Trade Association Forum and Institute of Association Leadership join forces

Martin Bewick, CPL’s content strategist, discusses why it’s good (although not always) to stray from the beaten track.

Recently we were joined by Marcia Philbin, CEO of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, to discuss her House of Agile framework on the Association Transformation Podcast.

When he defined the concept of "attention economics" in 1971, Nobel Laureate Herbert A. Simon wrote that "...a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention...". 50 years later, and in a data-rich world, the overwhelming wealth of information available to us means a dearth of something else, i.e. the scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes - our attention.

We're in a more global world than ever before - the world is smaller than it has ever been. However, not everyone may see internationalisation as a valuable path or a top priority, with some Associations preferring to work in splendid isolation believing that “an international outlook is not for us”.

Lucy Oakshott on three key factors membership organisations need to consider when planning or updating their content strategy.

The hard part about generating thought leadership content is committing to it and devoting the time it takes to do it right. But leaning hard into your comfort zone might help you speak up.

To offset financial losses caused by the pandemic, many associations are wondering how to price products in ways that generate much needed revenue. A pricing expert explains why it’s now a good time to reset and price according to value.

A new report spotlights the progress women CEOs have made, as well as what stands in their way. Improving matters requires attention to the board, leadership pipeline, and outside stakeholders.

They call it the "great resignation" but is it really going to turn out to be that? Certainly, as with so many professions, post-pandemic, association executives are reassessing their priorities, reexamining their career paths, and rethinking what it is that they want from work.

There are challenges unique to an association’s top leaders. The heads of the Chicago Association of Realtors share how they make it work.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is the practice of understanding how people organise their thinking, feeling, language and behaviour to produce the results they do. It's been defined as the “users manual for your mind” because studying NLP gives us insights into how our thinking patterns can affect every aspect of our lives, including in our roles as association leaders.

Connecting with your members is a key part of persuading, influencing, and supporting your members, but what does it mean in practice?

“Build back better” is fast becoming the phrase of 2021.  As many of us tentatively emerge from enforced isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic, talking heads pop up endlessly on the news to express their foresight on the future of work, technology, the environment, and transport. 

We spoke in our Birthday Episode about embracing new opportunities that help associations grow and diversify, but also how to engage and add value to our members. As we look back over the past year we have come to appreciate just how important communications are, and the messaging and narrative that you share with your membership and the broader public.

It’s our first birthday! The podcast was born out of the chaos of 2020, but it has brought us great joy in the amazing people that we have been able to talk to on a variety of topics. We’ve loved exploring all the ideas that people have had in response to the challenges of the last year, as well as hearing about the experiences of new executives, CFO’s and all the amazing people driving the non-profit sector.

This blog explores how membership organisations can use events to help grow the membership of their organisation.  It explores whether or not members and non-members should have the same, or similar experiences at events, and identifies a few “quick win” tools that associations can use to help them grow membership.

We spend a lot of our time talking about the way in which associations and membership organisations can contribute to sustainable development, social responsibility and how to tackle the unprecedented global challenges that we face beyond the unprecedented challenge of pandemic.

Emma Ellis of Redwood Ellis explains why and how she believes businesses can take a more hand on approach to employees’ wellbeing.

What exactly do we mean by net-zero? Is this something that associations should be pushing just to their members?

Any size of business or organisation can do something, and should be encouraged to take an active role in bringing about change. But how do you take those first steps? How do you make this the right time to start this conversation or advance this discussion? 

Guest blog from Jackie Scully, Executive Director of Think Publishing, highlighting the key takeaways from their latest industry-leading research publication, Re:member.

Associations, like any business, has a brand and that brand needs to morph with the transformation of the business. With some associations being centuries old, rebranding is a necessity to keep with the times. How can you identify when your organisation needs a paint job? Who needs to be involved in the process? How much is it going to cost? And, what are the benefits - what do you get out of it?

2021 enters with us still fighting a rapidly changing pandemic but provides us hope as a vaccine begins to roll out globally. This leaves associations contemplating possibly bringing back face-to-face event experiences with a virtual element. This is not only a good idea “in these COVID times”, but once you’ve opened engagement to members who would never have had the opportunity to attend an event it seems counter-intuitive to close those doors again.

