Principled Innovation

JUNE 3, 2013

'“Is the association model broken?” “What does ‘member’ mean to you?” “Do we need a new membership model?” “Is membership dead?” These are all interesting questions, and I understand why some people are asking them. Unfortunately, they are not the right questions. Instead of trying to figure out how to extend the life of the existing paradigm, association leaders need to focus their attention on shaping the next one, specifically by bui

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Principled Innovation

APRIL 28, 2013

'Jeff De Cagna FRSA FASAE , chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation LLC, is serving as curator and provocateur for the inaugural Association Chief Executives (ACE) Symposium , to be held on Friday, July 12 at The Gannett Building in McLean, Virginia. The ACE Symposium is open exclusively to association CEOs, and CEO attendees may register their #2 executives to participate with them in the event.

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Principled Innovation

APRIL 8, 2013

'In early January, I wrote a post on six serious ideas for 2013 that included the concept of SED, which is short for serendipity, empathy and discovery. SED is a term I coined to inspire association leaders to shift their conversations about the future in a more generative direction. Here is what I wrote about SED in that post: In 2013, I want to challenge association leaders to prepare for the vast serendipity that lives all around them, experience genuine empathy and embrace new possibilities

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Principled Innovation

APRIL 2, 2013

This post originally appeared on the Associations Now Leadership Blog on March 28, 2013. You can read Part I here. In Part I of this series earlier this month, I identified the association value gap as an underlying structural problem within membership-centric business models. Put simply, associations are unable to drive profitability solely by delivering on the membership value proposition and must find alternative ways to monetize membership to maintain their existing business models.

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Principled Innovation

MARCH 31, 2013

Jeff De Cagna , chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation, has been selected as the opening keynote speaker for the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) 2013 Annual Meeting. Jeff’s keynote talk, which will take place on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at the Omni Providence Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island, will focus on themes and ideas shared in his provocative free e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future. “For

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Principled Innovation

MARCH 25, 2013

This post originally appeared on the Associations Now Leadership Blog on March 7, 2013. In a recent post , Associations Now blogger Joe Rominiecki shared what both he and I regard as a startling fact: 53 percent of associations surveyed in 2011 had raised their dues in the previous three years. To put it another way, during the most severe economic decline in most of our lifetimes, more than half of associations surveyed still moved forward with a dues increase.

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Principled Innovation

MARCH 1, 2013

My brand new Associations Now article on boards and business models is now available online. The magazine has given the article the title, “Trapped in The Past,” although I refer to it as “Five Reasons Why Boards Are Killing Association Business Models.” In addition to the article, I hope you will check out the companion piece I wrote as web extra on “Five ‘Next Practices’ for Board Business Model Stewardship.” While the article shares deeper reaso

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Principled Innovation

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

In support of my new article, “Trapped in the Past,” a.k.a. “Five Reasons Why Boards Are Killing Association Business Models,” that will appear in Associations Now next month, I have a few activities on the calendar to which members of the association community are invited. Here is a list of what is planned so far: March 6– P.I.

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Principled Innovation

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

This post originally appeared last Wednesday on the ResultsDirect AssociationCentric Blog. Remarkable…simply remarkable. I find it remarkable that it is February 2013, and I am still reading magazine articles advising associations to create strategic plans every five or six years, and encouraging leaders to review those plans just once a year. Do association leaders still believe we live in that world?

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Principled Innovation

JANUARY 30, 2013

Join Jeff De Cagna of Principled Innovation on Wednesday, March 6 for the P.I./TMA Resources Executive Breakfast for association CEOs, C-Suite executives and other association leaders. This free breakfast session will be held at the headquarters of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) in Alexandria, Virginia, and registration for this event is now open.

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Principled Innovation

JANUARY 16, 2013

Join Jeff De Cagna of Principled Innovation on Friday, March 8, 2013 in Denver for a full-day workshop on Building Better Boards , presented by the Colorado Society of Association Executives. Registration for the workshop is now open. The Building Better Boards workshop will address three “wicked problems” of governing the 21st century association: selecting capable board members, keeping those board members focused on the work of governing and implementing a governing process that l

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Principled Innovation

JANUARY 14, 2013

Association boards, CEOs and senior executives will need to answer a wide variety of questions as they embark on the work of developing new business models to enable their organizations to thrive over the next decade and beyond. Of unique importance, however, will be how these leaders work through three critical design challenges that may well determine whether their new business model concepts will be able to achieve both purposeful impact and sustainable profitability.

