by Mary Byers | Aug 24, 2017 | Blog, Conversation Starters, Strategies for Success
Meetings. Deadlines. The day-to-day work of running your organization. All of these get in the way of doing new work on behalf of your association. But new work is often necessary to create leverage and momentum—especially when you’re stuck in a business-as-usual...
by Mary Byers | Mar 15, 2017 | Blog, Conversation Starters
Are you ready? Ask yourself the tough questions. What if your primary revenue stream was cut in half? What if you lost your largest customer? What if you were handed a pink slip tomorrow? It helps to have a little productive paranoia and game plan the next series of...
by Mary Byers | Feb 3, 2016 | Blog, Conversation Starters, Radical Change
I attended two meetings this year in which I witnessed past-presidents—some of whom are retired and no longer even in the field—put the kibosh on forward progress for the associations they once proudly served. Thus, the problem of past presidents.They have power. They...
by Mary Byers | May 27, 2015 | Blog, Conversation Starters, Videos
It’s happening: thousands of Baby Boomers are retiring each day, creating a multitude of opportunities in senior leadership in associations all over the country. (Personally, I’ve said goodbye to three mentors over the past two years.) Do you have a succession plan in...
by Mary Byers | May 30, 2014 | Blog, Conversation Starters
The number of volunteers across the United States was 62.6 million last year, or 25.4 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reportedly recently. The volunteer rate for both men and women (22.2 percent and 28.4 percent) declined for the year ending in September 2013....
by Mary Byers | May 8, 2014 | Blog, Conversation Starters
The following questions are great conversation starters as they provoke thought and invite in-depth discussion: If our trends (membership, meeting attendance, etc.) continue as they have been, where will we be in 10 years? Are there ways to refresh our meetings? If...
