ROCKEFELLER HABITS FOR ASSOCIATIONS · What can following the Rockefeller Habits do for you? Create...

ROCKEFELLER HABITSFOR ASSOCIATIONS

Keeping your association aligned around consistent and focused strategies

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Introduction: What Are the Rockefeller Habits? 3

The Cornerstones of the Rockefeller Habits 5

Putting the Rockefeller Habits to Work 8 Getting to the Core 13

Think Big 15

It’s All in the Execution 16

Epilogue: The Rockefeller Habits in Practice 21

TABLE OF CONTENTS





Introduction WHAT ARE THE ROCKEFELLER HABITS?You know that every member of your team is working hard every day, and it’s obvious that every department in your association is willing to do what it takes to get the job done. But are you all working with the same greater goal in mind? If you were to ask your coworkers what specific organizational goal they were working toward, would they be able to tell you? And would their answers be the same?

The most successful and most visionary work gets done—and gets done most efficiently—when our tasks are aligned to achieve the same end. And the secret to perfect alignment is…rocks.

Rocks? It sounds strange, but yes. Rocks, as in those key elements that formed the foundation of one of the world’s most successful businessmen.

Business writer Verne Harnish had been studying the disciplined approach of magnate John D. Rockefeller and kept finding the same themes: priorities, data, and rhythm. He saw that successfully managed businesses used a combination of these three elements, and turned them into his 2002 bestseller Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.





These habits Harnish so effectively outlined can work for any business, but they are especially suited for associations. Why? Because they hinge on the idea that everyone in the organization is working toward a greater goal. When that greater goal becomes the achievable standard for each and every team member, people are happier, work gets done, and the goal gets accomplished, all while the mission gets fulfilled.

What can following the Rockefeller Habits do for you? Create alignment throughout your association Activate the strategic plan sitting on the shelf Develop consistent focus Provide accountability to your organizational strategy Focus on the important, not just the urgent Solidify a team with an eye toward the future





THE CORNERSTONES OF THE ROCKEFELLER HABITSThe Rockefeller Habits hinge on three key elements: priorities, data, and rhythm.

PRIORITIESWhen you walk in to the office, what do you do? Why are you doing it? Is what you’re working on right now helping to achieve the reason you showed up today? You want your priorities outlined so you can keep your focus on them, so that the work you do is aligned with where your priorities are.

This is the foundation of the Rockefeller Habits approach. What are your top three priorities? It might sound like an easy question to answer at first, but you’ll probably find that limiting your priorities to three (and only three) isn’t so easy.

While it might be a difficult exercise, identifying your top three priorities makes your work easier on a week-to-week, day-to-day basis. This narrows your focus and helps you make pointed decisions about where you’ll spend your time and energy.

Key question: Does everyone in the

association have a handful of priorities

that are in alignment?

Like what you’re reading? VISIT our blog for other great content.

http://www.aptify.com/blog.aspx





Exercise: Write down all of your priorities for today, this week, this month, and this quarter. Most likely, you’ll come up with dozens. Review your list again with the intention of finding the three most essential. What most needs your attention for your association to succeed? Remember, if you prioritize everything, you’re really not prioritizing anything.

DATAWith your top three priorities in hand, you’ll need a way to measure them so you can track your progress. This information is key to the association knowing where it stands on a regular basis. Think about defining the metrics of success as specifically as possible. If your priority is to increase membership, then how many new members will have needed to join by the end of the next quarter? If your priority is to launch a new website, then what percentage of the project needs to be completed by the end of the month?

Exercise: Identify how you will know the priority is complete. Write down how you will measure it over a given time period.

Key question: Does everyone in the

association have at least one key daily or weekly metric driving

performance?





RHYTHMRhythm is what keeps a team, a department, and an association working consistently and effectively. Rhythm ultimately creates habits that will stick well beyond the length of whatever test period is determined. Rhythm keeps priorities on track and holds us all accountable.

The regular, rhythmic beat of constant and consistent communication is what will keep your priorities front and center within your association. Communicating in a rhythmic pattern creates tremendous results.

Exercise: Write down how often and in what manner you are communicating with your team and with your members. Are you communicating with them in consistent ways and in regular intervals? How often do you meet with them? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?

Key question: Does the association

have an effective and consistent

communications rhythm?





PUTTING THE ROCKEFELLER HABITS TO WORKFIND YOUR X FACTORYour top priority should hinge on your association’s sweet spot or what Harnish calls the “X Factor.” This must be discovered, defined, and acted upon to create significant value within an association.