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Principled Innovation

JANUARY 9, 2013

In my last post on six serious ideas for 2013 , I discussed the concept of “strategic legitimacy,” which is about challenging association boards to do a better job of providing future-focused stewardship in a world experiencing relentless transformation. To inspire association leaders to embrace strategic legitimacy, I have identified the following ten “next truths” of governing the 21st century association.

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Principled Innovation

JANUARY 3, 2013

2013 is the year when association leaders will need to get serious about transformation. So as the year begins in earnest, I want to share six ideas on which I will focus my attention over the next 12 months. These are high impact ideas for association leaders who are serious about taking their organizations to the next level. I look forward to your questions, as well as your thoughts on how these ideas may reshape your association’s work in the year ahead.

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Principled Innovation

NOVEMBER 1, 2012

Jeff De Cagna FRSA FASAE, chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation LLC, has been elected chair of the RedRover Board of Directors. Jeff will begin his two-year term in January 2013. “RedRover is thrilled to have Jeff serving as the next chair of our Board of Directors. Jeff’s ability to think strategically, along with his deep understanding of how to construct an effective governing board, has been instrumental in bringing our organization’s leadership to the next

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Principled Innovation

OCTOBER 18, 2012

In August, I launched the P. I. Serious Questions newsletter. Each issue of the newsletter presents a serious question on which I offer my thoughts for newsletter subscribers. Today, I am publishing what I wrote on the September 2012 Serious Question of the Month on the P.I. Blog. The September 2012 Serious Question of the Month. Are associations dead?

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Principled Innovation

OCTOBER 10, 2012

This is the sixth and final post in my series on the six shifts presented in my new e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future , created in collaboration with CHIEF. (Please check out the previous posts in the series.) As always, I invite your feedback in the comments below, or you can join the Associations Unorthodox conversation on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #auxsix.

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Principled Innovation

OCTOBER 7, 2012

This is the fifth post in my series on the six shifts presented in my new e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future , created in collaboration with CHIEF. (Please check out the previous posts in the series.) As always, I invite your feedback in the comments below, or you can join the Associations Unorthodox conversation on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #auxsix.

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Principled Innovation

SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

This is the fourth (and profoundly delayed…sorry!) post in my series on the six shifts presented in my new e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future , created in collaboration with CHIEF. (Please check out the previous posts in the series.) If you have not done so already, I hope you will download the e-book , and please join me this Wednesday, September 26 from 2 pm-3:30 pm EDT for my webinar on the e-book, presented in collaboration with Peach

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Principled Innovation

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Last month, I launched the P. I. Serious Questions newsletter. Each issue of the newsletter presents a serious question on which I offer my thoughts for newsletter subscribers. Starting this month and going forward, I will post the previous month’s serious question and response to the P.I. Blog once the current month’s issue of the newsletter is released.

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Principled Innovation

SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

Jeff De Cagna’s latest article on business model innovation, “Designing Association Business Models for the Network Age,” is now available for download. The article appears in the August/September 2012 issue of Association Magazine, the official publication of the Canadian Society of Association Executives. Jeff will lead a three-hour workshop on this same topic at CSAE’s National Conference in Ottawa, Ontario on Thursday, November 1, 2012.

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Principled Innovation

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

This is the third post in my series on the six shifts presented in my new e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future , created in collaboration with CHIEF. (Please check out the previous posts in the series.) If you have not done so already, I hope you will download the e-book , and please join me on September 26 from 2 pm-3:30 pm EDT for my webinar on the e-book, presented in collaboration with Peach New Media.

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Principled Innovation

AUGUST 28, 2012

Last Tuesday, I began this series of blog posts on the six shifts presented in my new e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future , created in collaboration with CHIEF. If you have not done so already, I hope you will download the e-book , and read the Shift #1 post , right away. Also, please join me on September 26 from 2 pm-3:30 pm EDT for my webinar on the e-book, presented in collaboration with Peach New Media.

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Principled Innovation

AUGUST 27, 2012

Now that my new e-book , Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future , has been out for a couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to step back and reflect on the reasons why I wrote it, as well as its deeper implications for association leaders. I hope this post helps to explain my motivations, and places the e-book in a broader context. + Associations Unorthodox is a set of approaches for breaking free of the past– The six shifts discussed in the e-book were n

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Principled Innovation

AUGUST 21, 2012

Over the next six weeks, I will publish a post on each of the six shifts presented in my new e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future , created in collaboration with CHIEF. If you have not done so already, I hope you will download the e-book today. Also, please join me on September 26 from 2 pm-3:30 pm EDT for my webinar on the e-book, presented in collaboration with Peach New Media.

