“Our achievements are simply the by-products of our ability to realize the potential of the present moment.”
Is that not the best remedy for procrastination?
It’s from Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates, a daily reader for yoga practitioners and one of my “desert island” books.
Procrastination has been getting some positive press lately. Creatives are encouraged to follow their rebellious minds where they lead since procrastination is now seen as a sign your brain isn’t ready to buckle down. It needs to relax and recharge by following its own path. You’ll stifle your creativity if you don’t allow yourself to procrastinate, “they” say.
Makes sense, but we all know too much of a good thing makes us flabby. The day is short. Heck, life is short. Make the most of your precious hours, the present moment, even at work.
I just ordered Tech Success for Associations, a new release (free for ASAE members) from the ASAE Foundation’s Technology Success and Readiness Study. One interesting tidbit from the study of associations and their members illustrates a huge disconnect:
The largest portion of association members described themselves as technology ‘explorers’ – early and optimistic adopters of new technology. However, “association IT decision makers believed that few members would fall into this category and instead thought the largest portion of members would fall into the ‘hesitator’ category” – “optimistic about technology in the abstract but somewhat scared to actually use new technology and therefore unlikely to be early adopters.”
The New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJCPA) is using demographic and behavioral data to provide targeted, relevant content – newsletters, website content, and event marketing emails – to their members and community. A blog post and success story from Aptify explain how NJCPA developed this data superpower.
Forget New Year’s resolutions. Instead design a life for yourself. Many of us fall into jobs and relationships, and find ourselves staying put out of inertia. Yuck. Take the reins and intentionally design a life that brings you joy – I highly recommend it. Get your start with this advice from Dave Evans and Bill Burnett from the Stanford Design School, cofounders of the Life Design Lab and coauthors of Designing Your Life.
Now, let it snow! Yup, we’re expecting our first snow of the season tonight here in North Carolina. Single digit temps at night too. It’s time for getting cozy.
Here’s the list of this week’s free webinars and learning events. If your organization has a webinar scheduled in the next few weeks, please send me the link. I’ll be happy to feature it as long as it’s not too product-centric.
Tue 1/10 at 2 p.m.* – Behind-the-Scenes with ASAE’s Gold Circle Awards (Association Chat)
Watch/participate live or view the recording.
Host: KiKi L’Italien, founder, Amplified Growth
*All times are Eastern Standard Time unless otherwise noted.
Wed 1/11 – HighRoad U Office Hours
There’s so much going on in associations today around digital that we are offering a weekly 1-hour office hour program with an expert. Bring your specific challenges, questions or current work to get expert feedback and guidance. More info/register.
Host: HighRoad Solution
Wed 1/11 at 1 p.m. – Email Marketing in 2017: Trends, Data and Best Practices
See what email marketing strategies and tactics work based on responses from over a hundred marketing professionals. Find out how deliverability is changing in 2017, and learn about new tactics to optimize marketing emails. More info/register.
Hosts: Return Path and American Marketing Association
Presenter: Tom Sather, senior director, research, Return Path
Wed 1/11 at 1 p.m. – Nonprofit Boards & Effective Governance
The nonprofit board has been described as an ineffective group of effective people. How might they do better? This webinar will look at board membership (recruitment, development, self-assessment), process (structure, meetings), capacity, and fiduciary concerns. Learn how to assemble an effective board, how to structure and operate a board effectively, and how to engage trustees and increase mutual satisfaction. Hear about tools and resources that will increase board effectiveness. More info/register.
Host: 4Good
Wed 1/11 at 2 p.m. – How Design Thinking Helps You Increase Impact and Innovation
Learn how innovative nonprofits (American Red Cross, GRID Alternative, buildOn, etc.) utilize Customer Centric Design Thinking to think outside-the-box and find ways to leverage existing resources, volunteers, staff, and social media presence to increase impact. Hear about methods for using design thinking to increase engagement, awareness, volunteerism, and fundraising at your organization. More info/register.
Host: VolunteerMatch and raiserve.org
Presenters:
- Ryall Carroll, co-founder, raiserve.org
- Basil Sadiq, marketing associate, VolunteerMatch
Thu 1/12 at 12 p.m. – Navigating ASAE Resources for Professional Success
Some of ASAE’s staff will identify key components of ASAE resources that can be used to maximize your professional development and set you on the right path to success in your association career. Hear examples from members of ASAE’s Young Professionals Committee who have maximized specific resources to advance their own careers. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Young Professionals Committee
Thu 1/12 at 12 p.m. – 401(k) Fees 101: Know your Fees, Manage Your Fees
Learn how to identify, understand, and manage your 401(k) plan fees. Even small employers can face a lawsuit if they don’t attend to this important component of their retirement plan. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Retirement Trust
Presenter: Shelly Horwitz, CMFC® partner, Association Investment Advisory Solutions
Thu 1/12 at 12 p.m. – DC Small Staff Association Brown Bag Lunch Group (Washington DC)
This casual lunch group of association colleagues is specifically for those who work at small staff associations. Attendees share ideas and ask questions about other associations’ best practices. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Small Staff Association Professionals
Thu 1/12 at 12 p.m. (lunch) or 12:30 p.m. (webinar) – Top Ten Hot-Button Insurance Issues Facing Nonprofits
It’s increasingly difficult to anticipate newly emerging risks, such as cyber risk and workplace violence coverage, and to decide whether and how to insure for them. Analyzing the major risks facing your organization and whether your current policies of insurance cover those risks is imperative to avoid the risk of loss that could have otherwise been transferred to an insurance company. Learn about the basics of insurance coverage and the importance of understanding risk tolerance within your organization, and get answers to some of the tough insurance questions nonprofits need to tackle. More info/register.
