January 21, 2012

Changing My Little Worlds in 2012

Posted by deirdrereid under Life | Tags: |
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Here I am, running to catch up to the Change the World in 2012 meme that every other association blogger has jumped on already. Two weeks ago I was tagged by Aaron Wolowiec and Elizabeth Engel to give my take on Maddie Grant’s original post, a widely popular one.

So where have I been? I’ve been thinking! I didn’t make resolutions this year. Instead, I took my own advice: I’m slowly changing my habits. I’m living the life that the better me would live: committing to daily exercise or yoga, eating more nutritious foods, using my time more effectively (meaning: be more focused), flossing regularly, going offline more frequently, and spending time with friends more often.

Now it’s out there. Accountability. It’s only been three weeks but I’m doing okay. Slow and steady.

What’s this have to do with changing the world? I’m not setting out to change the world, but I’d like to make a difference in the little worlds I live in. A better me can do that, a lesser me would think she’s too busy.

I never aspired to be famous or rich, or even leave a legacy, but I want my life to matter. I want to be a positive presence in the lives of others by being a better me and a better girlfriend, friend, sister, daughter, cousin, aunt, colleague and acquaintance.

How will I make a difference in my little worlds?

1.  Be grounded, curious, grateful, conscientious and accepting. In short, be everything yoga books, podcasts and teachers prescribe. I’m inspired by how others live their lives, so I hope to be a positive influence for those in my little worlds, whether they’re close to me or far away, in person or online. We’re all works in progress, writing our own story, a story that can change direction when another character enters the room.

2.  Share what I know, learn and think if I believe it will help others. I’m approaching this from two angles.

  • Practical: I like being a resource, so this is easy. I really should have been a librarian, but I like to talk too much. What I really want to do is spark excitement, energy and hope in others. I try to do that with my professional writing, especially for the association community. I want to help people see things from a different perspective, come up with a new idea, solve a problem or improve their professional lives. I’m doing that as a newly trained volunteer docent for kids at the North Carolina Museum of History, shifting their perspective and sparking their curiosity about life here in NC in the past centuries.
  • Woo woo: We teach what we need to learn. We’re not very good students because we keep having to learn the same things year after year: choosing our reactions, really listening to others, living in the present, and not judging a whole character based on one trait.

3.  Connect people who would benefit from each others’ company — a very satisfying thing to do if you keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities. Of course, it’s easier if you’re out there meeting people and, more importantly, learning about them instead of talking about yourself (note to self). I can do this professionally as well: my writing helps companies connect with their audiences, so they can live happily ever after together.

Thanks Maddie, Aaron and Elizabeth for writing your posts and inspiring me to put this out there. Thanks to all my other friends and colleagues in the association community for sharing your intentions for 2012. When we all live our better lives together, we’re an awesome and inspiring bunch.

Changing the world in 2012

Dig by Incubus: "Dig me up from under what is covering the better part of me."

 

December 6, 2011

You’ve Got to Read This: December 6, 2011

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Blogs are not dead! That was the verdict from DelCor Technology Solution’s unconference last month: Progress U. – Blogger Summit. I’m go glad I got up to Arlington VA to attend, it was a great day of conversation. DelCor’s publishing a series of follow-up posts from the Summit. The first talks about the state of blog reading and writing today and why blogs are a good idea for associations.

DelCor’s second post discusses Six Barriers to Blogging – And How to Bust Them. Don’t let limited resources, organizational culture, staff’s full plates, fear, lack of confidence orleadership’s unfamiliarity with blogs discourage you.

We’re so lucky to have access to free tools for professional development, like blogs, but there is a potential downside: cognitive overload. Back in August, Ed Rodley, an exhibits professional at the Museum of Science in Boston, wrote about Dealing with Your Cognitive Load. His post received so many replies from the museum community that he compiled their ideas into four more posts.