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Principled Innovation

AUGUST 12, 2012

Video not showing? Find it on YouTube. Last week, I released some preliminary results from the P.I. Making Innovation Happen Survey. This morning, I am sharing more detailed survey results in the form of the video you (should) see above. You are welcome to download this video, as well as a PDF with an overview of these key results. (The download link will bring you to a page where you will be able to access both files.).

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AUGUST 7, 2012

Jeff De Cagna’s new e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future , will be available as a free download beginning this Wednesday, August 8. The e-book was produced in collaboration with DC-based branding firm, CHIEF. Jeff De Cagna serves as a senior advisor to CHIEF. Scott Johnson, co-founder of CHIEF, said ”For 35 years, I have watched associations do the same thing over and over again and expect different results.

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Principled Innovation

AUGUST 6, 2012

In preparation for ASAE’s Annual Meeting next week, I wanted to share some preliminary results from the Making Innovation Happen Survey we conducted during the month of June. More than 100 association CEOs from across the country responded to the survey, and there are some very important findings for our community: +Association CEOs report they value innovation both personally and professionally, and recognize the necessity of innovation to create new value for their stakeholders as their

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Principled Innovation

AUGUST 1, 2012

The agenda for Jeff De Cagna’s upcoming Making Innovation Happen workshop, to be presented during ASAE’s 2012 Annual Meeting (ASAE12) in Dallas, is now available for download [PDF]. Association CEOs and C-Suite executives attending ASAE12 are invited to participate in the workshop, which will take place on Sunday, August 12 from 1:30 pm-5:30 pm in Room D161 of the Dallas Convention Center.

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Principled Innovation

JULY 31, 2012

Membership is perhaps the most sacred tenet in all of association orthodoxy. Indeed, for many organizations, the membership imperative defines the very existence of the association: membership is who they are and what they do. In a time of relentless societal transformation, however, the impact of forces beyond our control makes it necessary for us to question all of our most deep-seated beliefs, including our beliefs about membership.

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Principled Innovation

JUNE 4, 2012

It is my great pleasure to announce that Principled Innovation is launching the inaugural Making Innovation Happen Survey for Association CEOs this morning! Innovation is certainly a major topic of conversation in our community these days, and more association CEOs are taking steps to build innovation as a deep capability in their organizations. P.I. wants to better understand how association CEOs view innovation, and what they see as the drivers and obstacles to making innovation happen in thei

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Principled Innovation

JUNE 4, 2012

Jeff De Cagna will be in Sacramento, California in mid-August, and he is available for sessions on August 16 and 17. Any Sacramento area association interested in having Jeff work with its board, senior team or staff can confirm a workshop at a very favorable investment level. To learn more or to schedule a session, please submit an inquiry through the P.I. contact form and mention this post in the Message section.

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Principled Innovation

JUNE 9, 2012

This post appears as an article in the May/June 2012 issue of Success by Association , the magazine of Association Executives of North Carolina. You can download a PDF of the article (512 KB). If your association would like permission to republish this article, please submit a request through the P.I. contact form and provide details in the Message box.

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Principled Innovation

JUNE 9, 2012

The inaugural Principled Innovation Making Innovation Happen Survey for Association CEOs is now open and accepting responses. All association CEOs are invited to complete the survey , which can be found online at [link]. As innovation becomes a more significant strategic priority in the association community, Principled Innovation will be tracking the challenges association CEOs face in making innovation happen within their organizations.

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Principled Innovation

JULY 8, 2012

In early August, Principled Innovation will launch Serious Questions, a regular electronic briefing for senior association leaders. Each month, Serious Questions will explore a new “serious question” facing the association community, provide a curated selection of useful readings for association executives and share other announcements and offers from Principled Innovation.

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JULY 10, 2012

Jeff De Cagna FRSA FASAE, chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation LLC, has been elected to the American Tinnitus Association (ATA) Board of Directors. ATA, located in Portland, Oregon, exists to cure tinnitus through the development of resources that advance tinnitus research. Tinnitus is the medical term for the perception of sound in one or both ears or in the head when no external sound is present. 50 million Americans experience tinnitus to some degree.

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Principled Innovation

JULY 11, 2012

During the more than twenty years I have worked in and with associations, it is my guess that organizations throughout our community have committed millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of hours of staff and voluntary leader time to generate tens of thousands of pages of strategic plans and related documents. I have been thinking about the net impact of this extraordinary investment of time, money and effort, and while there are some exceptions, here is a brief list of the outcomes I see

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