On Sunday morning, opening keynoters Mark and Scott Kelly galvanized thousands of #ASAE16 attendees with stories recounting their dual rise to space and encouragement to avoid taking the easy route.

Astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly kicked off the 2016 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition on Sunday with a double-act keynote speech that encouraged association professionals to rise to challenges, persist despite failure, and embrace “doing the hard thing.”

Surrounded by projected images of stars and planets and viewing photos taken from Scott Kelly’s recent year spent on the International Space Station, thousands of attendees heard how the lessons the brothers learned as fighter pilots and astronauts resonate in nearly all walks of life, including association management.

The identical twins born in 1964—Mark is six minutes older than Scott, a point the two repeatedly sparred over in jest—said they owe their success, including their combined 550-some days in outer space, to the example of their mother, a New Jersey secretary and waitress-turned-police officer.

They recalled that in the 1970s, aspiring cops were required to pass a grueling physical fitness test, which included climbing over a seven-foot wall. Night after night, the young brothers watched their mother attempt to traverse a replica wall their father had built. After months of practice, she finally did it, in half of the allotted time—and later became one of the first female police officers in that part of the state.

“This was one of the first times in our lives that we saw the power of having a goal and a plan—and what it meant to work really, really hard,” Mark said.

Years later, Scott would become a Navy captain and go on to pilot four space flights, including one that lasted 340 days—a journey that ended when he returned to Earth in March. Mark would fight in the Gulf War as a naval aviator and serve as a NASA space shuttle pilot on four missions.

But when they’re asked what they loved best about their time in space, Scott said, they don’t respond with the launch, the landing, or the view—but rather with the opportunity to accomplish something that was hard.

“That’s what we’d like to talk with you about today,” Scott said. “Doing hard things—and how to successfully accomplish that. We want to talk about having a goal and having a plan with very small manageable steps, about—at times—testing the status quo, about taking risks and not being afraid to make mistakes, and about how, if you work as a team, you can accomplish anything.”

Overcoming setbacks and failures comes with that territory, the brothers said. During his Navy flight training, as he struggled to master difficult skills, Mark was repeatedly asked by his superiors, “Are you sure this career is for you? You didn’t do well.”

But he persevered—and learned a valuable lesson. “How good you are at the beginning of anything you try is not a good indicator of how good you can become,” he said. “I’m a prime example of somebody who was able to overcome a lack of aptitude with practice, persistence, and just not giving up.”

Another important lesson came several years later when Mark found himself in an A-6 Intruder airplane about to drop eight 1,000-pound bombs in Iraq. As he maneuvered the aircraft to dodge surface-to-air missiles, his bombardier navigator kept his sights on the target—his main responsibility on the mission. While Mark’s alarm grew over the possibility of a missile strike, his navigator stayed calmly focused on his target.

“In the Navy and at NASA, we call that compartmentalization,” Mark says. “Focusing on the stuff that you can control.”

Scott learned that same lesson as the commander aboard the International Space Station, when he got word that Mark’s wife, then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, had been shot at a community event in Tucson. He had two months remaining in his space mission, with no possibility of coming home to comfort his loved ones.

“I had to understand that I really couldn’t help [Mark] … and I really needed to focus on what I could control and ignore what I couldn’t,” Scott said.

Several years later, when Scott was departing from the Space Station for the last time, after spending 500 days of his life there, he reflected on it: “If we can do that—the hardest thing that we have ever done—we can do anything.”

This article was originally sourced from Association Universe and was written by Emily Bratcher.

During the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in Salt Lake City, a trend of discussion during different sessions was that innovation quite often requires quick work, something many associations are not known for. How can we make the big, hulking machine a little easier to turn?

When it comes to what the corporate world can pull off, do association executives ever get jealous of how fast many of their for-profit equivalents can move?

That’s not to criticize the work that associations do, which is often monumental. One look at the lauded American Society of Plant Biologists platform Plantae highlights the potential associations have to do something big and bold that gets people talking. But, let’s be honest, the average association turns a corner about as effectively as a tour bus, and switching gears is by no means easy.

Let’s be honest, the average association turns a corner about as effectively as a tour bus, and switching gears is by no means easy.

I’m of the opinion that, at an event as large as the 2016 edition of the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition, themes eventually appear in the subjects that get discussed during the event, and one that loomed particularly large on Sunday was the idea that associations can’t always move fast enough to innovate, or even, in some cases, keep up.