I must share something he said in Part 4 – it’s what drew me into the rest of these posts because it’s so spot on about personal growth:

“All of the strategies listed above have one thing in common. They don’t require anything aside from your own desire to learn. As someone who has worked in a large institution for most of my professional career, it’s easy to succumb to the mindset of waiting for permission to do anything. This is especially true of old-school “professional development.” There are forms to be completed, signatures to be garnered, and justifications to be gathered before any learning happens. But in the current climate, waiting for anything seems like a recipe for getting left behind.”

Speaking of traditional nonprofit organizations, how many of them have a full-time employee dedicated to managing volunteers? Yeah, not many. In associations, volunteering is a benefit of membership, often the benefit that brings them back year after year. You’d think more resources would be directed at keeping members engaged and satisfied, but no. Susan J. Ellis at Energize, Inc. says Part-time Volunteer Management Means Equally Limited Volunteer Involvement.

In this brilliant post Jamie Notter, author with Maddie Grant of must-read book, Humanize, points out that social media is just a wave knocking down a corner of your sand castle. But be ready, he says. “The tide is coming in. Social media is giving us a bit of an advance warning that things are changing.”

While Eric Lanke was visiting one of his members, a manufacturing company, a simple sign on the wall provided a moment of clarity. He brought the mantra back to his association, it’s one that works in any organization: help the customer succeed.

I started this selection with two posts from an unconference, I’ll end with a post that Jenise Fryatt wrote about Event Camp East Coast: How an Unconference Changed My Life.

That’s it for now, happy reading!

Lady Blogger with Her Maid, after Vermeer by Mike Licht (Flickr)

 

November 4, 2011

The Mark of Cain on Association Management

Posted by deirdrereid under Associations & Nonprofits | Tags: , , , , |
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The last few nights I’ve watched news stories about Herman Cain and the National Restaurant Association (NRA). I can’t help thinking about the whole ugly situation through an association management lens. I’m not going to dive into the details or the political ramifications, and I certainly don’t intend to express any political opinions in this post. I’m assuming the best and the worst to get a complete picture for purely hypothetical reasons.

Imagine, instead of the NRA, this is your association. A never-ending story about one of your past CEOs (or elected volunteer leader) ends up on the nightly news. I’m sure it’s happened before, but I doubt the past CEO was running for president.

I feel bad for the NRA staff. You know everyone there is getting the third degree from their family and friends. Even though they’re in the spotlight dealing with a haunting situation from the past, work goes on — trade shows, educational sessions, publications, lobbying, research, event planning, member service – it doesn’t stop.

The story is still unfolding but I can’t wait. I keep thinking about all the issues it raises. It provides an opportunity to step back and say, “What if this was us?”

Crisis management

Above all, it’s a story about crisis management and communication. I haven’t been paying close enough attention to know how the NRA has handled that, but I’m not writing about them, so it doesn’t matter for my purpose. Every PR professional and CAE candidate knows you need to have a crisis management plan, just like you need disaster recovery and business continuity plans.

You also need to be out in front when a crisis hits. With social media, it doesn’t take long for a rumor to turn into a full-blown disaster. Even if you’re not participating in social media, you better be monitoring social media. You’d think everyone would know this by now, but I’m sure there are some organizations that don’t even have Google Alerts on their name.

I can only imagine the tension at NRA. I’m sure the HR and executive teams are in constant meeting mode. How stressful. I hope, for their sakes, they’ve been as open and honest as much as their confidentiality agreements allow. We see how Cain suffered because he didn’t appear as forthcoming and transparent as he should have.

Make sure your staff is informed about their roles and responsibilities during a crisis and they know what’s at stake for the association mission and members. At NAHB we had an ugly episode: someone on staff was hounded by an angry group for his part on a non-profit board – a board completely unrelated to the homebuilding industry. We expected protests and media at our front door. I don’t recall anything awful occurring, but we were ready. Everyone was informed enough to understand the situation and reminded about what to do if approached or contacted by anyone.

