Hello and happy Friday!

Here at MemberClicks, we’re finishing up a productive workweek and ready to rock next week. First, take a look at five of our fave blog posts from the association community this week.

1. Erik Schonher reports on an early finding from the Membership Marketing Benchmarking Survey: 62.5% of associations surveyed reported a renewal rate higher than 80%! This is great news, as it indicates that as the economy improves, association renewals will as well.

2. With the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking on the horizon, Joe Rominiecki shared takeaways from a presentation by Dr. Robert Ballard, who discovered the ship’s wreckage in 1985. Joe writes, When it comes time for long-term planning and developing strategy, an association CEO should guide the board to embrace the anything-is-possible perspective.

3. How does your small staff association onboard new members? David M. Patt shares a few great ideas that will help new members, staff or volunteers become familiar with your organization. Which is your fave?

4. Jeffrey Cufaude’s Facilitation Friday post last week reminded us that as a facilitator, you are part of the environment and how you physically fit in determines how you are perceived. Do you stand with the same few people? Do you stand with your back to the majority of people during casual gatherings?

5. Continuing the conversation started in his book Humanize, Jamie Notter writes how you can get serious about collaboration. Take a long, hard look at the areas of your organization that are supposedly collaborating, and ensure they are openly communicating. Are there ways the processes can be improved? Is the group as efficient as possible?

From everyone here at MemberClicks, have a wonderful weekend!

Good morning and happy Friday! The first full week of April is almost over, and wherever you are, we hope it’s been it’s a good one (without those pesky “April showers”).

We’re itching to kick off the holiday weekend here at MemberClicks (as well as the return of baseball), so let’s get right to our favorite blog posts from the community this week!

1. Jeffrey Cufaude wants an organization he cares deeply about – ASAE – to fail. And he says you should want the same thing of whatever organization you’re active in. Why? Because to fail means to not be afraid of risk. Of innovating. Of trying new things. The comments on this one are great as well!

2. We all know that it’s easier to talk about innovating and implementing new ideas than it is to actually implement them. That’s why Mark Athitakis says every team needs a conformist. Why? Conformists are generally more concerned with how to get work done than coming up with big ideas, and every team needs a realist – someone who can realistically think about how a new idea will be implemented.

3. Amber Naslund is a busy woman, so I take her posts about balancing travel and home life very seriously. A big takeaway from this post? When you’re home, be home. If you travel a lot, you should savor the time when you are actually at home. Recharge with your family, your local friends, whoever. How do you balance work and personal lives, no matter how often you travel?

4. As a follow-up to his presentation at Great Ideas, Jamie Notter writes how you can bring innovation to life. How, you might ask? Develop the skill of courage, Jamie writes. Change makes people afraid, so the more courageous you are, the more you will be able to push new ideas along.

5. David M. Patt shares a story of a political candidate ringing the doorbell of his home and attempting to engage David but asking what issues he cared about. Although it may be appropriate to ask for feedback sometimes, that’s not always the case. If you’re a speaker or leader engaging people, be careful how you word questions.

Good afternoon and Happy Friday! Are you as excited as we are for the Final Four? Did UNC’s loss wreck your bracket? Or do you have a lower seed winning?

Regardless of your enthusiasm for basketball, it should be a fun weekend and we’re already gearing up for our weekly “Gobble and Gab” tradition. Every Friday, we take some time to relax together on our patio or in the lounge and recharge before the weekend starts.

As usual, we’ve got some awesome association blog posts to share – especially in the wake of ASAE’s Great Ideas conference this week. Enjoy!

1. Jeffrey Cufaude wrote a very moving post about the necessity of loving and living the questions. Introspection is crucial for a fulfilled life, and for growing in your career. Jeffrey writes, A wonderful all-purpose question that often elicits powerful thinking when posed is: What one thing, while seemingly impossible, would make a tremendous difference for you and something you care about?