You may have heard variations on this statement in the past—and bringing it up again makes it kind of provocative, because, inevitably, organizations will wonder if I’m talking about them, specifically. (Not naming names or even criticizing specific tactics, honest.) But I think if anything is gonna change, we gotta bring it up and talk about it. A few things that got this topic on my mind:

At one point on the expo hall floor, I had a lengthy discussion with someone about how the startup-driven API model that has been embraced by the for-profit world was in some ways anathema to the lengthy, process-driven approach associations tend to take in deciding on a bedrock product like an association management system. As a result, products that might be well-suited to an association’s needs—say, an intuitive email platform like MailChimp—may be harder to embrace because the decision-making is more deliberate.

An excellent session on digital learning technologies started out with a bit of a spiel about how for-profit education firms are more adept and offering approaches like microlearning and microcredentialing, technologies that tend to be more compatible with the public’s busy lifestyles. When it comes down to it, the argument went, associations struggle to approach fast-moving platforms such as Uber and Waze. David DeLorenzo, a longtime association executive who is a recent addition to the DelCor staff, at one point emphasized that what he and fellow speakers (Bean Creative’s Layla Masri and EDUCAUSE’s Veronica Diaz) were pitching was by no means an extreme approach. “You don’t have to be revolutionary to do this,” he said.

A surprisingly small number of hands went up during a session on virtual offices, when the audience was asked how many of them used Slack, a piece of software that has taken the corporate world by storm. (To be fair, a few more hands went up on the next question, about whether people used a chat app at all.) That’s not to say that organizations have to use Slack, or that it’s even the best idea—but considering the nature of the session was about communicating with people separated by long distances, the lack of hands reinforced a point that was already on my mind by this juncture.

A TALE OF CORPORATE HUBRIS

Oddly, the thing that probably got this whole discussion on my mind happened before I even touched the ground in Salt Lake City. On my flight in, I caught a documentary I had been wanting to see for a while, the Colin Hanks-directed love letter All Things Must Pass.

It’s a film about Tower Records, the music-obsessed retail chain that started small and nimble—launching large, low-key record stores all along the West Coast, New York, and eventually in Japan and elsewhere—only to be brought down by a combination of hubris, mismanagement, and Napster.

At first, the company was well-positioned to turn vinyl records into a major subculture, at one point opening up a famed location on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, that was frequented by Elton John. As the company grew, it handled risk aptly—it was willing to expand to the Japanese market almost on a whim, then doubled down when Japanese consumers proved big fans of vinyl records. But problems arose as the company matured: Tower was woefully ill-prepared for the internet; it found itself the target of a class-action lawsuit due to its high prices; and the company’s aggressive overexpansion, funded by $110 million in debt, eventually proved to be a company-killer. (Well, outside of Japan. It’s still big in Japan.)

“Tower, in almost 40 years, had always grown,” Hanks explained to NPR last year. “It had always made money. It had never lost money. … Well, I think there was a lot of stuff that Tower did not see coming.”

It’s a classic tale of corporate demise. And somewhat tellingly, the film was funded not through traditional means, but by Tom Hanks’ son putting up a Kickstarter and raising more than $90,000 to fund the project. It’s the tale of a company getting caught off-guard by the internet and failing to reverse course—a tale that wouldn’t exist without the internet.

Association executives have some big advantages that Tower Records did not. For one thing, Tower was a notoriously disorganized company, one that had some immensely innovative ideas (there’s another documentary, Art Gods, about one of those ideas), but was perhaps too complacent about its core business.

The company couldn’t zag because it had doubled down on zigging. And it became clear, at a point when it was too late for the company to reverse course, that zagging—i.e., jumping online—was what truly mattered.

WHY INNOVATION CHALLENGES ASSOCIATIONS

One big advantage that associations have over this slumbering corporate giant is that they’re very well organized. But despite that organization, many associations may find they’re poorly suited for zagging.

For the association space, what’s the root cause there? If you ask me, it comes down to an inability to make a decision quickly—whether through challenges with boards or a desire not to rock the boat by taking risks. And that ultimately can lead to decisions being made through the path of least resistance.

During their well-received opening presentation at #ASAE16, astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly repeatedly rejected the tendency toward complacency, with Scott explaining how it was the one thing holding him back from being a good pilot during his time in the Navy.

