Posts filed under 'Innovation'
Social Media – From Trend to Standard Association Business Practice
Having returned from the 2010 ASAE Annual Meeting last week, all I can say is it has been a fascinating year in the slow evolution of the social web’s impact on association business practice. I can also say there are many more miles to travel before associations secure a strong future with their audiences.
Perhaps the most interesting development I’ve seen is the way some of the trendy social media hipsters are starting to lose a bit of interest, which can only mean that we may finally be moving toward the integration of social media strategy into the standard association business model, strategy and operations… but we aren’t quite there yet.
I admire all of the cutting-edge early adopter personalities out there as they are the ones who help push everyone else through the gravitational pull of the association atmosphere to get us all to the point where we can shift our focus to analyze how the business trends of social media are reshaping our world.
Where do we go from here and what does 2011 have in store for us? My recommendation for you is a series of board and executive management sessions in your association geared toward educational and planning so the business impact and opportunity of social media can, once and for all, be understood and advanced.
In doing so, we move the conversation from the delegation of social media responsibility to the new part-time college graduate hire over in marketing/communications to the place where all strategic business issues are discussed and planned… the Board Room.
As the saying goes, “if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem”. Now, let’s get out there and build a strong future for associations.
Add comment September 1, 2010
What Social Media Means to Associations – Beyond Mere Facebook Pages and Twitter Accounts
I’ve recently had the wonderful opportunity to deliver presentations to a variety of individuals and organisations regarding how social media is already transforming the future of associations. Through these experiences, I’ve listened carefully to fears, perceptions and admirable admissions of a lack of functional understanding relating to what social media means to associations.
I also hear allot about Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, as if that is somehow enough to leverage the potential of the social web. The reality is social media is more than a communication channel, rather it is a one-to-one and one-to-many conversation and relationship-building tool. The same types of conversations and relationships we have been engaging in with current and prospective members for years. It’s also a business strategy, just like other vital aspects of organizational operations provided it is already acceptable for staff to answer the phone and handle attendee questions at conferences.
Simply put:
The social web is an opportunity to expand your association sphere by listening, connecting, engaging and building vital relationships which expands your association sphere.
Why is this important? Because conversations and relationships are what led to the creation of associations in the first place. Further, social cohesion is the glue which holds together and propels our organizations.
A member’s commitment to an association is measured by the extent to which they feel a connected part of the organization. The way members connect to an association is through some form of engagement or participation. Before the social web, it required a greater sacrifice and investment to participate (planes, trains and automobiles), but today the social web provides an inexhaustible opportunity to connect and participate.
As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they remain the same. The social web is simply a smarter tool with which we can adapt and greatly expand our mission. With the right organizational foundation, we can all be ready when Facebook inevitably becomes tomorrow’s MySpace. While the platforms will continue to change, the “rules” will always remain the same.
I designed the cluster symbol above to demonstrate the way in which a like-minded group of people bond together to form an association. Clusters form within associations to initiate new projects and components. Today, new clusters are forming outside the walls of your association, in almost every case not to replace you but to give rise to issues and concerns facing a trade or profession. As associations, our goal is to reach out and create new bonds with individuals and groups working in support of our interests. This symbol is also the official symbol of my new consulting practice, Social Frequency Media, which I started out of a deep desire to help associations transform their futures and leverage the potential of social media. I hope you will find the above information and other postings here at Association 2020 useful. SM
3 comments December 7, 2009
FTC Guides Suggest Social Media Policies and Procedures Might Reduce Liability Risks
At the onset of this post, I want to be very clear that I am not intending to send fear coursing through the veins of senior management nor should this be construed as a “let’s all find another reason to fear social media”.
Quite conversely, part of leveraging a strong social media business strategy is ensuring the appropriate operational controls are in place. Policies, standardized practices and process are a responsible part of any business strategy and the business strategy of social media should be no exception.
This week, potential liability regarding the use of social media hit home as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released new Guides concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. Essentially, the new guides will work to ensure a higher level of honesty and transparency in the use of the social web for the purpose of marketing in terms of “pay to say” disclosure and factual representations.
