Dark Days Shine New Light on Profession and Community
Golden's Rules for Association
APRIL 7, 2020
The mission of NSPE is too important to put on hold for a virus.
Golden's Rules for Association
A plug for Beethoven and company in times of stress …
Golden's Rules for Association
APRIL 5, 2020
I was always someone who recognized the critical value of diligently providing for personal solitude as an element of leadership effectiveness. (There is a pretty good book on this subject if you are unconvinced: Lead Yourself First, by Raymond Kethledge and Michael Erwin). The coronavirus pandemic would seem to have made solitude the new norm. But […].
Leadership 
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Ending Missed Opportunites
Golden's Rules for Association
JANUARY 6, 2020
We are a product of history. None of the inequities, whether trivial or profound, at work in our lives came about overnight. Small injustices compounded over time and became institutionalized and even sublimated into our unconscious collective and individual biases.
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A Tale of Two Paradigms
Golden's Rules for Association
AUGUST 9, 2018
Paradigms are the frames of reference that filter our view of the world. They govern how we see things … and can blind you to realties that don’t fit your governing paradigm. Take professional licensure. It’s a no-brainer, right? Some form of professional licensure has existed in America for lawyers since 1763, for physicians and dentists […].
America 100
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True North
Golden's Rules for Association
JULY 28, 2017
The following is adapted from remarks delivered at the National Society of Professional Engineer’s House of Delegates General Assembly, July 22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. As NSPE ends one fiscal/program year and starts a new one, it would be typical to talk about the past year’s activity. That is worth doing: we have a good story to […].
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The Power (and Limitations) of Social Media
Golden's Rules for Association
APRIL 24, 2016
At a recent conference, I was diligent in my efforts to use social media to not only capture my own notes, but share them with my colleagues and associates, present and absent. I got a decent amount of reaction and interaction for my efforts. Retweets, likes, comments and discussion. (Nothing remotely viral, mind you, but my […].
Social Media 100
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CEO effectiveness & volunteer boards
Golden's Rules for Association
JANUARY 6, 2016
I was recently invited to share one piece of advice from what I have learned in my years as an association chief staff officer on effective partnership with volunteer leaders, for a book soon to be published by ASAE. After giving some thought to the matter, for me it came down to what Jim Collins calls Level […].
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Why change is hard and so often goes wrong
Golden's Rules for Association
MAY 16, 2015
A member shared this video with me recently, which demonstrates that knowledge does not equal understanding and that it is very difficult to change biases. [link] Watch the whole 8 minutes if you can … there is more here than the initial “hook” of the video: how changing one thing makes even a simple, customary task […].
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Context, continuity, and generations
Golden's Rules for Association
MARCH 3, 2015
'A lot of self-help books and personal development coaches advise taking a break from your area of professional focus every now and then to read things entirely outside your field. In today’s world of mass media, information overload, and 24-hour-a-day, day jobs, that is increasingly hard to do. But I have found this to be […].
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The Future of Membership?
Golden's Rules for Association
NOVEMBER 19, 2013
'On November 6th, I was invited to present a TED-style talk on the “Future of Membership” at the first Association Chief Executives (ACE) Symposium. My thesis: volunteerism not membership is what makes our organizations unique; membership is a means to an end; the metrics we use to judge membership success are all wrong; and the […].
Organization 100
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100 Radical orthodoxy
Golden's Rules for Association
MAY 6, 2013
'It is something of a commonplace to refer to associations as a kind of family or even to think of our mission-driven efforts as in some ways similar to a religion: an effort to organize like-minded individuals who share a common cause … a cause that is integral to both who they are as individuals [.].
Organization 100
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Free? Hold on a Minute.
Golden's Rules for Association
APRIL 8, 2013
'A few years ago I moderated a workshop on Chris Anderson’s book, Free and its implications for associations at the Digital Now conference. (That presentation can be found here.) Anderson’s thesis was based largely on the concept of a “freemium” – give something away that creates a demand for future purchases. You know, give away [.].
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A wealth of data … but is it all real?
Golden's Rules for Association
FEBRUARY 23, 2013
Seven years after the ASAE Foundation first published Seven Measures of Success it has become a whole lot easier to be a “data-driven” association. In 2006, the cost, systems and infrastructure needed to do what the remarkable 9 associations did with data was a major challenge. Less than a decade later, even the smallest association [.].
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Association tech trends
Golden's Rules for Association
JANUARY 31, 2013
My picks for the three biggest technology trends affecting associations for 2013: 1. It’s not just social … or even primarily social … it’s all about mobile access now 2. If you are a control freak … get over it. 3. If you still think IT is somebody else’s responsibility, you’re wrong Read more in [.].
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Why these things matter
Golden's Rules for Association
DECEMBER 14, 2012
Chances are that if you are reading this, you consider yourself an association professional and you appreciate the tremendous good that associations do for society. You are probably also concerned about some of the issues impacting associations, and maybe even support advocacy by groups like ASAE to address them. But do you ever involve the [.].