Find your X Factor by asking the following question: What do you do or could be doing that your competition does not do and that your members truly care about?

Another way to target in on the X Factor is to identify the chokepoint in your association model, then gain control of that chokepoint.

The best example comes from John D. Rockefeller, himself. While Rockefeller was an oil man, his X factor was transportation. He gained his true advantage with the railway, where he was heavily politically involved and where he further controlled transportation costs by shipping his oil in barrels made by Rockefeller-owned companies. Because the barrels were lighter, rail costs were kept down.

Think beyond the traditional. And be aware that your X Factor can change over time just as your strategic priorities can evolve.





DO THE RIGHT THINGS WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLEThe key to getting anything done (at work, at home, really anywhere) is doing the right things with the right people.

Use the above chart to help guide you when making decisions.There are two simple questions that will guide you to doing the right things:

PEOPLE ACTIVITIES

Get, Keep, and Grow Better, Faster, More Value

REPUTATION PRODUCTIVITY

STAFF VOLUNTEERS

MEMBERS ENGAGE

RESOURCE CREATION

KEEP RECORDS





1. What must we always do to keep the highest reputation and relationship with staff, members, and volunteers?

Provide an answer for each group of people: staff, members, and volunteers. Your reputation is at the intersection of these three.

2. What must we always do to get the highest level of productivity in engagement, resource creation, and record-keeping?

Provide an answer for each activity: engagement, resource creation, and record-keeping). Your productivity is at the intersection of these three.

KNOW YOUR FOUR KEY AREAS

PeopleThe ultimate goal for your people is happiness. Get great people, keep them, and help them grow.

People are the most expensive, the most unpredictable, and the most difficult asset you have. They are also the resource that will provide the most reward.

REQUEST a demo to see Aptify in action.

http://www.aptify.com/resources/request-a-demo.aspx





A passionate staff is key. A team who is focused on the greater goal has a mission that becomes bigger than the daily activities of completing tasks. The result not only is that the ultimate priority gets accomplished, but that everyone has a sense that they contributed. When we’re all working toward a common goal, ultimate success is achievable and shared.

StrategyThe right strategy results in increased effectiveness, which creates more value for members. Spend the time, energy, and money to get this right. The best strategies are precise, defined, and specific. This is your action plan for the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, so start out thinking high level, but then drill down to exactly how you will get to where you want to be.

Having defined goals doesn’t mean that your strategy will just fall into place, but it does make planning the strategy much easier. What needs to happen this week so that your quarterly goal is achieved? What needs to happen by the end of the quarter to hit your annual goal?

ExecutionEffective execution results in improved outcomes and a better, more efficient use of organizational time.

Knowing and nurturing your four key areas—people, strategy,

execution, and cash—are crucial to driving

success.





The key word in the above phrase is “effective.” For both your strategy and execution, advance planning is critical. When you jump right in to execution without it, you can waste hours of time repeating the process until you get it right. Hours spent planning ahead and understanding the rules of engagement will make all the difference when it comes to efficient and effective execution.

CashEven the most noble causes need cash to survive. If there is no cash, there is no mission. Yes, cash is a means to an end, but it is essential nonetheless.





GETTING TO THE COREMASTERING CORE VALUESYour association’s core values are the guidelines that will remain constant and provide your association with a strong cultural foundation. What type of an association are you? The answer to this doesn’t have anything to do with what the association does, but who it is. At your core, are you fair, flexible, helpful, honest? Are you responsible, responsive, savvy, specific?

Once you’ve targeted a list of Core Values, make sure to be specific in defining what these are. What does it mean to be honest? How would you show that your association is flexible?

Having a clear understanding of exactly what your Core Values are is essential. These should be evident and consistent from top to bottom, helping people know where they fit within the association and how they should act. The Core Values will serve as the ultimate resource, guiding you on key decisions (from who to hire to resolving member disputes), creating alignment throughout the association, and helping to fulfill your mission.





You’ll find that mastering the Core Values will drive your company culture. When people know what to expect from their coworkers and their senior staff—and what is expected of them—the work environment is a much friendlier place.

MASTERING CORE PURPOSEJust as the Core Values show who you are, the Core Purpose answers why you are. What is your higher purpose?

The Core Purpose brings additional clarity to high-level decisions and creates simplicity by providing a support to everything that is done, association-wide.

