Take a look at some of these awesome events that will take place this summer! Some are geared specifically toward small staff association professionals, but I think all of them are worth considering, no matter how small your organization. Social media isn’t the only hot topic this summer — these events and sessions are fantastic resources for any association professionals who aspire to be lifelong learners.

Young Professional Lunchtime Learning: Got Ethics?, Thursday, June 3: A free!, virtual program geared toward young professionals and asking tough ethical questions and discuss how to come to a clear decision when given an ethically gray situation. ASAE’s Young Professionals and Ethics committees will come together to decide upon the best actions to take when confronted with an ethics dilemma.

Association New Media Summit, Tuesday, June 8: In just a few weeks, the folks at Peach New Media will host a daylong event and you can attend in-person in Arlington, Va. or watch the live webcast. Take a look at some of the questions that will be addressed!

- What’s hot now in online learning and what are the upcoming trends?
- What are the hurdles and resolutions for associations getting into social media?
- How does new media change our role from “educator” to “curator”?
- What revenue generating opportunities are available via online learning programs?

Buzz 2010: Social Media for Associations, June 16 / July 20 / August 18: Brought to us by the lovely SocialFish and Smartbrief, this year’s event will be a three-part breakfast series featuring amazing speakers Charlene Li, Mark Storey, Wendy Harman, Alexandra Levit and Olivier Blanchard. The series is geared toward association professionals who steer their organization’s social media strategy and policies. Last year’s event was a great success, so try and attend one (or all three) of the 2010 events!

Small Staff Idea Swap – Principles of Good Governance, Wednesday, June 30: A free, in-person event in Washington, D.C. geared toward small staff association professionals! Advancing good governance is crucial for all associations, but can be especially challenging for smaller organizations. Take a look at these great talking points:

- Determining the governance needs of the association, i.e. What does the association and its staff need from the governing body.
- Addressing the “principles of good governance” – what are they and where are the models.
- Getting your Board’s attention and engaging them in improving governance.
- What is the best process and sequence of steps in getting to effective governance policies, process and structure.
- How does the maturation stage and size of the association affect the role and function of governance?

Creating the 24/7 Small Staff Association: An Online Conference, Tuesday, July 13: In our world of constant communication, it can be difficult for organizations (especially those with fewer staff members) to actively engage and connect with members. This three-day audio/web event will cover free and low-cost online tools, how to write copy for the Web, mobile technology essentials and more – all geared toward small staff associations. This one isn’t free, but after looking at the awesome full schedule here (PDF), I definitely think it’s worth attending.

This definitely isn’t a complete list of events, just a few noteworthy ones. If you know of any others, especially for small staff association professionals, feel free to share them with us!

Pollen, pollen everywhere!

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a good week, and hopefully you guys all have exciting weekend plans! If you live in an area that gets hit with pollen this time of year, I feel you — my car is almost completely yellow! Hope no one has any crazy allergies. No fun. However, there have been some great posts in the association world this week, so let’s get right to ‘em!

1. Shelly Alcorn wrapped up her awesome series with the fifth installment of How the Mighty Fall: Associations at Risk. This thoughtful series on how associations can avoid falling from prominence. This post offers several options (mergers, bankruptcy) and looks at the next step for associations in trouble.

2. Although Amber Naslund’s blog isn’t directed specifically toward associations, it’s worth reading for anyone involved in social media, marketing or communications. One post from this weeks asks if our conference expectations are bent, and reexamines the current conference model. Definitely take the time to read the comments, too.

3. Reporting live from Digital Now, Acronym’s Joe Rominiecki discussed some examples of “free” in action at associations. There are some great ideas for different membership models and webinar pricing – there are some great actionable ideas that could be implemented without too much hassle!

4. Over at Association Zen, Ann Oliveri wrote about responsible advocacy and asks association professionals how they stand up for the members they serve. How does advocacy fit into your organization?

5. David M. Patt discussed governance at the Association Executive Management blog. Governance is a huge part of association management, but it’s often not discussed or written about on blogs. David wrote about the real purpose of a strong governance structure, and will be writing more on governance in the future.

Have a great weekend!

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I was catching up on my Google Reader this morning (I still love Really Simple Syndication to keep track of the hundreds of blogs I subscribe to) and Frank Fortin’s post about the Association of the Future caught my eye.

If you’re unfamiliar with Association of the Future, it’s a kind of experiment run by ASAE and The Center and is meant to be a form of career development for young professionals. In the experiment, a group of selected young association professionals staff a mock association and attempt to project how associations down the road will be structured, how they will operate and how they will function.

