So last Thursday, northern Indiana, like many places in the Midwest, was struck by severe weather. By Friday, thousands were without power, and deaths were being counted across multiple states. Me?  I was slowly walking back home through Indiana Dunes National Park with my backpack after spending the night camping in this storm (like a dumbass). Just 10 hours earlier, I’d been face down on my sleeping pad, holding down the edges of my tarp while the rain poured down and the wind pressed me into the sand. Around me, I could hear the branches snapping, and I kept my eyes closed to guard against the sand blowing into my face. Finally, at one point, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Guess I picked the wrong day to go camping.” Since I had nothing to do but suffer, I set my mind to the critical task of justifying my idiocy.

The other day, my lovely and accomplished wife suggested I help her with a routine household task. Unfortunately for her, I was busy being mindful, intentionally focused on internal issues, and attempting to harness both non-linear creative processes and logical, linear processes simultaneously. A near-perfect collaboration of this intent had been achieved. In other words, I was taking a nap. Upon Martha’s additional leadership, I ended my productive session to help her. This was when I realized I was married to Santa Claus. Whether or not she is in the same room, Martha always knows when I’m naughty or nice. Later, I had the opportunity to consider how her innate skill translated into our association strategy environment. Because, of course, I did. Consider some of the following questions – and their relevance to strategy if you are Santa. Do you know who you are delivering gifts to? Do you

After over 20 years as an association executive, moving into the role of an association strategist felt like pulling up a stool at a bar on the other side. The view is a bit different over here. You still get to offer opinions, but now you have a drink in hand (figuratively speaking). This year has been eye-opening, not just because I have more time to observe things without constantly putting out fires. Let me tell you what I’ve learned while sitting on the other side of the bar, watching the action unfold—and occasionally throwing in a “well, actually.”  From Executive to Strategist: Aerial View, Less Sweat As an association executive, I spent most of my time deep in the weeds. Now, I’m seeing things from 30,000 feet—like switching from being the frantic barista to the person calmly sipping a cappuccino, planning a better flow for the café. My

As I began writing this blog, I was about one hour into my 30-hour journey to speak at the Indian Association Congress in Mumbai, India. I already hated everyone around me, and that was not a good sign. As I finish this blog, 25 hours into the return trip to Chicago (and 5 to go), let’s see if airline booze, time zone shifts, and spicy curry in numerous forms have helped generate any insights. pauses to order another glass of Gin 27, a fine Swiss gin from a flight attendant – Recently, I’ve been traveling to client conventions, working on meeting value proposition work, and to industry conventions, chatting with friends and colleagues at places like ASAE in Cleveland. A big topic was membership. How do we provide better products or services for members? How do we configure meetings to be more successful? What kind of “stuff” do younger

During a recent conversation with a client, she noted, in a more than exasperated tone, “We need to stop designing our benefits for retired people.” Their leadership is, shall we say, “senior,” and their decisions are often informed by their historical perspective. They enjoyed the association of their youth and hope to duplicate the experience for their younger colleagues. Positive motivations?  Check. Waste of time and money? Also, check. The result? Benefits designed by and for retired people. Too many associations and their leaders are following this path. Consider the following. You are designing your association for the future, not today. You don’t plan on whether to take an umbrella by looking at yesterday’s weather forecast. Yet, too often, associations look at their current programs, services, and initiatives as the only solution to members’ problems. Back to the Future is a movie, not a strategy. In addition, volunteer leaders

My wife and I were recently on vacation. Well, she was on vacation. Although I was with her, unlike my lovely and accomplished bride, my mind was focused nonstop on delivering client value. As a result, while sipping my 3rd glass of insight one afternoon, I realized how much travel teaches us critical strategic lessons. The first lesson? Learn to shout, “Take her, not me!!” in the language of whatever country you’re visiting. I kid, of course; gestures usually work. But travel also teaches us other lessons. Lessons we can apply to work. Here are some delicious takeaways from our recent sojourn to Spain (official motto: Why yes, it is time for a drink). Plan to succeed but prepare to fail. Adapting to things going wrong while traveling makes the best stories. Unfortunately, at the time, it just sucks. Some examples from Martha and me. Wrong train. Wrong place

What would you do if you discovered today that all the skills and competencies you have developed at work were suddenly obsolete? This is not as far-fetched as it seems. In 1900, 6,000 horses hauled trolleys in New York City. Think about what this requires. People to raise horses. People to grow feed for horses. People to make tack and other equipment. People to drive horse-drawn trolleys. Think of the professions and industries that supported these individuals and companies. By 1902, an overwhelming percentage of the country’s streetcar tracks ran on electricity. Almost overnight, an industry and everyone connected to it became virtually obsolete. For over a decade, the Association Laboratory environmental scan, Looking Forward® Impact, accessed (along with nine other studies) for free via the Looking Forward® Dashboard, has investigated the forces influencing association members and the resulting implications on the association’s business model. Enjoy complimentary access to the

DISCLAIMER: No marriages or relationships were harmed in the research or writing of this blog, although some edits were made because, apparently, someone who shall remain nameless “needs filters.”   Over the last few months, I had several casual conversations with a young man (25 years) and a more senior woman (60 years) about using what historically have been called hookup apps. Both were promoting and complaining about their use. First, some history to set, what experts call “context.” According to my extensive (30 seconds) of research, the title of the first “hookup app” is often attributed to Grindr, which was launched in 2009. Grindr (I’ve been told) is a location-based social networking and online dating app geared towards gay, bi, trans, and queer people. It was one of the first apps to use a mobile device’s location capabilities to suggest potential matches nearby, a groundbreaking feature at the