Brand management

I got really peeved off by some of the coverage of the NRA, especially when a ratings-hungry commentator portrayed the NRA only as the representative of national corporations, like McDonalds and Pizza Hut. He called for viewers to boycott NRA members while showing a dozen member logos (mostly fast food) and a headshot of NRA’s CEO. I guess he doesn’t care about all the employees whose earnings depend on those chains. I’m sensitive about this because I know from personal membership experience that NRA also represents, assists and educates smaller restaurants, like the independently-owned one I used to manage.

No matter what you think about the NRA, brand identity is the issue here. Is it clear from your homepage and other online outposts who your members are? What they contribute to the economy and community? Could you appear more human? Relatable? Likeable? Don’t be an easy target for rabble-rousers.

Culture and counsel

Innocent or guilty, the fact that there were three allegations of sexual harassment has to give you pause, even if they’re all baseless. I can’t help thinking, what type of culture leads to this? Or maybe all was well and this is just a case of three messed-up work relationships and the resulting misperceptions. One commentator asked Cain if he was the kind of CEO who made awkward comments to employees and didn’t know it. For the record, he did say “no,” but seriously, would he even know?

If those allegations were true, why didn’t anyone say anything to him about how others perceived his behavior? Because he’s the boss? Bring in the board chair to counsel him.

It’s an ugly situation. Maybe someday a brave soul from the NRA will do a conference session about how they handled it and lessons learned. Yuck. I wish everyone over there a hasty return to business as usual.

What other association management lessons are you seeing in this story?

association crisis management Herman Cain NRA national restaurant association

Where the NRA CEO probably wishes she were right now (photo by Ryan Kozie/Flickr)

 

October 11, 2011

You’ve Got to Read This: October 11, 2011

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I usually start off my selection of good reads with something to help you save time or be more productive, but nothing wowed me this week. So I wrote my own: Be Productive While Having a Beer (or Two).

This is such a cool idea from Mike Brown at Brainzooming: assign extreme creativity makeover roles to everyone on your project team. You be the Outrageous Ideameister and I’ll be the Minister of Scare the S#!t Out of Us Possibilities!

I never get tired of sharing this type of post because I know many people are stumped when it comes to blog content. Jackie Roy at TMG Media’s Engage blog (a must read in my book) provides 7 Ways for Your Company to Break the Ice with the Blogosphere.

If you’re going to a conference or educational session and plan to tweet, read this post first. Megan Yarbrough at M+R Research Labs shares tips for thoughtful and effective live-tweeting from an event.

Standard press releases are often misdirected, irrelevant and boring. Here are some creative alternatives to sending a press release from Claire Celsi at Ragan’s PR Daily.

Yes, yes, we’re all professionals, but sometimes you just have to giggle in the middle of the day. One of my favorite sites for that is Funny or Die. If you’re an Arrested Development fan (hey, the rumor is the show’s coming back, woo hoo!), start with this slideshow of AD screen captures.

you've got to read this

 

October 8, 2011

Be Productive While Having a Beer (or Two)

Posted by deirdrereid under Business | Tags: |
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Is it five o’clock already? It’s been a good day. Most of the items on your daily to-do list have been crossed out. However, you’re getting your usual late afternoon second (or third?) wind. Your brain is still clicking. You could still put in a few hours work.

Then a thought rears up in your mind, or is it a little devil on the shoulder? Wouldn’t a beer or glass of wine taste good right now? Yes, it would. It would be especially good with that salmon cheese spread in the refrigerator. What to do, what to do…

The beauty of a home office is that the refrigerator is just steps away. But now you’re torn: stop working (it is the weekend after all) or relax with your favorite refreshing brew while getting a bit more done.

You can have it all. There are plenty of productive tasks you can do while enjoying a beverage. Or two. Or three.

Thank you cards. You send thank-you cards, don’t you? No, it’s not passé. Take a sip and shop online for handmade cards.

