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SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

We, as association professionals, do a poor job of properly training and preparing them for board service, and then setting and enforcing boundaries. I don't have an answer to the question of a world without boards - or at least, pace Leslie, where board service is dramatically different. It's not for legal reasons.

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NOVEMBER 1, 2012

Public service post today. A friend of mine is a paid blogger for Razoo , and she is looking for stories to tell.

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NOVEMBER 28, 2012

The new wrinkle is that, while it was always possible for any given individual to publish to the web (assuming, in the early days, she could find a hosting service and learn to write HTML code), technology now makes it simple for anyone and everyone to publish rich multimedia content from virtually anywhere at virtually any time.

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SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Some of them would LOVE to be invited to sneak preview a new program, product, service, offer, etc. One of the reasons we in the association world can be afraid to try new things is that we worry that if it's not perfect, the members will freak out. And for some of your members, that's probably true. But it's not true for all of them.

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FEBRUARY 8, 2013

I've always been a big proponent of corporate social responsibility, organizing the teams for the Greater DC Cares big annual days of service or the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup or the annual Capital Area Food Bank food drive, and I recently had a realization. Just because I'm a company of one doesn't let me off the hook.

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DECEMBER 12, 2012

Make good products, offer good services, and do it at a good price, so people like you , not "like" you. Freelancing and the "learning economy" (article also has a link to a great piece about " the new middle class poverty ," which you should also check out) Want to be a success in social marketing?

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AUGUST 10, 2012

Participating in the Tuesday afternoon service project to benefit the North Texas Food Bank. Getting to introduce Spark Consulting to the association world. Selfish, I know, but it's my baby, and I'm proud. There will be flair. I'll bet you can still sign up to join us. The legendary YAP party. Monday, August 13. Hard Rock Dallas.

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JUNE 29, 2012

It encourages a paradigm shift to PREVENTATIVE care (you know, addressing things before people have big, expensive, intractable chronic disease type problems) by making many preventative wellness services free. Health insurance companies are now required to spend 80% of their revenue providing, you know, HEALTH CARE.

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JANUARY 24, 2013

We value committee service, so we give it a high score. So what's the problem? I might have missed something, but nearly all the talk about engagement I hear was about scoring, tracking, and rewarding what the association values. We value spending money with the association, so we give it a high score.

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SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Or, as Jeff suggested, allocate some buckets of money to be spent on our organizations' top strategic priorities, then leave it up to the staff and volunteer leaders responsible for those priorities to figure out what are the best investments in programs, products and services to meet those priorities?

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NOVEMBER 29, 2011

For associations, the customer service we offer our members is a huge source of word of mouth, positive and negative. So how can you make sure your customer service is in tip-top shape? Labels: associations , customer service , innovation , membership , surveys , Word of Mouth. And isnt that why you exist in the first place?

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APRIL 5, 2012

Your members dont care that the professional liability insurance you offer them lives in your financial services department, which they have to access under Member Services --> Other Services --> Affinity Programs. If the answer isnt "zero," you need to rethink how you present information.

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JANUARY 13, 2012

or you could participate in the National Day of Service. Top five ways YOU can still get involved: Go to the service day site and plug in your ZIP code under "Find a Project" - there are still plenty of options out there (I found 39 attached to my own ZIP code).

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OCTOBER 5, 2012

No, I'm not really planning to make this a major part of my service lines, but someone I know could use some periodic advice and is able to pay for it (woot!), I have my first (totally unintentional) coaching client! so there you have it.

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DECEMBER 1, 2011

What if, rather than waiting until we had everything just so to roll out our new member service, we went to our members with: "This is a new service were considering. We dont have all the kinks worked out yet, so we know some of you will want to wait to check it out until its in a more completed form.

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FEBRUARY 9, 2012

What can you do at your organization to be more transparent about why people are accepted or rejected for volunteer service, conference presentations, magazine articles, etc.? Sure, that can turn things into a popularity contest, but popular vote isnt the whole story, and it helps attendees feel connected to the event. Share on FriendFeed.

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JULY 27, 2012

Ill be doing strategic membership and marketing consulting for associations that have the will and the capacity to take some risks in the service of big goals. Its called Spark Consulting, LLC: Explosive Growth for Associations. More to follow.as soon as I have a minute between working with my new clients to get my new website set up!

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MARCH 30, 2012

The US Postal Service assigns zip codes to areas within city and state boundaries. OK, now its your turn: what can you share that will make me laugh so hard I cant breathe? Share on FriendFeed. Labels: Friday Top 5. 3 comments: suzq. OK.here's a real pet peeve of mine. I live in the US. I have a Zip Code. If we can send a man to the moo.no

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JULY 19, 2012

Some of the key points that particularly struck me include: In an era of social networking and nearly ubiquitous connectivity, customer service may be your MOST important marketing tactic. All are accompanied by short anecdotes illustrating the points.

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JULY 4, 2012

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life (..)

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MAY 1, 2012

What do they offer that you want? Can you create packages of roughly equivalent value?

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MARCH 29, 2012

And for some particular positions, that might make sense: retail (where you have posted store hours), customer service (where the phones/email accounts are supposed to be staffed certain hours), reception (where the desk is supposed to be staffed certain hours), shift work. Raise your hand if you - or your staff - do one of those things.

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DECEMBER 27, 2011

The association industry pays a lot of lip service to diversity and inclusion, and while some individual associations certainly do more than that, the proof is in the pudding--the pudding being articles like the one you mention here.

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