2. From Great Ideas, Joe Rominiecki shared a very telling quote: “Your members don’t care about your association. They care about themselves.” The association’s challenge is how to enrich the lives of its members. The Great Ideas speaker used Apple products as an example: we don’t love our iPhones solely because Apple made them; we love them because they make our lives a bit easier. How can your association do the same?

3. Lindy Dreyer shared some awesome information about this year’s Association TRENDS Social Media Report and Rankings. Although the report isn’t free, it’s definitely chock-full of crazy-awesome stats about other association’s social media stats (330 other associations, to be exact). Would your association consider buying something like this?

4. Tony Rossell shares two websites with some great resources for membership marketing and management. If you need resources on statistics, membership model information, new member sales or renewals, definitely check this out.

5. Last but certainly not least, David M. Patt reflects on the fact that things change all the time. Today’s 50 and 60 year olds were once in their 20s and 30s, thinking that the older generation did things wrong too. As the saying goes, the only constant in life is change. Have you noticed a generational divide among your members?

From everyone at MemberClicks, have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! It’s been a busy week here in MemberClicks-world but that’s the way we like it! With the Sweet Sixteen this weekend, there will likely be lots of exciting basketball games!

Let’s get right to it and share our five fave blog posts from around the association community this week. Which ones were your favorites?

1. Jeffrey Cufaude shared nine questions related to authenticity. Sure, we all tweak aspects of our “selves” to fit the moment, Jeffrey writes, but it’s important to cultivate a unique sense of authenticity. There are also some great book recommendations.

2. I’m sure many of us will agree that Apple stores generally cultivate a positive shopping and learning experience. Jeff Hurt uses this analogy to explain how your association’s meeting space should be equally inviting. The space should focus on learning and intertwine service within.

3. Mark Athitakis used one word to describe the word for associations and the economy in 2012: meh. Is your association optimistic, or are you feeling the effects of the report ASAE published recently as well?

4. David M. Patt shared an anecdote from a meeting where one committee member commented loudly on the budget for a particular event. The meeting, David said, quickly became a childish fight – until the meeting chair stepped in to calmly make sure everyone returned to the agenda. How does your organization stop bad meeting behavior?

5. KiKi L’Italien shared three great ways organization leaders can embrace leadership succession. Do you create room at the top for staffers to grow and be promoted? What kind of career growth does your association offer?

From all of us at MemberClicks, have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday! We hope everyone has had an awesome week!

I’ve one of those weekends full of laundry, taxes (yes, finally) and cleaning ahead of me. Not super exciting, but definitely necessary. Will anyone be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow??? (I’m 3/4 Irish and my mom sends me a care package every year to celebrate.)

Before the holiday weekend starts, don’t forget to share your fave blog posts from around the association community in our comments! As usual, we’ve shared our own.

1. David M. Patt implores PTAs to stop the bake sales in a blog post this week. Why? They’re simply not profitable. There are many other fundraising activities PTAs can organize, Patt writes. If the goal is fun, a bake sale might be a good fit. If the goal is fundraising, consider another tactic.

2. Eric Lanke reviewed Shelly Alcorn’s report, “Provocative Proposals for Change,” by focusing on just one of the ideas: the idea that associations are losing themselves in the marketplace due to management techniques that are too corporate. Eric goes on to share a personal story from a past association. Definitely worth a read.

3. Who owns an idea? This is a question posed by Mark Athitakis at the Acronym blog this week. Mark writes, So what works when it comes to crediting members and staffers with ideas—and, perhaps more important, how do you mend fences when somebody feels their ideas were poached?

4. This week, Jeff Cobb attempts to take defining what it means to be a lifelong learner – and comes up with consciousness, faith, engagement, reflection and humility. Do you agree or disagree with his manifesto? What would you add?

5. The always-smart Shelly Alcorn responded to a SmartBlog article by defending “stormy leadership.” Do you think effective leaders must have sunny dispositions? Is it a requirement?  Or should leaders be “stormy” and willing to shake foundations? What do you think?

From everyone at MemberClicks, have a wonderful weekend!