“I got too comfortable with the status quo,” he said.

Innovation is, almost by definition, a willingness to challenge the status quo. How can you ensure that the status quo isn’t holding your association back?

This article was originally sourced from Association Universe and was written by Ernie Smith. 

Did you know that 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text? Amazing!

Incorporate infographics within your association’s magazine, on your Web pages and in your emails to:

• Increase awareness of your association.
  
• Recruit new members and staff.
  
• Generate traffic to your association’s website.
  
• Show expert understanding of the subject and/or your industry.
  

The key to producing successful infographics is to offer good, relevant data in an exciting visual style, presenting information in a concise format that is easier understood than through words or video. The best infographics don’t strive to go viral over night, but instead beg to be consumed and continuously travel among members and non-members.

Check out our infographic for tips about how to use this powerful marketing tool to engage members in print, online and on social media.

This article was originally sourced from Association Adviser and was written by Brianna Lawson. 

It’s no secret that being an association pro is hard. And sometimes, it can be downright exhausting. But take pride in your job! You do something not a lot of people can.

In fact, here are five reasons to LOVE being an association pro:

1. You give people a voice

People are passionate about things - but they can’t always express how they feel. As an association professional, you give them a platform. You make sure their voices are heard, and boy if that isn’t cool!

2. You better the industry

You work day in and day out to make your industry a better place, and trust me, that does NOT go unnoticed. Things are the way they are because of the work you do. Just let that sink in.

3. You make ordinary things fun

There’s a professional organization for everything, and some of those things...not so thrilling. But YOU make them fun. You plan conferences and events that people wait months for. That’s impressive!

4. You teach

When something new happens in your industry, you tell others. When there’s a new tool or best practice, you spread the word. You teach others how to be better - and we all know what a gift that is.

5. You’re basically a superhuman

No, seriously. You’re expected to do SO much with SO little, especially if you’re a small-staff association pro. You have limited resources and a very long to-do list - but you make it happen. How you do it, I have no idea. But more power to you!

The bottom line here is this: You may get frustrated because your job is hard - and that’s COMPLETELY understandable. But be proud of yourself! You do some pretty amazing work!

Rock on, association pros!

This article was originally sourced from Member clicks and was written by Callie Walker. 

For one association’s new two-tier membership offer, the deciding factor between the two options is a member’s desired engagement with one primary activity: certification.

“New Membership Structure Press Release” is a very niche genre. It doesn’t even have quite the same following as, say, Star Wars fan fiction. But, as a devoted follower of association membership strategies, I got some geeky excitement last week when I read about the new tiered membership offer at APICS, an association for the field of supply-chain management.

It’s always interesting (to me, at least) to see how associations design tiered membership packages. Sometimes they’re of the “bronze, silver, gold” variety; other times the packages are built around a handful of major types of member activities.

In APICS’ case, the focus is clear: certification.

Its new membership structure, launched July 20, offers two packages: Core and Plus. There’s really no mistaking who each is aimed at. From the press release:

• “APICS CORE – This membership package is for individuals not actively pursuing an APICS credential. …

• “APICS PLUS – This membership package is for individuals actively pursuing an APICS credential.”
  

Well, there you have it. So, how did APICS decide to make certification the fulcrum for members to choose between its new membership options? “The data drove us there,” says Jim Pavletich, CAE, vice president, membership and customer experience.

“Our data was showing that people were coming into the organization to take advantage of the discounts for the certification products and services, and then once they earned it, they were, to some degree, at a certain percentage, stepping away from the organization,” he says. “And what we tried to do is [determine] what can we do to stop the churn of the 13,000-plus members we’re gaining each year but we were also losing as a result of attrition.”

Pavletich says APICS membership retention rate in the past had been down around 65 percent—an affliction not uncommon among associations with one particular program that stands above the rest. APICS offers three certifications for its industry: Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM), Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), and Certified in Logistics, Transportation, and Distribution (CLTD). The challenge APICS faced was in designing a membership package that better fit the behavior patterns of its members, though this was just one part of a broader membership strategy to shore up retention and keep the organization growing, Pavletich says. (See sidebar for more on other elements of the strategy.)

APICS quantified its members’ interest in certification as a result of adding a simple yes-or-no question to its join and renewal forms last year: “Are you interested in actively pursuing an APICS certification?” (The question has since been changed to a multiple choice selection to ask which one.) It found 70 percent of members were interested in certification.