There was a session introducing AOTF at the Great Ideas Conference last week, and Frank’s post was a reflection of that session.

I don’t want to rehash too much of Frank’s awesome post (you should definitely read it if you haven’t already), and I wasn’t at the conference, so I can’t make any observations on the session itself. But as a “young professional” (millennial, Gen-Y, what have you), Frank’s post made a big impression on me.

The ideas and recommendations to “change” governance and association’s structures weren’t really remarkable or innovative, Frank wrote.

How come?

AOTF’s mantra/mission/objective was “Members come first. No silos. Listen and then talk. Go techno.” (I think it’s an awesome mantra, by the way.) But Frank wrote that he and many session attendees didn’t feel the actions backed up the mantra.

I think it’s difficult for anyone to create truly innovative change in any organization they’ve been a part of for a long time. Rather than making sweeping “innovations,” it’s easier to just tweak lots of different processes and see what sticks. No matter what age you are, if you’re used to an organization functioning a certain way, it’s difficult to take a step back and see what could be. I honestly don’t think anyone is immune to the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” attitude.

Frank wrote that none of the suggestions and changes AOTF presented focused on the actual members. Why not? Isn’t that the point of an association — to facilitate relationships among people who share a common interest of career, and to provide them with resources and education to further those interests or careers?

I’m not sure why AOTF only looked at an association’s structure and governance, and I certainly wasn’t at the session, so I’ve love to get some feedback from people who were in attendance.

However, I think Frank hit on a key learning point and takeaway of this experiment: doing things the same way and expecting different results rarely works.

What do you think? How could AOTF produce innovative, startling changes with positive reactions?

I was catching up on some video posts last weekend and this morning, and thought I’d compile them in one post here for our readers.

January was Governance Month at ASAE and The Center, as well as its Acronym blog, and they posted a few video interviews with association CEOs about having those “crucial conversations” with your board.

Mike Grubb, CEO of the Southern Gas Association, talks about building a stronger relationship with his board.

John Saunders, executive director of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, chats with ASAE about confronting a board member about an ethical issue — a topic we all know can be tricky!

Finally, Tonya Howe Johnson discusses how best to introduce a difficult concept to your board. Key takeaway here: Make sure to position it as a professional idea, not one you have a personal interest in.

Communication is such a crucial factor in your relations with the board — don’t underestimate the power of an honest conversation.

All videos courtesy of ASAE and The Center’s YouTube channel; I’m just sharing the love! Feel free to share any videos (association-related or not) in the comments!

Happy Super Bowl weekend! Any football fans in the house? Anyone have any fun viewing plans? I’ll be hosting a small get-together at my new apartment, and still haven’t decided who to cheer for yet. (I’m leaning toward the Colts, though.) Or maybe you don’t care about football and only watch the commercials … or nothing at all. Regardless, I hope everyone has a great weekend!

As always, there were some great posts around the association community this week with information small-staff professionals can truly benefit from.

1. Jeff De Cagna discussed the five words he’ll be focusing on in 2010. I loved the quotes he included for each word, and coincidentally (or not?), each word begins with the letter I. This post will really inspire association leaders to hone in on what they want to accomplish this year.

2. Over at Association Management Solutions, J Bruce Wardle wrote about how to really focus on your 2010 goals to make this year a success. His great suggestion? Limiting your focus to just two or three factors at a time – it will be easier to concentrate on each one and your success rate will increase.

3. There was a fantastic guest post at Acronym by David Kushner about taking a forward-thinking approach to governance. As an association executive, consultant and board member, David had some great insights into what governance might be like in 2030. The post also attracted some great comments, so be sure to check it out!

4. What’s the difference between certificate and certificate programs? Mickie S. Rops covered this topic this week in a thoughtful post about the value and quality of certificates and certificate programs. There’s a workshop in Washington DC next week (at the same time as ASAE’s Technology Conference and Expo!), so if you can’t make it to Tech10, check this out.

5. I’m loving Cindy Butts’ posts lately! Her newest one has six practical tips for making sure webinars and conference calls are less chaotic. One notable one? Talk about anything besides the weather when waiting for everyone to join you. Or just say “I know you’re all multi-tasking so we’ll wait for the roll-call to start talking.” Great stuff!

From all of us at MemberClicks, have a great Super Bowl (or not) weekend! And if you’re in the DC area or getting snow, stay warm and be safe!