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Just because it’s easy and you can, doesn’t mean you should
Golden's Rules for Association
NOVEMBER 25, 2012
That was the common thread from the presentations and discussion at TREND’s Annual Communications Legal Update on October 26th. Among the high level takeaways was the need to remember that most of the arcane web of political communication, intellectual property, privacy, and commercial law that governs our digital world was written decades before digital was [.].
Communications 100
100 The social media dog that didn’t bark
Golden's Rules for Association
OCTOBER 24, 2012
In the Sherlock Holmes mystery “Silver Blaze,” the solution turns on “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.” Scotland Yard Detective Gregory can be forgiven for his confusion when he protests, “the dog did nothing in the night-time.” “That,” Holmes observes, “was the curious incident.” There are a number of dogs that didn’t [.].
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The myth about ‘special interests’
Golden's Rules for Association
OCTOBER 12, 2012
Much of the public thinks of associations as “special interests” who do nothing but lobby the system to game advantage (even though U. S. government data shows that associations spend many times more on educational activities than on lobbying). In my opinion, “special interest” is a pejorative only when applied to a group whose interests [.].
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Looking into the congressional crystal ball
Golden's Rules for Association
SEPTEMBER 27, 2012
Associations have garnered their share of attention from the Hill in the last year, but no one expected a thoroughly gridlocked Congress to actually get anything done about it … at least until after the election. And after that? Read my latest commentary in AssociationTRENDS to learn why I don’t think any of the association [.].
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What the world needs is more association executives
Golden's Rules for Association
AUGUST 19, 2012
Closing the ASAE annual meeting in Dallas, author Dan Pink argued that, regardless of profession, we are all in sales. But the characteristics, skills and traits he described as essential for success sounded to my ears like precisely the attributes that distinguish effective association leaders, and differentiate us as a profession. Read more in my [.].
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GAO, optics, over reactions and glass houses
Golden's Rules for Association
AUGUST 1, 2012
I didn’t exactly go through the five stages of grief when the public furor over the GAO Las Vegas retreat first erupted in the media. But I did go through something like that process. Stage one is denial: I am a “benefit of the doubt” kind of guy. If there is an innocent interpretation, I [.].
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100 What’s in a word?
Golden's Rules for Association
JULY 27, 2012
Association Trends data indicates a majority of associations do not include bonuses in staff compensation structures. Perhaps part of the resistance is simply a matter of language. ”Bonus” sounds gratuitous and unearned. But performance based compensation can be a critical element in achieving high staff performance. Read more in my commentary in the July 19th Trends. [.].
Basso continuo
Golden's Rules for Association
APRIL 18, 2011
Johannes Kepler described music as one of the four harmonies that hold the universe together. (Geometry, Astrology and Astronomy are the other three, if anyone cares.) And yes, this really does have something to do with associations. I recently moderated a panel on Hegel. Brown and Davison’s The Power of Pull. The book contrasts traditional [.].
100 Us versus Them
Golden's Rules for Association
APRIL 20, 2011
Have social networks made traditional associations obsolete? Or are Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn et. al. just so many distractions from real association work? In my view, the answer is neither. I recently addressed this issue as a guest blogger on the Amercian Society of Association Executive’s (ASAE’s) blog space, Acronym. “Us versus Them” on Acronym.
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100 Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain
Golden's Rules for Association
APRIL 21, 2011
The web has made it a whole lot easier to fake it. And that is, if anything, even more of a threat to serious, online communities than to traditional associations. There is little you can effectively do to police the content of others on the web … leaving it up to our associations (traditional and [.].
Content 100
100 Inquiry or advocacy?
Golden's Rules for Association
APRIL 29, 2011
There are two kinds of public policy research: there is inquiry and there is advocacy. In the case of advocacy, you start with an answer and go in search of the facts that will bolster and support your position. In the case of inquiry, you start with a question and let the facts lead you [.].
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Rosetta Stone for Twitter
Golden's Rules for Association
MAY 7, 2011
Twitter is a second language … it takes some effort to learn to speak it fluently. But does tweeting content in realtime at educational events add or detract from the educational experience? A lot of what gets tweeted at conferences and seminars is drivel, but for those fluent in the language, Twitter can add a [.].
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Paradigms
Golden's Rules for Association
MAY 10, 2011
I recently suffered a very sudden and very significant loss of vision. Happily, the condition was fully correctible. Nonetheless, during the period of impairment I learned some very interesting things about how the brain works and we perceive the world. I discovered that when I was in familiar surroundings, my brain could reach back to [.].
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Open or closed?
Golden's Rules for Association
MAY 17, 2011
The online world is divided into two camps over that one. One camp thinks there should be no restrictions or guidelines around who participates in online communities. Everything should be open to everybody. If someone with a completely different set of experiences shocks you with an idea or perspective that never would have occurred to [.].
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ISO consumate association professional … plumbers only need apply.
Golden's Rules for Association
MAY 31, 2011
Suppose you were an association executive with a medical need. You have identified the leading doctors who specialize in the field. The decision is important. Your health is at stake. So you take very seriously the process of deciding which doctor is the best fit to work with you to diagnose your problem and prescribe [.].
