GrowthZone AMS recently released its 2021 Association Industry Survey results. Respondents were asked to share words of wisdom or encouragement with their peers in the association industry. The responses were heartfelt and optimistic. We’ve included some of them below:
We asked: “Any words of wisdom you’d like to share with your colleagues or peers?”
Respondent comments included:
Be honest with your board.
Be loyal to your mission and stay the course!
Be patient. Slow and steady wins the race. Sometimes it’s difficult in an instant-gratification world. But compassion and understanding go a long way.
Block time in your calendar to plan.
Budget conservatively, and don’t count on revenue gained from new programs as budgeted revenue for the new year—too many unknowns in the current climate.
Keep learning. There are so many new skills we have had to obtain.
Keep showing up and staying in touch…even if it has to be virtual!
Focus on what your members need most to navigate these uncertain times and connect to those resources.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we CAN and we WILL.
Member communications should always be written from the perspective of the association’s interest in helping achieve success.
Join ASAE.
Planning consumes even more of our time, but the polished effort for our virtual training has helped demonstrate our value.
Keep trying & be willing to make changes, even sometimes on the fly.
The top priority should always be a strong succession plan and Standard Operating Procedures in place for when volunteer leaders underperform.
The best wisdom I can give is to focus on the work and not the personalities. That has helped me in my 15 years as Executive Director.
If your creativity is appreciated, stay where you are.
It’s more important than ever to listen to your members. Find out what they need, then start from scratch, giving your value proposition and membership model a fresh look.
I still appreciate this quote when things get hard: “You are not working from home; you are at your home during a crisis trying to work.”
Stay calm and carry on and do it with a smile. Appreciate that things are forever changed in the meeting industry. Embrace it and find a way to make it work for you and your organization in the long term.
To see all of the association staff responses, download your copy of the report here: 2021 Association Industry Trends Survey Results.
Also, take a look at the on-demand, in-depth Q&A survey results webinar with Teri Carden, founder of ReviewMyAMS.
SEE ALSO: Interesting Trends in 2021 Association Industry Survey Results