The Preeminence of Mission for Membership Associations

It is very easy in life to replace the end with the means.  This happens when we focus our attention on best business practices, individual leaders, or our own projects as the goal instead of the mission of the organization that we serve.

That’s why a recent presentation by Mark J. Golden, FASAE, CAE, at the Association Chief Executives (ACE) Symposium this month serves as an important reminder for membership professionals. 

He made the point that “Membership is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. It is a feature of our volunteer--‐based ecosystem, not an actual benefit. We have membership because it is a way to marshal the economic and intellectual capital necessary to achieve the mission.”

Putting mission first with membership says that our efforts to recruit, engage, and retain members should have the overarching goal of helping our organization achieve the mission for which it was founded.  Ideally excellence in any business practice whether it is marketing, publishing, customer service or technology supports the mission.  But when this excellence becomes the goal in and of itself, it can actually deter mission. 

And this principle applies to for profit organizations as well as non-profits.  John Coleman, coauthor of the book, Passion & Purpose: Stories from the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders, shared this on the HBR Blog:  “A great culture starts with a vision or mission statement. These simple turns of phrase guide a company’s values and provide it with purpose. That purpose, in turn, orients every decision employees make. When they are deeply authentic and prominently displayed, good vision statements can even help orient customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.”

But as we come to the end of the year, it might be helpful to step back and apply these thoughts on mission to our own lives.  Putting mission first can also empower our own personal effectiveness and fulfillment in life.  I know that it is easy for me to get off track and off mission and to let competing everyday demands take me away from what is important.

The late Stephen Covey maintained that “personal mission statements based on correct principles are like a personal constitution, the basis for making major, life-directing decisions, the basis for making daily decisions in the midst of the circumstances and emotions that affect our lives.”

So my wish for you as we come to the end of this year is not only success in achieving the mission of your organization, but that you will remember your personal mission and enjoy the year ahead in fulfilling your purpose.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The other day I came across this old Puritan prayer and I thought it would be appropriate to share for Thanksgiving. It is titled, A Puritan Prayer for Thanksgiving.

O MY GOD,
Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
my heart admires, adores, loves Thee,
for my little vessel is as full as it can be,
and I would pour out all that fullness before Thee in ceaseless flow.
When I think upon and converse with Thee
ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
crowding into every moment of happiness.
I bless Thee for the soul Thou hast created,
for adorning it, sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;
for the body Thou hast given me,
for preserving its strength and vigor,
for providing senses to enjoy delights,
for the ease and freedom of my limbs,
for hands, eyes, ears that do Thy bidding;
for Thy royal bounty providing my daily support,
for a full table and overflowing cup,
for appetite, taste, sweetness,
for social joys of relatives and friends,
for ability to serve others,
for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
for a mind to care for my fellow-men,
for opportunities of spreading happiness around,
for loved ones in the joys of heaven,
for my own expectation of seeing Thee clearly.
I love Thee above the powers of language to express,
for what Thou art to Thy creatures.
Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity. Amen 1

1 The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions by Arthur G. Bennett

In Memoriam

Last Monday I received a call from my client that Connie Penne, the Vice President of Membership for the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) had passed away suddenly over the weekend.

The staff at NBAA and my team was shocked and grieved by the loss. Connie was an intelligent and accomplished marketer. Just this summer she was a presenter at the DMAW Bridge Conference. Before joining NBAA, she was the Director of Member Data and Strategic Services at AARP.

But I will remember Connie most as a person of kindness.

I still remember calling Connie after we had made a big mistake on our first marketing campaign that we did for her back in 2005. I explained what we had done wrong knowing the embarrassment and problems that it would cause her and her organization. I still remember her response to my call. She thanked me for my honesty, accepted my apologies, and said “let’s get this fixed for our next promotion”. We continued to enjoy a great working relationship over the years.

Connie is survived by her husband and three children.

For those of you who knew Connie, I wanted to let you know that the memorial service has been scheduled for Saturday, September 6, at 7 pm. at College Parkway Baptist Church, 301 College Parkway, Arnold, MD, 21012. There will be a reception following the service at the church.NBAA has been working with College Parkway Baptist Church to establish a Memorial Fund for Connie. Contributions to the fund will help the Penne family address a variety of immediate and long-term financial challenges. Persons wishing to make a contribution to the Fund may do so by making a check payable to “The Connie Penne Memorial Fund.” Please note that contributions to the Connie Penne Memorial Fund are NOT tax deductable.

Mail should be addressed to:

The Connie Penne Memorial Fund
C/o College Parkway Baptist Church
P.O. Box 859
Arnold, Maryland 21012

Connie was a woman of faith and was very involved with the faith-based organization Samaritans Purse, particularly their “Operation Christmas Child” effort. Persons wishing to make a tax deductable contribution to Operation Christmas Child in Connie’s name may use the following link.

https://giving.samaritanspurse.org/p-100-operation-christmas-child.aspx

The link allows a donation to be given in memory of an individual.