Addresses. Save time later by hunting down the addresses you’ll need for those thank you cards. But don’t write the cards. No permanent writing is allowed right now.

Read. Expand your mind by reading blogs and websites outside of your niche. If you’re a blogger, jot down post ideas. Take notes. Doodle. Get inspired. Make connections between random ideas.

Listen. Listen to podcasts. I like catching up on NPR shows I’ve missed, like Fresh Air or This American Life. What do you like?

Tidy up. While you’re listening to the podcast, clean and organize your desk. Clutter has such bad juju. Clean your computer screen and keyboard. But move your beer first. A tipped over beverage can lead to a short-circuited keyboard. It’s not important why I know this. While you’re at it, does the floor need a sweep?

Organize. Start your to-do list for next week. Jot down some of your big ideas for the future.

Tweet. Twitter’s great for conversation and random reading. Find an interesting hashtag to search and read. But please, no drunk tweeting. Stop after two beers. Please.

Emails. If you really want to be productive, draft emails you need to send, but don’t enter the email address into the To field and don’t even think about sending them.

Inbox. Power through your inbox. Delete the crap. Skim or read the newsletters. Mark things to read later.

Play. Exercise your creative muscle. Write in your journal. Make a visionboard (oops, I just lost half the crowd). Or do a Creative Copy Challenge.

Draft. Draft articles, reports, letters or blog posts about productive things you can do while having a beer with salmon cheese spread. Edit and publish later.

What productive work-related things do you do while you’re enjoying a beverage?

working work productivity drinking beer wine

photo by Karl Baron/Flickr

 

October 4, 2011

You’ve Got to Read This: October 4, 2011

Posted by deirdrereid under Good Reads | Tags: , , |
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If you’re behind in your blog reading, like I am, let me help you out by suggesting a few of my recent favorites. Three of these bloggers have something in common, can you figure out what it is?

Long ago I stopped trying to keep up with Facebook changes. My work doesn’t require me to be a Facebook expert, so why not let the experts figure it out and soon enough I’ll learn from them everything I need to know. Maddie Grant at Socialfish, who’s an expert herself, raved about this post by Tonia Ries at The Realtime Report about the impact of recent Facebook changes on fan (or brand) pages. Tonia’s linked to dozens of other resources if you want even more information.

It isn’t often you come across such a helpful post as this one from Karl Sakas. He suggests eight questions to ask a SEO agency before signing a contract. SEO is critical for website traffic, but there are a lot of snake oil types out there who can talk a good talk but won’t be good for you in the long run.

Phil Buckley draws upon what he learned about motivation from Daniel Pink’s book Drive to understand the real reasons for an employee’s resignation. In his post What I Learned from a Resignation he shows how he’s drawing on that new knowledge to recruit employees.

I love the advice that Tim Giuliani shares with us from Guy Kawasaki: Don’t Write a Mission Statement, Write a Mantra. Guy says don’t hire an expensive consultant to write a useless complicated mission statement; instead write it yourself, a simple mantra that makes sense to everyone. I once heard someone say, if your mission statement can’t fit on a t-shirt, it’s too long.

Laurie Ruettimann has been on a TRUTH roll lately with one brilliant post after another. She mixes them up with HR humor and her usual brand of irreverent snarky wit. Here’s one of her brilliant ones: The Only Competitor You Have Is In Your Head. And another, You Can Be Average.

Do you know what three of these bloggers have in common? They’re from Raleigh! I didn’t plan that, it just can’t be helped; we have a big bunch of smarties here in the Triangle.

good reading selected by Deirdre Reid Raleigh freelance writer

Our fair city -- photo by twbuckner/Flickr

 

October 1, 2011

Color Me Impressed: The Smart Set for September 2011

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Whoops, it’s already October, how did that happen? Here’s my selection of customer service and marketing smarties who impressed me in September.