Host: Venable LLP
Presenters:
- Lou Novick, principal, Novick Group
- Thomasina E. Poirot, Esq., associate, Venable LLP
- Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, Esq. (moderator), partner and chair of the nonprofit organizations practice, Venable LLP
Thu 1/12 at 1 p.m. – Social Learning Trends in the Association Space
Discover the potential for social technologies to support and extend the education your organization offers in this review of the key findings from the Social Learning Trends in the Association Space report conducted by Tagoras. They’ll share the reasons associations should pay particular attention to social learning, and case studies of associations using social technologies for learning. More info/register.
Host: Higher Logic
Presenters: Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele, co-founders, Tagoras
Thu 1/12 at 2 p.m. – It’s Time to Market Your Association like a Business
Major companies are really good at innovating how they communicate and engage customers and prospects with their values and value proposition through email, social media and other channels – so maybe it’s time for associations to start marketing more like businesses. More info/register.
Host: RealMagnet
Thu 1/12 at 2 p.m. – 3 Easy Ways to Retain More Members Using Software
Do you sometimes feel that your membership is like a leaky boat? Every time you look at your database, you notice a few members have left? Learn how to get your members to renew on their own, so you don’t have to chase them; automate your new member onboarding process and save hours each week; and quickly identify who is about to leave, and what you can do to keep them. More info/register.
Host: Wild Apricot
Presenter: Terry Ibele, growth specialist, Wild Apricot
Thu 1/12 at 2:30 p.m. – 5 Secrets of Email Marketing Geniuses
There is more power and leverage in one email subscriber than 100 Facebook likes or 50 Twitter followers if email marketing is done right. Problem is, 9 out of 10 nonprofits don’t do it right. Learn about the 5 types of nonprofit emails, the anatomy of an email marketing campaign, 6 email marketing mistakes to avoid, and 5 secrets of email marketing geniuses. More info/register.
Host: Firespring and Clarification
Presenter: Jay Wilkinson, founder and CEO, Firespring
Thu 1/12 at 3 p.m. – How to Market Like a Big Brand, Even If You Are a Marketing Office of One (Idea Swap in Loudoun County VA)
Learn some tips on how to leverage your email marketing tools and create extra revenue at your association. Hear what the Texas Medical Association did to take their stagnant continuing education course sales and grow them by over 300% in just 5 months. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Greater Washington / National Capital Community
Presenter: Ryan King, sales executive, Informz
Fri 1/13 at 12 p.m. – Revitalizing Your Brand and Getting Members Buy-in
As associations evolve, their brand often no longer represents their members or the organization’s future mission and vision. No matter how obvious the need for rebranding, a well thought out plan, support from leadership and buy in from members is required. Hear how the Society of Women Engineers underwent a two-year rebranding effort to move it forward and truly embody the global organization it aimed to be – a process that not only won over its members but also resulted in an ASAE 2016 Gold Circle Award Recipient for Rebranding. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Young Professionals
Presenter: Karen Horting, CAE, executive director & CEO, Society of Women Engineers
Fri 1/13 at 1 p.m. – Winning the Inbox: 3 Things Savvy Email Marketers Must Know
The best email marketing combines the latest in mobile design, smart automation techniques and analyzing the right data. If you can nail those three things, then you’ll start sending the kind of email that gets real results. Hear about real-life examples of brands that are optimizing their email programs for today’s on-the-go consumers. More info/register.
Hosts: Emma and American Marketing Association
Presenter: Jamie Bradley, content marketing strategist, Emma
Fri 1/13 – Using Webinars for Lead Generation
For many organizations, digital marketing is a new undertaking. Associations are looking for how to best staff their organizations, craft campaigns and measure programs in the digital age. We created HighRoad U to help all associations evolve fully into digital. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: HighRoad Solution
That’s it for this week. If you can’t attend a live webinar, go ahead and register if the topic interests you. Most webinar hosts send registrants a link to the recording.
Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If your organization offers professional development for the association community, please send me the link via email or Twitter.
Creative Commons licensed image by liquidcrash
Association Brain Food 