The association’s previous membership package for individuals included several benefits related to certification, but by clearly carving out one package tailored to certification-seekers and another for non-seekers, and promoting them as such, APICS hopes that members will find the packages more in tune with their desired levels of engagement, Pavletich says. Annual individual membership dues were previously $200; the new packages are $180 (Core) and $220 (Plus). Core members get a 10 percent reduction in dues that might be more palatable since certification is not a driving factor for them, while Plus members get a premium package aimed at supporting their certification goals.

Pavletich says he hoped members’ stated interest in certification would equate to corresponding engagement with the new membership model.

“Again, we were asking the question, ‘Are you interested in certification?’ And what we were hearing was 70/30,” he says. “I know from having been around the world enough times that people don’t always put their money where they say they will put their money. So, I was thinking, let’s be conservative and we’ll put this model in place that will allow for even a 50/50 split—again the $180 and the $220—to keep us revenue neutral.”

It is, of course, early, with just a few weeks of joins and renewals in since the July 20 launch (APICS follows an anniversary-style dues cycle). Pavletich says 780 members have joined or renewed since then, with 500 at the Plus level and 280 at Core—a 64/36 split. The long-term effect on renewals will take a year or more to take shape, but Pavletich says he likes the early start.

“The purpose of the new member strategy wasn’t to increase member revenue but to increase member engagement, slow the attrition, and help the organization to grow by simply keeping the members that we had,” he says. “So, the fact it has come out to 65/35 I’m very pleased with.”

What primary benefit does your association offer that could be the central focus of a multi-tier membership package? Has your association faced the challenge of engaging and retaining members who join for one specific (time-limited) purpose?

This article was originally sourced from Association Universe and written by Joe Rominiecki.

For many folks, responsive design means mobile-friendly. But that’s not the whole story. Responsive design can be implemented across a variety of devices and offer easy reading and navigation with limited zooming, panning and scrolling.

According to Laura Taylor, director of online solutions at Naylor Association Solutions, “Associations invest a lot of time and resources into positioning themselves as the content leader in their industry. In order to ensure industry professionals see the association as their number one resource, it is imperative that associations deliver their content in a mobile-friendly format.”

With the growth of mobile usage, it’s essential for your association to offer a website that is responsive.

When your website is responsive, members can easily locate relevant information, regardless of their preferred device.

Google has been favoring responsive websites since it recently updated its algorithm in March 2016.

Mobile readers engage with emails longer than desktop readers do, with 67.1 percent of mobile readers spending longer than 10 seconds.

Do you know if your association’s website is responsive? Take the test here.

With the growth of mobile usage, over 41 percent according to the Informz Association Email Marketing Benchmark Report, it’s essential for your association to offer a website and emails that are responsive because more email is read on a mobile device than on a desktop. When your website is responsive, your members and potential members can easily locate relevant information, regardless of their preferred device (phone, tablet or desktop).

Benefits of responsive website design

Laura Taylor also mentions that “more than half of website visitors and newsletter recipients are viewing digital media on a mobile device, and that percentage is growing rapidly. If associations do not move to a responsive design for their website and newsletters, they are at risk of losing their audience and position in their industry.” By having a responsive website, your association can:

• Improve search rankings for your website. Google has been favoring responsive websites since it recently updated its algorithm in March. Google’s Jerry Dischler wrote a post for the AdWords blog last year, stating, “more Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries including the US and Japan.” Responsive websites perform best in search rankings because they provide a better overall user experience than non-responsive sites.

• Keep a single URL. If you’re on the fence about whether or not your association needs a responsive website, there’s good news. You don’t need a separate URL for the mobile version of your website; even Google discourages using more than one. Plus, having a single URL will keep your workload lighter by allowing you to make changes to a single website instead of two separate websites, and then have it reflect across a wide variety of mobile devices and tablets.

• Increase mobile visits through social media. Does your association post frequently on social media? Social media is a great way to bring visitors back to your website. Think about how you check your social media accounts throughout the day; we assume it’s most likely through your mobile device. When your association’s website is responsive, people will be less likely to navigate away after clicking through to your website from a post that they found interesting via Facebook or Twitter.
  