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Who was that masked man?
Golden's Rules for Association
JUNE 9, 2011
Does knowing nothing more about who is behind a statement than the words a person uses to express themselves make online pronouncements more or less reliable? On one hand, not knowing anything about who is blogging or tweating beyond the sometimes very limited information about themselves that they choose to make known to you is a good thing. It [.].
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100 What opera has taught me about association management …
Golden's Rules for Association
JUNE 20, 2011
Conflict! Treachery! Betrayal! Passion! No, I am not talking about your last board of directors meeting. I am talking about opera. And before you start rolling your eyes and dismissing opera based on the parodies or send ups you’ve seen (Marx Brothers’ “Night at the Opera,” anyone?), allow me to provide a short, painless and mostly lighthearted [.].
ASAE Key Award
Golden's Rules for Association
JUNE 30, 2011
I am thrilled and humbled to learn of my selection to receive the American Society of Association Executive’s 2011 Key Award, the highest honor ASAE offers. “The Key Award honors the association CEO who demonstrates exceptional qualities of leadership in his or her own association, and displays a deep commitment to voluntary membership organizations as a [.].
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Have we lost the ability to argue?
Golden's Rules for Association
JULY 18, 2011
“It is extraordinary to notice how few people in the modern world can argue. That is why there are so many quarrels breaking out again and again, and never coming to any natural end.” How true. Just switch on any cable TV “news” show or go to any online forum. Or visit an association board [.].
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On receiving the Key Award
Golden's Rules for Association
AUGUST 7, 2011
I am often asked why I have spent my entire career, and how I have maintained my calm demeanor, in a profession where success requires making people you can’t directly control work effectively together. “People are irrational, self-centered and unreasonable – why would you put yourself through it?” My answer is simple: because when people [.].
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The Loyalty Factor
Golden's Rules for Association
SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
As consumers, there are some products, brands, or stores we frequent out of habit. And in stable, calm and good times that’s enough. Trouble is, all it takes is the slightest little disruption to make “because I have always shopped here” an insufficient excuse for me not to take my business elsewhere. Associations are even [.].
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100 Professionalism, resilience and teamwork
Golden's Rules for Association
SEPTEMBER 9, 2011
Commonplace words … but recent events have added a depth of meaning to each of them. Midafternoon on August 23rd, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Virginia. Earthquakes in this region are rare. Earthquakes of that size are unheard of. Much of the Washington DC area was able to shake it off and move on. The little [.].
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100 Stop competing
Golden's Rules for Association
OCTOBER 13, 2011
That somewhat startling and counterintuitive piece of advice comes from futurist Dan Burrus. “No matter what your angle for competing – whether you are competing on price, service, quality, time, design, or anything else – the unfortunate outcome is you’re making yourself too much like everyone else. So even when you are in the lead, [.].
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100 Stay focused on mission
Golden's Rules for Association
NOVEMBER 18, 2011
The new president of the national, not-for-profit organization urged his membership to remember: “The [organization] we passionately love is hardly some cumbersome, outmoded club of sticklers, with a medieval bureaucracy, silly … rules on fancy letterhead, one more movement rife with squabbles, opinions and disagreement.” No. All those elements might exist, or be perceived to [.].
Organization 100
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100 Associations don’t have long tails
Golden's Rules for Association
JANUARY 4, 2012
For a while there, Chris Anderson’s book, The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, seemed to dominate the association consulting/seminar/blogging space. Now that its currency has dimmed a little, I have a confession to make. I struggled for a long time trying to like this book1. But in the [.].
100 Consensus is not a dirty word
Golden's Rules for Association
JANUARY 10, 2012
At a GWSAE Speakers Series event a number of years ago, Margaret Thatcher described consensus as the opposite of leadership. She used words to the effect that consensus is an abdication of leadership obligations; true leaders take you somewhere the group otherwise would never go. Recently, on ASAE’s CEO network listserv, a rather energetic discussion [.].
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Bringing the next generation into governance
Golden's Rules for Association
MARCH 28, 2012
When I ask association leaders (both volunteers and staff professionals) what their biggest long-term governance challenge is, the most frequent answer I hear back is the challenge of bringing the next generation of leaders on board. “Young people don’t volunteer the way we used to.” “They don’t have the time to devote to volunteering that [.].
System 100
100 Making innovation a habit
Golden's Rules for Association
APRIL 2, 2012
To be real, innovation needs to be a habit, not a standalone project. And habits are learned through constant practice – doing something consistently and constantly until it becomes an ingrained feature of everyday activity. Something that is constantly happening, almost without conscious effort or thought. Part of that is systems and environment.
Innovation 100
100 Context, confidence and authority
Golden's Rules for Association
APRIL 16, 2012
The problem I have with most social networking is that you can’t ask follow up questions. Like a lot of people, I suppose, it took me a while to warm to Twitter and Facebook. I was initially put off by the sheer triviality of an overwhelming majority of the traffic. I mean really: I don’t [.].
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