If you knew Connie and want to add a comment here, please feel free to do so.

Consumed with Reaching the Top: Now What?

Jerry Levin, the former CEO of Time Warner who masterminded the failed merger with AOL, has a very different view on corporate responsibility and executive life than he did 6 years ago.

He now says, “I believe in the importance of the capitalist system . . . But there is a such a focus on delivering those returns almost without any understanding that there are deeper issues that management is also about – humanism and respect for people in the company; serving the public interest; higher obligations to yourself and the world.”[1]

To help gain the proper perspective, Levin says, “My strong advice would be to find a calm, meditative state every day. With the tempo of the executive life, that seems almost impossible, but it’s probably the most important thing that you can do.”[2]

From my personal experience, I have found that to be true. As I am enticed to busily work for success, security, money, and all the other exciting possibilities that our society presents, I have to stop to gain perspective each day. What is truly important? How am I treating people starting with my family members? For me gaining perspective takes the shape of time each morning when I read scripture and pray.

What do you do to avoid being caught up in the demands of life? How do you keep priorities in line? How do you treat the people you interact with each day?

[1] Business Week, Facetime, July 14, 2008, p 24.
[2] Business Week, Facetime, July 14, 2008, p 24

My Summer Reading

The first day of summer in the northern hemisphere is the day of the year when the sun is the farthest north. This is June 21st. I love long summer days, so it is a great time of year for me.

Since summer is ready to begin, I am ready to pick out a book for my summer reading. I am a slow reader, so it will be just one book this summer.

Should I pick a witty and humorous novel or a top business book on social networking? How about reading a historical or biographical tome like the 944 page Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Godwin (my very enjoyable summer reading a couple of years ago)? No, my pick this year is the Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Critical Questions by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli.

Here is my thought, what bigger questions are there to consider than some of the following issues:

• The existence of God
• Faith and reason
• Providence and free will
• Miracles
• The problem of evil
• The Bible's historical reliability
• Life after death
• Heaven and hell
• Salvation
• Christianity and other religions
• Objective truth

I have some ideas on a number of these issues. But as I have been asked questions lately by my very inquisitive daughter, I have come to see that I do not know as much as I think I do.

So it is back to the books: A look at some of the deeper questions about life.

What will you be reading this summer?

What Is the Purpose of Easter?

This week I was traveling. So, although I do not usually have a chance to read USA Today, I did this week and came across a reflective article. It seemed to me worth sharing as a thought provoking piece for Easter.

The basic premise of the article is if there is nothing wrong with us, then there is no purpose to Easter. Click her for the link.

By the way, the daffodils are in full bloom in Virginia. Spring has arrived.

I wish you and your family a joyous Easter.

Thanksgiving Message

I find it very easy to shift from an attitude of gratitude to one of entitlement. That’s one reason why celebrating Thanksgiving is so important.

This weekend our Thanksgiving church message highlighted this for me. It came from the text:

“What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” [1]

What does this mean? I think it points out that life is a gift that we receive. We do not control when we come into the world or the nation where we are born or the basic skills and intelligence we possess. We receive all of them.

When I lived in Honduras, CA, I daily walked past a woman who was blind. She did not speak, but she had her hand out requesting money. Each day that I passed her, I pressed a coin into her hand. I have often thought, “Why did I have the gift of sight and the benefit of being born in this country?” I do not know. But I do know that the blessings I enjoy are things that I “received” and did not earn or deserve. I should be grateful.

[1] 1 Corinthians 4: 7

Nothing to do with Membership Marketing

As the summer comes to a close and it starts to get really busy again, I thought that this lesson that I just came across in a church newsletter might be worth taking to heart.

Charles Darwin loved scientific studies. He devoted his life to them including his five year voyage on the Beagle. But his devotion to study came at a cost.

Here is what he noted in his autobiography.

“Up to the age of thirty, or beyond it, poetry of many kinds, such as the works of Milton, Gray, Byron, Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Shelley, gave me great pleasure, and even as a schoolboy I took intense delight in Shakespeare, especially in the historical plays. I have also said that formerly pictures gave me considerable, and music very great delight. But now for many years I cannot endure to read a line of poetry: I have tried lately to read Shakespeare, and found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated me. . . .My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain alone, on which the higher tastes depend, I cannot conceive. . . .The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature.” (The Autobiography of Charles Darwin Page 26)

The newsletter where I found the story concluded with this basic message, “We become what we behold” (John Piper). There is a text that sums this up, it reads, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil. 4:8)

No matter what your faith preferences, it is probably good advice to take time to stop and smell the roses.