• Generate the best user experience. Most importantly, responsive web design leads to a better user experience. When a potential member views your website via their mobile device and is seeking more information about membership, they need to not only be able to find it easily, but read and apply it to your association easily. No matter where your website visitors are, they should be able to access information on the go without having to go through the trouble of zooming in/out, panning and side scrolling. This will also eliminate high bounce rates and boost conversions when you cater to the needs of your audience and how they can receive information easily and efficiently.
  

What’s next? Responsive email design

The same report from Informz found that mobile readers engage with emails longer than desktop readers do, with 67.1 percent of mobile readers spending longer than 10 seconds with an email and more than 57 percent of emails being read on iPhones. Therefore, it’s not only important to have a responsive website, but responsive emails as well.

Similar to having a responsive website, responsive emails create a better user experience and prevent readers from immediately deleting the informative emails you’ve worked hard to create. What good is your content if readers can’t actually read it upon immediately opening your email? Think about the design elements of your responsive emails, including:

• Layout. When viewing emails on a mobile device, multiple column layouts tend to appear squished, busy and difficult to navigate. Stick to a single column layout so that your emails are compatible regardless of what device is being used. Since the mobile screen is small, using a single column layout cannot only simplify your design, but can highlight more important content as well.

• Fonts. It’s crucial to select a font and size that is clear and easy to read. Small font requires people to zoom in and side scroll, which isn’t ideal. You don’t want readers to have to do any extra work in order to read your email or else they’ll be likely to move on.

• Content. Your most important message should be conveyed “above the fold.” Let readers know first off what your email is going to be about beyond the subject line. People reading emails on mobile devices are likely to skim through and seek out images and any call-to-actions first, for example to watch a video or to download a report.

• Call-to-action. Make it easier for your readers to click on an item with hyperlinks or buttons. You’ll be more likely to convert a reader to become a member of your association by offering them a button that’s easy to click and take action.

• Images. Don’t go overboard with images in your emails to cater to mobile devices. Don’t lose readers with too many graphics and graphics that do not adjust to mobile devices well. For example, avoid using long banners in your emails as it can distort the overall format on mobile devices.

• Don’t forget to test your emails! As with any item you plan to send out to your membership, make sure you test, test and test again. Have a fresh set of eyes review your email and provide feedback on usability through multiple mobile devices and tablets.

Conclusion

A responsive website or email campaign is no longer a nice-to-have, but a necessity that can impact how visitors and readers interact and view your association. Offering your members and potential members a beautiful, optimized experience through their device of choice means you have expanded your reach of service and opportunity for increased engagement.

This article was originally sourced from Association Adviser and was written by Brianna Lawson. 

New Zealand Cricket Players' Association will see New Zealand's top-15 female players offered annual retainers of between $20,000 to $34,000.

New Zealand Cricket will double the pay of its top female players, though the best-paid woman will still earn less than half as much as her lowest-paid male counterpart.

An agreement between NZC and the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association will see New Zealand’s top-15 female players offered annual retainers of between $20,000 to $34,000. With match fees of up to $400 for one-day internationals, leading players could earn more than $40,000 per year, not counting prizemoney and endorsements.

New Zealand’s contracted male players receive retainers of between $83,000 and $200,000 per year.

Chief executive David White said the increases reflect NZC’s commitment to “inclusivity and diversity.” New Zealand is currently ranked third among the world’s’ top-10 women’s teams.

This article was originally sourced from Express Sports. 

So you have an online social community...but nobody’s using it! You can practically hear crickets every time you log in.

What are you supposed to do?! Allow us to help. Check out these three tactics for boosting online community engagement:

1. Conduct a poll

Polls are great for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they get people talking - which is exactly what you want in your organization’s online social community. Not only that, but they’re also a great way to gather insights about your members - what they like/dislike, what their goals are, what they’re concerned about, etc.

A few questions to consider asking in your organization’s online social community:

• What type of event would you like to see us host next?
  
• What topic is of high interest to you right now?
  
• (Note: Whatever people say could make a great educational session and/or content piece.)
  
• Which of these would you most like to attend: a webinar, a lunch and learn, a happy hour, or a Twitter chat?

2. Tease your upcoming event

If you want to grow your online community AND boost member engagement, this is a great way to accomplish both. In fact, I’ve joined several online communities (and social media groups) for this reason alone. I like to see “sneak peaks” of things. Why, you ask? Well, it makes me feel special (like I have private access to something) and helps me determine if I actually want to purchase/attend something.

