Happy Friday! I’m headed to the beach bright and early Saturday morning, so I’m extra-psyched and ready for today to fly by. Do you have any fun weekend plans?

Before I load up on sunscreen and escape to the beach for a long weekend, though, I wanted to share five blog posts that really stood out to me this week. Please share your own in the comments!

1. At the Engage365 blog, Elizabeth Henderson shared part 2 of What Sustainability Can Learn From Quality. One notable point? Break down interdepartmental barriers and work as a team. I think small staff associations have an advantage here, as their (duh!) small size inherently lends itself to working as a team rather than funneling everything through silos.

2. Jeffrey Cufaude advocates getting back to good old-fashioned brainstorms with white boards, etc. Encouraging people to interact with one another while brainstorming can really help the ideas flow – more so than sharing a document over email. How does your small staff foster brainstorms?

3. Who does your organization belong to? David M. Patt reminds association professionals everywhere that the association belongs to the members, not the founder. Without the members, there wouldn’t even be an association.

4. How are conferences going to evolve over the next few years? Jeff Hurt share four things that will help shape meetings and conferences, including curation, social objects and game dynamics. He advocates that association professionals should start accepting them and adapting sooner rather than later.

5. Eric Lanke shares why it’s crucial to have both courage and clarity to solve problems: if you want clarity, the clarity that comes from the intersection, you’re better served by turning your headlights off and looking at the problem from different perspectives.

From everyone at MemberClicks, have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! I don’t know about you, but it is HOT where I live! It felt like 100 degrees Fahrenheit at 9:30 this morning! It’s one of those days where I just want to sit in the air-conditioning all day, ya know?

So, without further adieu, and in the spirit of AC and iced coffee, here is today’s Friday Top Five.

1. Maddie Grant shared a few great tools for supercharging your association’s content: Scoop.it and Twylah. She gave some great uses for each and I think they’re worth taking a look at for small staff associations.

2. This week, Jeff Hurt challenged the traditional notion that we interact face-to-face first and online second. He points out that we register for conferences online, buy movie tickets online, make appointments and reservations online… Heck, I even order food online! Definitely worth a read.

3. Tom Morrison shared a new concept he adopted at his association called Staff Meeting 24/7. It’s a online repository for ideas, concepts and directions that only staff members can see. Tom shared how it has streamlined internal communications for his association and encourages every organization to use its technology to the fullest – something we wholeheartedly support!

4. Cynthia D’Amour wrote this week about the importance of setting up for success. I think this is something we all know deep down, but can be difficult to put into practice. Do you help your members lean into the learning process so they’ll be as successful as possible?

5. Just in time for ASAE’s Annual Meeting and Expo, Engage 365 posted a great article by Jody Urquhart: Seven ways to get the most out of attending a conference. The number one rule? Network, network, network! Where else will thousands of association professionals be under one roof?!

Good morning and happy Friday! I’m not sure how we’re halfway through July, though – doesn’t it seem like 2011 is just flying by? It’s just about time for ASAE’s Annual Meeting again! (Didn’t I just get over my jet lag from LA?!) Seriously, though, it’s been a great year so far here at MemberClicks and we’re excited to meet as many small staff association professionals as possible.

Obviously, it’s time for me to share some of my favorite posts from the association blogosphere to help kick of the weekend. Ready? Set? Go!

1. Valeria Maltoni’s The 5 E’s of Content Marketing is definitely worth a read for association professionals. My personal favorite E? Enthusiasm! I think it’s really obvious when someone’s just not that into what they’re writing about, and being enthusiastic in your writing absolutely makes a difference.

2. Erik Schonher posted some early results from the 2011 Membership Benchmarking Survey and good news! -membership is on the rise compared to 2009 and 2010! New member recruitment also seems to be on the rise, which, according to Erik, accounts for the increase in membership.

3. Elizabeth Engel has been posting insights and learnings from Clay Shirky’s “Here Comes Everybody” for quite awhile now, and this week’s post was examines the quote, “What are we going to do about the negative effects of freedom?”. Through technology, people now have the freedom to form all kinds of groups, which, obviously, can be tough for associations.

4. At the Acronym blog, Joe Rominiecki examines the life cycle of a board – namely, is a year too short? It’s difficult for some board members to get acclimated in that amount of time, and thus, your board could be less effective. What do you think? Do you lower your expectations of the board or train them more?

5. I have really been into Jeffrey Cufaude’s posts in recent months, and it’s likely showing with every Friday Top Five I write. This week, Jeffrey points out that today can be the perfect day to … share a big dream, ask a question to reframe a conversation, give encouraging feedback, clarify perspectives and more.

Just wanted to remind everyone that the Association Technology Toolbox kicks off this week – and MemberClicks is a part of it! This is a free online educational event just for association management professionals. Some great people will be presenting, and we’re excited that our own Mark Sedgley is one of them!

Mark will be presenting a session this Friday, July 15 at 2 p.m. called Creating a Culture of Innovation: It’s Not as Hard as You Think.

Most organizations are intimidated by the very word innovation. Innovating is not Inventing, but in a lot of ways it’s treated as such. Join us for a presentation that outlines four easy methods for bringing a culture of innovation to your organization.

Mark will show associations – big and small! – that innovation doesn’t have to be difficult. And as a member of ASAE’s Small Staff Committee, he has been working hard to drive a culture of innovation to small staff associations across the country.

We hope you’ll join us and the other great presenters for a fun, educational few days – and don’t forget to follow Mark on Twitter at @segemite.

Happy Friday! Is it just me, or did this week absolutely fly by? Between meetings, writing sessions, research, triathlon training sessions and a social life, I barely had time to catch my breath! Luckily, I’m planning to use this weekend to recharge – not every weekend has to be jam-packed with activities! What are you up to this weekend?

Of course, it wouldn’t be Friday if I didn’t share a few (five, to be exact) of my favorite blog posts from around the association blogosphere. Feel free to share your own favorites in the comments!

1. At the Hourglass Blog, Eric Lanke shared a great example of how one association – the Wisconsin Society of Association Executives – came up with some real-world ways to put innovation into practice. Lots of great information about leadership development here!

2. Beth Kanter shared 25 SMART social media objectives for nonprofit organizations, and how organizations she works with benefit from them. These are real, solid benchmarking goals that organizations can use to set their social media goals.

Don't let your board meetings become bored.

3. Jeffrey Cufaude discussed four “alternative beliefs” that can help association executives better balance their lives. For example, instead of constantly believing that you have to certain things yourself, shift your thinking so you just need to make sure the task gets done – no matter who does it.

4. After hearing an interesting NPR piece, Ann Oliveri asked, is it time for associations to trade in their past? If you’re getting stuck in a rut or becoming complacent, or wondering if Millennials will join your organization, definitely check out this post.

5. Maria Bianchi at the Association Management Group blog shares a few great ways to prevent your board meeting from becoming your “bored” meeting. One idea? Frame the conversation in a way that allows the Board to focus on strategic governance and not day to day management.

From everyone at MemberClicks, have a great weekend!

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