Don’t you love spreading the word about a smart business that knows how to take care of its customers? So many businesses seem to forget who pays their salaries. “Word of mouth isn’t dead,” says Alan Belniak at Marketing Profs. No, it isn’t, especially when word of mouth is turbocharged by word of mouse. Alan tells us how Roche Bros., a Massachusetts supermarket chain, exceeded his expectations on a miserable day.

Andy Sernovitz’s blog Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That, is one of my favorite sources of smart marketing stories, like this one about an Austin running store, RunTex, that understands how to build awareness in their target market while also building goodwill. If you work in sponsorship sales or if you’re a business looking to spend your limited marketing budget wisely, take a look at this story and start brainstorming about how you can do something similar.

When I read this New York Times story I immediately thought, aha, marketing genius. Concierges and waiters at several upscale hotels and restaurants in Manhattan and Hampton wear clothes provided by Lacoste. “As a consumer, you’re sitting there and Lacoste is all around you,” said Charlie Walk, a partner at RJW Collective, a marketing agency based in Manhattan that works with Lacoste. “But it’s not in your face screaming to you that there’s a branded moment here in the middle of your meal — it’s an elegantly disruptive activation.”

How can you translate an idea like this for your world? How can you infiltrate your target customer’s life in a subtle yet noticeable way like that? Where do they hang out? What other products and services do they use? Here’s an idea that’s screaming to be the seed of a good brainstorming session.

Has anyone ever asked you, “do you think most people are good or bad?” I suppose your answer might depend upon your level of happiness, personal behavior and religion. I believe we’re good and stories like this reaffirm that belief for me. Couture Cakes, a small bakery in Newport News, raised $12,000 in two days, all their sales plus customer donations, for the family of an 11-year-old boy who was killed by a falling tree during hurricane Irene. They didn’t know the family; they just felt compelled to do it. Warms my heart.

A Fast Company article about how Whole Foods “primes” you to shop has been making the rounds. It’s a fascinating look at smart, not deceptive, merchandising practices. I can’t help but admire that company, and not just because their cheese section is my paradise on earth. We make decisions throughout life, but especially during the purchasing process, based on emotions and perceptions. What are your customers seeing when they walk into your store or office? Or browse your website? How are you influencing, and, dare I say it, manipulating their perceptions and emotions?

Despite what Peter Shankman says, Morton’s Steakhouse’s delivery of dinner to his airport arrival gate is not the greatest customer service story ever told. It’s an example of great social media monitoring leveraged into a PR coup. Why not go above and beyond with a regular customer who has nearly 111,000 Twitter followers? You’d be a fool to miss that opportunity. The real message to this story is that they listened. Any kind of response would have put them in the winner’s circle, like “Sorry you’re having a bad day, next time you’re in, let me buy you a drink.” Little gestures like that go a long way, although they won’t get you as much hoopla.

And the idiot of the month award goes to….. ConAgra Foods. The absurdity of this bonehead move made me laugh, but, lordy, how pathetic. Where do I even begin with this one? Invite food bloggers to a nice Italian restaurant for a VIP dinner with a celebrity chef and serve them frozen Marie Callendar’s lasagna? Enraging. Bloggers who cook with organic ingredients, not chemicals and dyes? Blech. And film them without permission with hidden cameras? Creepy. Scott Hepburn examines all the ways ConAgra and their agency, Ketchum, screwed up with their blogger outreach.

 

September 22, 2011

Personal Creativity Tips from Disney

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I used to silently wish I was creative. I assumed I wasn’t. Creative was for other people, not me. Silly girl. Where was Walt Disney when I needed him?

Gert Garman, Global Creative Development Manager for Disney, visited my local Triangle chapter of the American Marketing Association last week to share Disney’s secrets to innovation. At Disney the prevailing philosophy is “everyone’s creative.” They believe their ability to tap into that creativity is their competitive advantage.