So how do you make this work for your association? Try dropping hints about your upcoming event - where it’s going to be, what the theme will be, what type of swag will be available, etc. Little things like this can really get people excited - and talking!

3. Provide an exclusive offer

This may help generate some engagement, but mostly, it will attract people to your organization’s online social community (and the more people that use it, the more engagement you’ll generate down the road). Put simply, this tactic is all about growth.

What do we mean by exclusive offer? Well, we just mean something special for those who are members of your online social community - an incentive, if you will. For example, you could offer a special discount on your next event. Or access to information about your annual conference before anyone else gets it. This will encourage people to join your online community, and more importantly, stay.

This article was originally sourced from Association Universe and was written by Callie Walker. 

A new study suggests that CEOs whose cultural values match those of their staffs’ can struggle. That’s not license to be a contrarian, but an opportunity to think about what’s missing.

You’re about to be hired as CEO by an organization that’s excited about a lot of things you offer: your experience, your understanding of strategy, your wisdom about the industry, your poise as a public speaker. Plus, the head of the search committee has told you that you’re a great fit with the culture of the staff.

Don’t get too comfortable.

A good “cultural fit” can be important, but walking in lockstep with the staff’s culture has its downsides. According to a recent report in the Journal of Applied Psychology, it’s not always in the best interest of the CEO to adhere to the culture of the organization that he or she leads. If, for instance, a company takes pride in its get-it-done-on-time environment, a get-it-done-on-time taskmaster isn’t necessarily going to be a boon to the organization. Indeed, it can sow resentment among the staff (“Why’s she lecturing us on what we already know?”). And it can blind the organization to new ways of thinking that don’t stoke new ideas. (What if, in the insistence on hitting all those deadlines, people aren’t thinking about which deadlines take priority, or quality control during the process?)

Put more bluntly, a CEO in total agreement with staff can be overbearing. As the report puts it: “CEOs are least effective when high levels of task or relational behaviors are accompanied by high levels of corresponding culture values. This pattern of relationships suggests that organizational culture can be a substitute for leadership. Because culture provides employees with relational- and task-oriented cues about how to behave, these values and norms can attenuate the need for corresponding leadership behaviors.”

Chad Hartnell, an assistant professor at Georgia State University and one of the study’s authors, suggests that execs would do well to zig a little when their staff is zagging. “Similarities between leadership and culture can produce a myopic focus on things that have worked in the past while precluding employees from acquiring other resources or processes that could enhance success,” Hartnell says in a release from GSU. “CEOs should be mindful about focusing employees on important outcomes and processes that cultural signals may overlook.”

As an example, Hartnell points to former Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson, who brought a bottom-line emphasis to a company that complemented its relationship-oriented culture. He pioneered an era of airline mergers, including a successful one with Northwest, that might not have worked in a safer, more change-averse environment.

A few caveats here. First, the study focuses exclusively on CEOs of technology companies, and very few of the CEOs studied were founders, which makes a difference—people building an organization from the ground up are “formative in imprinting the organization’s values, beliefs, and assumptions.” the authors write.

Perhaps more importantly, the study isn’t giving permission to CEOs not to listen to their staffs or try to bully their own cultural vision onto an organization. “CEOs need to be aware of the organization’s culture and adjust their leadership styles accordingly, particularly because it is easier to change one’s leadership behavior than to change an organization’s culture,” they write.

In doing that, the study suggests, leaders should be looking for areas in need of repair. If staff cohesion is a problem, a CEO with a strong relationship mindset can help; if performance is the issue, a CEO who can keep teams on task has value.

“Leaders must search diligently for what isn’t currently being handled by the culture and fill in the gap,” Hartnell says. “They should adopt a leadership style that builds upon the positive aspects of the existing culture, contributing to the culture without undermining it.”

This article was originally sourced from Associations Now and was written by Mark Athitakis.  

Hearing the Olympic theme music on a daily basis throughout the summer and winter every few years always brings a smile to my face.

For those of us involved with the nonprofit world on a daily basis, it is easy to draw quite a few similarities out of this once every two and four years event.

Here are just a few that came to my mind:

1. Measurement Reigns Supreme

The Olympics are infamous for the myriad of extremely precise measurements. This is especially true when those measurements are the basis of new Olympic or World records in any event. Can you imagine watching almost any Olympic event without measurement in terms of time, distance or points?