This is your mission statement and rally cry. It gives people something bigger than themselves to focus on. When the Core Purpose is consistently communicated and promoted, it can ignite everyone involved in the association, from staff to C-level to members.

WATCH the Rockefeller Habits for Associations webinar.

http://www.aptify.com/resources/association-management-training/RockefellerHabits.aspx





THINK BIG Like Jim Collins big. It’s time to identify your Big Harry Audacious Goal.

According to Collins, the BHAG is a 10- to 25-year lofty goal that challenges you to greatness. This is a bold statement—the boldest you can imagine—that shows where you and your association are going.

Need some inspiration on thinking big? Here are a few examples to get you going…

Steve Jobs: Make a dent in the universe

Bill Gates: A computer on every desk and in every home

John F. Kennedy: Put a man on the moon by the end of the decade

The BHAG creates strategy by having a compelling vision and a central theme to motivate the team. Don’t be afraid to make this goal absurdly big. And, when your association has rallied behind the cause and fulfilled your BHAG, be ready to dream even bigger.





IT’S ALL IN THE EXECUTION HAVING THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOBNo amount of thinking (big or otherwise) will get you anywhere without the tools to execute. Identifying simple metrics for your success will keep you focused on moving forward.

Once you’ve identified your top three priorities, write them down along with their associated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Your KPIs should consist of a number that can be tracked and measured.

For example, if your top priority is to increase member engagement, then the associated KPIs might be the number of events a member attends or the number of committees a member serves on. If your top priority is to better market the association, then the associated KPIs might be the number of blog posts highlighting work the association has done or the number of articles placed in related magazines.

Remember that what gets measured gets done. Without a concrete method of measurement, an untracked priority can easily slip unfulfilled from quarter to quarter. But when everyone can easily see where they are on a project—





and where their coworkers are—then the level of accountability increases dramatically. People then will manage themselves inside of the process, leaving leaders free to lead, not manage. This allows the C-level to work on the business, not in the business.

There are a number of different tactics to be used when it comes to monitoring your KPIs. Many companies use sites like Align Today, an online priority tracking tool that provides real-time information. But whether you use an electronic dashboard, a spreadsheet, or a simple clipboard, keeping track of your metrics creates execution by focusing on the right things and measuring them properly.

STAYING ALIGNED AND ACCOUNTABLEHow do you stay in touch with your team? How often do you check in with them about their progress on both daily tasks and annual goals?

Part of what makes the Rockefeller Habits so effective is that coworkers stay informed of everyone’s status by creating a meeting rhythm. To do this, you’ll need to schedule meetings that occur annually, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily.

You probably read that and thought, “The last thing I need in my already packed schedule is another six meetings a week. Who has the time?”





You’re right. It sounds like a lot. But daily meetings—in Rockefeller Habits terms, they’re called “huddles”—can end up saving you massive amounts of time and frustration on an hourly basis.

Here’s how it works:Each huddle should be held at the same time every day, with attendance being absolutely mandatory. This is a fast and extremely productive meeting, so the agenda needs to be specific, effective, and practical. Each person takes turns covering the following:

1. My news. What have I accomplished from yesterday? What new item of importance has just arrived in my inbox?

2. My stucks. What questions do I have that those present can answer? What is causing me to slow my progress on a priority?

3. My one big thing. What one big thing will I accomplish today?

Limit your daily huddle to 15 minutes, but make sure that everyone gets through these three items. The daily huddles are shockingly productive, drastically decreasing the amount of emails sent and allowing you to quickly address issues as they arise. This also creates effective communication by capturing opportunities faster, identifying bottlenecks quicker, and adding accountability in reporting.

You’ll be amazed at how efficient you

and your team can operate when you

huddle daily. Try it for two weeks to see what a difference it makes.





Weekly huddles can be longer (up to 30 minutes) and should focus on bigger picture items. Take this time to report on KPIs and makes plans/goals for the week ahead that build into the greater priorities that have already been set.

The habit of attending regular meetings creates a rhythm that your team will come to depend upon.

KEEPING THE THEMEThe quarterly theme is an idea or image that transforms a top priority into an association-wide mission. Like the BHAG, it gives the staff something to rally around and keeps focus on the top KPI of the quarter. This reaches into every department, so everyone gets involved and then shares in the accomplishment when the quarterly goal is reached.

