donna!combines!business!acumen,!an!entrepreneurial!mindset!and!a!creative!approach!to!collaboration!to!help!organizations!leverage!change!to!build!capacity,!grow!influence!and,!ultimately,!achieve!their!unique!purposes. ! !

Donna!channels!her!passion!via!four!primary!mediums:!!• Facilitating)shared!decision\making,!planning!and!

problem!solving!with!groups!of!all!sizes!!• Presenting)to!enrich!the!knowledge,!skills!and!attitudes!of!individuals!and!organizations!!• Coaching)individuals!and!teams!towards!desired!outcomes!and!improved!decision\making!!• Consulting)by!providing!technical!expertise!on!association!management!and!leadership!issues

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During!her!career,!Donna!has!held!the!positions!of!executive!director,!assistant!director,!and!director!of operations!with!responsibilities!spanning!all!of!the!core!areas!of!association!management.!Association!honors!bestowed!upon!Donna!in!the!recent!past!include!MASA’s!Champion!for!Children!Award,!MASSP’s!Bold!Leadership!in!Education!Reform,!Michigan!School!Public!Relations!Association’s!Distinguished!Achievement!Award,!and!National!PTA’s!Lifetime!Achievement!Award. !

In!addition!to!possessing!a!BBA!in!Business!Management!with!specializations!in!accounting!and!marketing,!Donna!received!extensive!training!in!public!engagement!and!facilitation!from!the!Institute!of!Cultural!Affairs!and!National!PTA.!She!has!held!numerous!board!positions!over!the!years!and!currently!serves!as!adjunct!faculty!for!the!Michigan!Society!of!Association!Executives.!Donna!reads!voraciously!and!enjoys!cycling,!kayaking!and!spending!time!with!family!and!friends. !

Connect!with!Donna!on!LinkedIn!or!contact!her!directly!at!(517)!420\[email protected].!!

Aaron!D.!Wolowiec,!MSA,!CAE,!CMP,!CTA!!The!Meetings!Coach!Event!Garde!!

Michigan!native!Aaron!Wolowiec!is!a!talented!and!passionate!association!learning!strategist!and!meetings!coach!whose!diverse!achievements!guide!and!propel!association!goals!and!initiatives,!especially!as!they!relate!to!education.!Aaron!has!more!than!a!decade!of!experience!in!the!meetings!industry,!and!has!taught!for!three!years!at!a!Michigan!college. !

Aaron!is!a!certified!association!executive,!a!certified!meeting!professional!and!a!certified!tourism!ambassador,!and!has!earned!a!master's!degree!in!administration!from!Central!Michigan!University.!An!active!member!of!ASAE,!Aaron!is!a!past!chairman!of!the!Young!Association!Executives!Committee,!a!2009\2011!Diversity!Executive!Leadership!Program!scholar!and!a!current!member!of!the!Professional!Development!Section!Council.!!

As!the!premier!source!of!expert!advice!and!innovative!solutions!in!instructional!design!and!meeting!management,!Aaron’s!consulting!firm!is!quickly!gaining!recognition!for!its!creativity!and!leadership!in!the!field!of!professional!development.!In!2012,!Aaron!was!also!featured!by!Michigan(Meetings(+ Events(magazine!as!a!“very!important!professional!you!need!to!know.” ! !

When!not!working!with!clients!Aaron!enjoys!cooking,!hot!yoga,!blogging,!old!homes!and!unclehood,!as!well!as!tending!to!his!puppy,!Lillie.!Likewise,!Aaron!maintains!a!popular!association!blog!at!www.aaronwolowiec.com,!contributes!to!a!variety!of!industry!publications!and!mentors!a!number!of!emerging!professionals.

!

For!more!information!about!Event!Garde,!please!visit!www.eventgarde.com,!subscribe!to!our!monthly!e\newsletter!and!like!“Event!Garde!LLC”!on!Facebook.!Additionally,!Aaron!may!be!reached!by!phone!at!(616)!710\[email protected].!

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Membership Case Study

Association profile • XYZ Association is a 501(C)6 trade association serving school administrators.

• It is an individual membership organization with a budget of $1.5M and 6 FTEs.

• In past years, the association enjoyed a minimum of 80% market share.

• The association is led by a long-serving (20+ yrs) chief staff executive - once a member of the association – who attributes his success to ‘good instincts’.

Business situation In the previous five years, membership numbers declined 2-3% per year. Membership dropped by 9% last year. Alarmed, board members encouraged the CSE to restructure membership and consider reducing the cost of membership dues.

Additional situational factors include:

• Declining school budgets

• Closure of public schools due to loss of funding and population shifts

• Increased scrutiny on how public dollars are spent

• Declining participation in the association’s annual conference

• Recent turnover operations and marketing in staff positions

Technical situation • The association was well-regarded as an early adopter of technology – including having the distinction of being an

all Mac office and publishing regular blogs and podcasts before other organizations were doing so.

• The association cut a $40,000 line item for printing and mailing from its budget.

• The association moved to all electronic communications with all communications being sent via a personal mail client with the exception of the newsletter, which is distributed through email marketing software.

• No business process or software was in place for invoicing.

Culture • The CSE holds 30-minute, stand-up staff meetings as needed or roughly every eight weeks There is no formal

orientation for new staff members.

• Business processes are not documented; no procedure manual exists.

• High performing staff members enjoy considerable independence and bonuses.

• No strategic or business plan exists.