It took me a long time to come to the same conclusion, but I finally wised up. Yes, I’m creative. Heck, I make my living as a writer; I’m at least somewhat creative. But if you had asked me whether I’d be writing for a living five years ago, I’d say, oh no, that’s not practical, I’m not that creative. Here’s the truth: we’re all creative; some people just tap into and leverage their creativity better than others. I’m still working on that.

I’ve been thinking about creativity a lot because it’s ASAE’s Innovation Talks Week in the association management world. I’ve written two blog posts recently for one of my clients, Avectra, about Innovation Week and Disney’s secrets to a creative and innovative culture. Enough with organizations, now it’s time to delve into personal creativity.

Shall we play a game?

Most of us were conditioned by our education, parents or society to tone down our creative bent. Art and music, although recognized as important for our development, weren’t serious subjects. You had to do things “just so” or “according to procedure.” You tried to fit in and, sadly, not fly your freak flag. Maybe that’s why I became a restaurant manager after college. Although I had to comply with budgets, corporate procedures and regulations, I could also express my whole self more than I probably could have in other environments.

Play, games and exercise help get the mind’s juices flowing. Someone recently told me they have a dartboard in their office; when they’re stuck, they start playing and soon their mind is churning. No wonder start-up companies make a big deal about game rooms and exercise facilities – it works! When will the rest of America figure that out?

Creative space

Gert also suggested we create an area to brainstorm and capture our ideas. Many of my friends swear by their whiteboards. Several ASAE staff painted their walls with IdeaPaint.

Did you ever notice that the offices and cubicles of graphic designers are always full of personal, beautiful and interesting items? My offices at work were always spartan. Now I surround myself with things I like to look at that make me feel good, including a dog and cat for playtime.

Don’t forget music. I like listening to a mix of music, familiar but mostly unfamiliar, so I usually tune into the local college station or listen to the jazz or classical stations if the college station isn’t doing it for me.

Disney tips to creativity

Here’s a list of tips from Gert that will help release your inner Creative.

  • Dedicated idea notebook

Capture ideas as they occur. Keep notepads on your desk, in your purse, next to your bed and in your car. Use the recorder on your cell phone. Gert even writes on shower walls with an erasable marker.

  • Thinking that makes sense

Our senses wake up our brain, so go out and literally smell the roses. Listen, really listen to the sounds around you. Look at textures. Touch stuff. Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, tells her readers to go on Artist Dates, weekly solo field trips where for a few hours you explore and feed your senses.

  • Take risks

Fail forward so you can learn and grow. Stretch your comfort zone. Don’t listen to nay-sayers. Disney was told many times he’d fail.

  • Reward yourself

Finish the draft, have a beer or a piece of expensive cheese, whatever rocks you. And if you manage others, recognize and reward their creative efforts too.

  • Ha Ha to A-Ha!

Play, laugh, be silly and let go.

  • Ask questions

Gert’s favorite is to ask “why” three times. I can imagine doing this in an office where “because that’s the way we’ve always done it” is the knee-jerk answer. The first and second answers to “Why?” are usually the lame party line. By the third you’ll start getting to the real truth.

  • Bend the rules

Ask for forgiveness later. I’ve always liked the stealth approach to innovation. Good luck with that!

  • Network and collaborate

This might be my favorite. Surround yourself with a diverse selection of people who have different perspectives and lives than you. Become more interesting because of the people around you. The more diversity around you, the richer your life will be.

I’d add one more: read widely. Look for random interesting well-written blogs to add to your Reader, or smart people from different professions to add to your Twitter follows. If you want to learn more about “fully owning our innate creative spirit again,” then you must read Patti Digh’s Creative is a Verb: If You’re Alive You’re Creative. It’s a beautifully illustrated book full of thoughtful prose, poems, quotes and exercises.

Now go on out there and dance this mess around!

personal creativity disney innovation

Photo by Pixel Addict (Flickr)

 

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