And that’s really what the greater goal is: executing a priority while fostering team unity. The celebration of the quarterly theme creates execution by making goals and priorities memorable. It helps the entire association make the necessary emotional connection that encourages commitment and action.

BROWSE our webinar library for more infomative content.

http://www.aptify.com/resources/webinars-videos.aspx





ALL ABOARDLike anything in life worth doing, the Rockefeller Habits is best implemented when you plan ahead. The time it takes until you’ve adopted this set of habits is dependent on the size of your association and how truly committed each person is to these new tactics and strategies.

It’s best to implement anything new in stages, and it will take time to get everyone fully on board. But when you do—when everyone in the association is all in—the Rockefeller Habits work. You’ll see effective daily huddles, with teams and departments working together toward a single goal from week to week and quarter to quarter. You’ll find that leadership has added focus on the bigger picture and that the association’s strategic plan is active, present, and evolving. Your association, its staff, and its members will be better informed and better positioned to adapt to change.





Epilogue THE ROCKEFELLER HABITS IN PRACTICEby David Frick, Vice President of Customer Care and Support, Aptify

It’s been a little more than a year and a half since Aptify began using the Rockefeller Habits. Our work with Nashville-based Petra Coach, led by Andy Bailey, has been extremely beneficial on a number of levels. In addition to embracing the system, we also benefited from the experience and wisdom of a coach who helped prepare our culture to make the most out of the Rockefeller Habits. In the end, the trajectory was consistently upward trending.

HOW DID APTIFY BENEFIT FROM DEPLOYING ROCKEFELLER HABITS?We immediately found value using Rockefeller Habits during the first four days it was introduced. Management was able to coalesce its focus to seven key points.

1. Develop four core values. Our values are F.A.I.R., which stands for:Flexibility in our solutions,Accountability to one another and our clients,Innovative in our solutions and business practices, andResponsive to our team, to our clients, to our community, and to our market.





2. Redefine the purpose of Aptify.

3. Establish our three-to-five-year targets.

4. Set a one-year goal.

5. Conduct an in-depth SWOT analysis.

6. Establish our quarterly priorities, which aligned to our one-year and three-to-five-year goals.

7. Wrap our quarterly priorities around a theme in which all of Aptify could participate.

8. Established a Big Hairy Audacious Goal—something so radical it may literally take decades to achieve.

We didn’t stop there. We worked the plan every day, every week, every month, and every quarter. We became obsessively focused. We now have three goals we’re pursuing instead of five. We have evolved our core purpose to “Changing the world, one client mission at a time,” which reflects the collective thinking, focus, and beliefs of the entire Aptify staff.





Although subjective, if asked to quantify the benefits of Rockefeller Habits, I would conservatively estimate we are 30 percent more efficient and effective than last year at this time. The entire Aptify team, not just management, understands our purpose, and individual quarterly goals align with this purpose. We are by no means perfect, but we now collectively focus on what each of us needs to do to take Aptify to the next level. We seek incremental and consistent improvement over time. Isn’t that really what it’s about anyway?

WOULD APTIFY RECOMMEND ROCKEFELLER HABITS TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS?If someone said to you: “I can help you improve 2 percent per week, but it’s going to take hard work on your part and a relentless fanaticism on achieving new levels of excellence,” how would you reply? Maybe that kind of effort isn’t for you. However, if the ability to reach new heights for your company and your constituents excites and motivates you, as it did Aptify, then I resoundingly recommend Rockefeller Habits.

DISCOVER how Aptify can help your association.

http://www.aptify.com/resources/request-a-demo.aspx





ABOUT APTIFYAptify’s customers impact the lives of people throughout the world. By helping our clients serve their missions, we fulfill ours: to change the world, one client mission at a time.

Founded in 1993, Aptify provides powerful, flexible, and comprehensive association management software (AMS) solutions to a global clientele. With a focus on delivering a complete solution for association needs, Aptify offers the most flexible technology platform in the world.

Aptify has been named to the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing privately held companies in America, as well as receiving recognition from Software magazine as one of the top 500 software companies in the world. Headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, Aptify maintains offices in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Pune, India. Aptify has a broad partner presence internationally, with local support in countries ranging from Australia to the United Kingdom.

Aptify believes in the power of shared ideas and makes an effort to be a thought leader within its industry. Part of this effort involves sharing new ideas with the broader association community. We hope this material is valuable to not-for-profits and associations across the spectrum.





Contact Aptify for More Information

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ROCKEFELLER HABITS FOR ASSOCIATIONS?

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