Most believe this focus on precise measurement provides the foundation for all of the new Olympic and World records we see at every single Olympics. Just think how lost the TV and Radio commentators would be without those precise measurements to use during their broadcasts.

Although measurement and record keeping can sometimes be hit or miss in fundraising offices, it can be quite powerful in determining factors influencing success.

Proper measurement is a key to developing best practices when used properly. We will explore this concept further below because tradition is still influencing way too many processes even when proper measurement would prove otherwise.

2. Tradition Shouldn’t Stifle Innovation

The Olympics are the tremendous spectacle they are because of the wide variety of traditions. One need only to look as far as the opening and closing ceremonies to see the immense value of tradition shining through.

A key departure from tradition for the Olympics was moving the Winter games so they occur on a totally different four cycle.

The professional fundraising world often seems just as bound by tradition. Some of those traditions such as those revolving around ethics are key to building and retaining trust with donors. Others such as processes revolving around events, appeals and campaigns could certainly use the scrutiny of scientific research and testing.

Two traditions, I personally hope continues to change over time are the inclination to think top notch professionals should be paid less for doing the same job just because they work at a nonprofit and the inclination to not invest dollars in tools or systems that would enable higher degrees of success.

3. Cyclical Nature Controls Overall Timing

The key fact that each seasonal Olympics are only held every four years leads to numerous timing-related factors for the participants. Virtually every participant has to schedule their training and activities in such a manner so as to be at their peak performance during the relatively short Olympics competition window.

This same series of timing issues comes into play for sponsors, volunteers, broadcasters and officials.

In the nonprofit world, the cyclical nature of the calendar year often plays a huge role. Nearly every charity budget would be wrecked or severely reduced without the year-end giving by donors of every nature in November and December.

The same cyclical nature comes into play for most charities signature event. Picking the right time of the year and sticking to the scheduling so everyone can make it part of their schedule is more often than not quite critical.

4. Heroes Make a Huge Difference

Obviously, most of us can think of past Olympic heroes from our own country and other countries. The background stories regarding the individual heroes have become a key part of the success of the Olympics as well as the continued rise in interest around the world.

For every successful fundraising organization, there are so many public and private heroes. These range from the major donor or high-level sponsor to the foundation providing the game-changing grant.

Heroes in the nonprofit world also include the millions of volunteers who give generously of their time and talent as well as the staff members working extra hours on a regular basis to ensure success.

Lastly, the recipients of the work of the mission are often not noticed for the heroes they are. Some of these heroes rise up to be spokespersons or future volunteers themselves!

5. Best Practices Emerge Slowly

The wonderful concept of tradition can sometimes be a two-edged sword. For both the Olympics and nonprofit fundraising mindsets and habits are hard to change. Because of this resistance to change “Best Practices” emerge slowly, often times even in the face of proven data. Let’s explore a couple of examples.

Most of you may not remember just how revolutionary a new way to high jump was to the world of track and field. This method of jumping was so different that the rest of the track and field community literally refused to accept it at first even with the outstanding results it was achieving!

Now the Fosbury Flop is the accepted best practice in high jumping.

In the nonprofit world of fundraising, we could easily cite example after example of such resistance to change making it difficult for best practices to emerge that should.

The most obvious are direct mail practices where traditions are passed down from generation to generation of fundraisers. These range from the number of mailings per year to segmentation practices.

We can all hope the delicate balance of respecting great traditions can blend properly with the exciting results new best practices can bring as the future unfolds.

6. We Have Problems To Overcome, and That’s Okay

It’s hard to ignore all the issues surrounding the summer games in Rio: concerns over the Zika virus, human trafficking and corruption have given the Olympics a black eye.

The nonprofit sector too has its own issues to overcome. Recent scandals surrounding the Red Cross and the Cancer Fund of America have painted an inaccurate picture of the sector’s majority of hardworking fundraisers, just as the world’s athletes suffer from the mistakes of a small few.

There will always be improvements to make, but we shouldn’t let any of that stop us from moving forward!

Now get ready to settle back and enjoy one of the world’s biggest spectacles! If you are in the nonprofit fundraising profession I hope you can draw inspiration as you draw your own similarities!

This article was originally sourced from Business 2 Community and was written by Jay Love.