Meetings Case Study

Association profile

• ABC Association is a 501(C)3 organization serving programmers, teachers, leaders and students involved in outdoor programs.

• Both individuals and organizations are members of the association, which has a budget of $500,000 and three FTEs (an executive director, an office manager and a membership coordinator).

• The association directly competes with another collegiate recreation association and indirectly with several higher education associations.

• A former practitioner with no other association experience (other than previously volunteering with the organization) now leads the association.

Business situation In the previous five years:

• Annual meeting attendance has slipped a cumulative 20 percent. • The remaining audience comprises more students than it does professional attendees. • Exhibitor revenue has dropped a cumulative five percent. • Sponsorship revenue has dropped a cumulative 30 percent.

Disappointed, the executive director has secretly considered canceling the annual meeting in favor of other revenue streams. However, the annual meeting currently represents approximately 60 percent of the association’s annual revenue. Additional situational factors include:

• Recent change in membership structure and dues pricing • Increased scrutiny on how member dollars are spent • Various mergers and acquisitions among suppliers • Competition for education opportunities both online and in person

Technical situation

• For a majority of its history, volunteers managed both the association and its annual meeting. • Since the executive director was hired three years ago, a local host committee comprised of association

volunteers managed the annual meeting in Snowbird, Utah; College Park, Maryland; and Portland, Oregon. • Within the last six months, the board of directors has urged the executive director to assume complete

responsibility for the success of the annual meeting. • Having never facilitated the technical aspects of the annual meeting, the executive director engaged the services

of a third-party meeting planner. Culture

• Annual meeting volunteers tend to operate in silos with little understanding of how their work connects to the bigger picture.

• Association members create programs for a living and have a definitive opinion about how the annual meeting should look and feel.

• In addition to being inundated daily by questions from annual meeting volunteers, staff members are frustrated by a lack of cooperation and initiative by the local host committee.

• Frugal and environmentally conscious attendees live by the mantra, “reuse, reduce and refuse.” They’d like to utilize their own thermal mugs, sporks and reusable plates at the headquarters hotel.

• The annual meeting budget is generally not drafted until three to four months prior to the conference. Rather than following the budget, volunteers tend to ask forgiveness rather than for permission.

• Standard operating procedures exist for some of the annual meeting functions.

ASAE|�Annual�Conference�2014 8/6/2014

Aaron�D.�Wolowiec,�MSA,�CAE,�CMP,�CTA�The�Meetings�Coach | Event�Garde LLC616.710.1891�| EventGarde.com

Donna�Oser,�CAEMichigan�Association�of�School�Boards517.327.5923�| www.masb.org

Welcome!




Overview of SessionThe Case for Execution

Framework for Execution

Case Studies

Group Sharing

Debrief

"Companies typically realize only about 60%

of their strategy's potential value

because of defects and breakdowns in planning

and execution." Harvard Business Review, 2005




What we PLAN to do…

What actually GETS DONE…

Lost opportunity and revenue

The Execution Gap

What’s At Risk?Operational: • Production• Finances

Organizational:• Efficiency • Culture• ReputationPersonal:

• Credibility• Supporters• Job




"82% of Fortune 500 CEOs feel their

organization did an effective job of strategic planning. Only 14% of the

same CEOs indicated their organization did an

effective job of implementing the

strategy." Forbes Magazine, 2011

Fram

ewor

k

ScanPlanImplementCommunicateEvaluate




"Execution is a minefield… Agendas compete. Priorities clash.

Decisions stall. Communication breaks down. Timelines get blown.

It’s never a question of IF these problems will happen; it’s a question

of WHEN and to WHAT DEGREE.”

HBR Blog, 2013

n

Sca

n Assess strategy/plan based upon

recent performance

Conduct a SWOT analysis

Assess competitive strengths and

identify weaknesses

Determine the issues that need to

be addressed based upon findings

opq




SStrengthsStrengthsIn

tern

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�associatio

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xter

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�enviro

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HelpfulTo�achieving�the�objective

HarmfulTo�achieving�the�objective

WWeaknessesWeaknesses

O TOpportunitiesOpportunities ThreatsThreats

Sca

n

Rivalry among competitors

Threat of substitutions

Potential new entrants

Power of suppliers

Power of buyers

Porter’s Competitive Forces

Sca

n




nP

lan

What needs to be done?

Who needs to do it?

By when?

With what resources?

opq

Ensure leadership knows the plan.

Schedule key check points.

Invite input from colleagues.

Be on the look out for barriers.

Help colleagues prioritize.

Impl

emen

t

Monitor the plan obsessively. -




nC

omm

unic

ate

Articulate specific actions needed

and desired outcomes.

Check-in frequently for questions and progress.

Ask questions about process,

workflow, unexpected issues.

Share progress, challenges and

successes along the way.

opq

Progress towards goals/metrics

Performance against the plan

Feedback from colleagues

Feedback from stakeholders

‘Done wells’, the ‘Do betters’

and even the ‘Don’t dos’

Play-by-Play Replay

Eva

luat

e




Lack of detailed planning

Expectations not clearly stated

Poor communication/coordination

Lack of accountability

Poor prioritization

Common PitfallsE

valu

ate

n

Cas

e S

tudy Find a buddy.

Select case study and read it.

Discuss w/ your buddy.

Identify 3 breakdowns.

opq




May the odds be ever in your

favor!

Association Hunger Games: Victory or Defeat?

Education

Transcript of Association Hunger Games: Victory or Defeat?