Simon Forrester is an association leader with over 25 years' experience in a variety of trade and professional membership senior roles. Here, he explores how the pandemic has changed the way associations work, and are perceived.

Energy Services and Technology Association (ESTA) and The Energy Institute (EI) have developed a new behaviour change initiative, Energy Conscious Organisation (EnCO), where the urgency to deliver against its vision is becoming increasingly important. Start your journey towards becoming an Energy Conscious Organisation and reach your net-zero goals.

We work in an industry globally that exists in one way or another to foster safe environments for innovation, with an increasing expectation that your membership body, the professional should and can provide that safe space for creativity, the sharing ideas and problems, along with finding innovative solutions.

During the last 12 months, if anything was disrupted it was membership. Renewals can't be taken for granted anymore, and associations need to take this more seriously, with an urgency in redefining the membership experience.

With social distancing measures in place, the move to digital has changed the way so many of our business processes are done. The process of strategic planning has in effect metamorphosed through the pandemic because of moving online. Andrew and Elisa explore this change and share their expert tips on how to effectively pull off virtual strategic planning.

The hallmarks of a successful organisations are a Board who will listen to their Chief Financial Officer, and a C.F.O who listens to the rest of the operational team and really understands what is being said. These Boards have mindfulness at the centre of all aspects of governance, considering things such as inclusion, diversity and tackling racism and sexism from the highest level down. 

Following the upheaval of the pandemic, is there a company out there that doesn’t need the support of an association right now?  However, how do we tackle Recruitment and Retention in this “Brave New World”?

Before we look at the why and how, let’s just have a quick reality check!
Everyone is aware of the devastation the pandemic has caused, and it is heartwarming to see how many individuals and businesses have stepped up to offer support in so many different ways.

Like the people who report to them, leaders have sometimes felt burnout and run low on motivation while navigating the challenges of the past year. But to inspire their teams, senior association professionals must be inspired themselves. Here are a few tips to help leaders stay motivated.

What opportunities and influence do associations have in trying to affect change through their knowledge, expertise, and connectivity? Have associations got to grips with what is expected from the U.N Sustainable Development Goals, and do they appreciate and understand the role that they can play in addressing sustainability and social justice issues?

CEOs who are used to managing in-person have had to make adjustments in the remote environment. The same holds true when interviewing and onboarding with a new organization. Here’s how one exec made it work.

It goes without saying that we have learned a lot as a sector from the continued presence of COVID-19. Many associations have realised the importance of international collaboration and the need for an extended support network with organisations around the world. Working from home, and the switch to online events has forced open a digital world that easily allows for organisations to connect and collaborate like never before. 

If you think governance is “boring”, then you’re doing it all wrong. If you think governance is a tick-box exercise, then you’re doing it all wrong. If you think governance is a chore, a burden, or an effort, then YOU ARE DOING IT ALL WRONG!

As we face a global climate emergency, associations have an environmental and moral responsibility to help advance the world to a circular economy.

Using social media successfully and effectively is imperative to grow an organisation. The prospect of doing so is, however, a daunting one. It is difficult to know what platforms to use, how to create the best content, how much money to budget, how much content to share etc. So, what is the best way to use social media? What techniques should be used to maximise recruitment, advocacy and revenue?

Originally published on 3rd December 2020 in recognition of International Day of People with Disabilities.

COVID-19 and the subsequent public health and safety measures have prohibited in-person gatherings for most of 2020 and will continue to do so for the near future. One of the worst-hit sectors is the events industry: the ban on mass face-to-face gatherings has meant no concerts, sporting events, festivals and, specifically for associations, no conferences, exhibitions, dinners, award ceremonies and so on. For the vast majority of membership organisations, events are integral to their value proposition and a significant income generator. 

Why would anybody choose to sit in a stuffy room for hours on end scrutinizing every penny spent on postage? Spend time examining every facet of the staff’s travel expenditure? No thanks! And why on earth would I want to talk about conference sandwiches? Yes, people have dietary requirements, we don’t need to discuss at Board level, do we?