Speaking Engagements

To Collaborate or Not to Collaborate that is the Question

I have a confession. I do not function well on a committee. The challenge for me is that many times, I think I know the right answer and I do not have the patience to wait for the group to come to a conclusion.

So I appreciated Joe Rominiecki’s post today on the Acronym Blog titled, “Collaboration for collaboration's sake”.

He writes, “assuming collaboration is always positive puts a greater value on process than it does on results. It ought to be the other way around. Surely collaboration is great in the right situations, but not all the time.”

So his post makes me feel a little bit better about my aversion to committees.

However, over my career I also know that over confidence can be a big trap. Often I don’t know what I don’t know. This is expressed really well in an old proverb that says, “The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly” (ESV Pr. 26:16).

Which do you find the biggest challenge in your organization – too much or too little collaboration?

Why Share the Wealth through Membership Recruitment?

This past weekend, I was in Chicago doing some membership presentations and spoke with members of one group who asked, “Why should I recruit members for the organization? Aren’t I just helping my competition?”

I appreciated the honest question. Here is how I answer the question, but please feel to share your perspective.

I can think of at least six reasons to invite others to be members.

1. A competitor’s ability to find out about membership and the products and services behind them is only a click away on their computer. It is not as secret as one might think.

2. A competitor having membership information is much less important than that competitor’s ability to execution on what they have learned. Win on your ability to execute not on simply knowing something.

3. No matter how sophisticated or unsophisticated a fellow member, there is still something to learn from them through interaction as members. Ultimately, you will learn and grow from the interaction.

4. A bigger and better membership organization benefits everyone since it enables the funding and development of more services and resources for all members.

5. A bigger and better organization helps heighten the image and awareness for the entire industry.

6. Helping a competitor by sharing membership may result in an acquisition, new employee, or referral in the future for you.

Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section.

How to make sure the Price is Right!

Are you using price as a strategic tool to drive sales? A very high price may support the impression that you product is exclusive. A low price may help launch your product against an established competitor.
Pricing is a part of marketing and needs a strategy just like promotion and packaging.

Lynda McDaniel makes the point in her October Associations Now article, Perspectives on Association Pricing, that pricing for association products, services, and membership can sometimes receive inadequate attention. And yet, proper pricing can actually determine a product’s success or failure.

She shares some great examples from pricing strategies used by a number of associations related to membership, conference, and publications. She also highlights some of the findings from the Dues Increase Research that I did several years ago.

Here is the link to the article.