Though I am not a lawyer (nor have I ever played one on TV) and always encourage consultation with legal counsel, I did read through the 81 page FTC document yesterday and came across an important consideration which I don’t believe has been adequately highlighted. That consideration is the liability an employer faces for the actions of employees engaging in social media activities either within or outside the scope of their work responsibilities. The FTC addresses this scenario in response to a question which appears to have arisen during an open comment period relating to employer liability. Below is a verbatim excerpt from the FTC’s response:
“…although the Commission has brought law enforcement actions against companies whose failure to establish or maintain appropriate internal procedures resulted in consumer injury, it is not aware of any instance in which an enforcement action was brought against a company for the actions of a single “rogue” employee who violated established company policy that adequately covered the conduct in question… The Commission does not believe, however, that it needs to spell out the procedures that companies should put in place to monitor compliance with the principles set forth in the Guides; these are appropriate subjects for advertisers to determine for themselves, because they have the best knowledge of their business practices, and thus of the processes that would best fulfill their responsibilities.” see page 48 of the complete FTC document for full text
What this means is it is time to create social media policies and practices within your organization which carefully balance innovative business uses of social media with clear lines drawn on unacceptable practices.
While it is my intention to use my Association 2020 blog to add value to our community rather than endlessly promote my consulting practice, Social Frequency Media Communications, this is one instance where I want everyone to know that social media internal policy and procedure development is a core part of my services. Click here to learn more about Social Frequency Media Communications or feel free to contact me directly at stuart@socialfrequency.net.
Add comment October 9, 2009
The Root of Powerful Social Media Strategy
What makes social media technology powerful? One might be quick to conclude that the power is rooted in the social media applications themselves. After all, the mass-user applications provide the platform which enables interaction to take place on multiple levels.
However, I believe the true power of social media is in the minds of its users. I’ll say it again, I believe the true power of social media is in the minds of its users.
If you look across the spectrum at how these tools are being utilized you will find a degree of unimaginable inventiveness. For example, consider the manner in which crowdsourcing and mobcasting is being used today by highly reputable traditional media sources (for an example, click here , but don’t forget to return).
From the “technopreneur” world of open source code to the world of the ingenious end user, powerful and unexpected things can happen when people and organizations open their minds to experimenting and exploring new ways to leverage social technology. In my mind, the future belongs to those associations who view the social web as an exciting laboratory as opposed to a threatful fad.
As Clay Shirky put it during Digital Now 2009, “The conversation is the value”. As I see it, when many conversations interconnect and join together they form one strong voice. When motivated people feel a powerful and personalized bond with an organization, amazing things will happen. Isn’t that how associations emerged in the first place?
We must move beyond the myth that, as associations, we somehow “control” the conversation to engage and invest in the evolving world of social media… not as mere communication tools, but as a fundamental part of association mission and strategy.
As I like to put it, we may now join our regularly scheduled future… already in progress.
Add comment April 28, 2009
In Praise of Organizational Simplicity: A Tip for Overcoming the Failure of Complexity
It’s easier to start simple and build complexity than to begin with complexity and try to simplify.
In a moment of clarity after a long meeting this morning, the thought above emerged in my mind like the glow of the first warm Spring day after a long Chicagoland Winter.
Many senior executives within associations pride themselves in falling somewhere on the management spectrum between business engineer and mad scientist working within their often transmorgified office laboratory… all in search of that elusively defining breakthrough, process, product, service, procedure, partnership, business model, strategy, quality measure, restructure or operational maneuver that will certainly transform their immediate organizational world as they know, lifting their organization to the envious accolades of counterparts round the world.
While the core concept nestled within it’s own complexity might truly be a great idea, the awful truth is that complexity often turns out to be less than a success formula. Here are the reasons:
Fundamentral Principles of Change: While the complexity may seem as clear as that spring day to the executive mad scientist, chances are it is probably going to be pretty foreign to those who will be charged with converting the complexity into success. When complexity is used as a starting point, it overhelms others drawing them away from their comfort zone into a sense of fear and insecurity. Reducing complexity to simplicity after the fact can be a damaging and trust-eroding process. Save your leadreship capital for larger battles.
Investment/Participation: Change always presents an opportunity to either strengthen or alienate an organizational team. When an executive approaches the table with answers, rather than questions, there is suddenly little for other key stakeholders to contribute. Remember, while we must work for a living, we choose a profession because we want to make a difference through our unique talents and abilities on some level.
To come to the table with a complex solution is like kicking a chef out of a kitchen and telling him that he is only needed to set the tables in the dining room. It leaves little for others to contribute or invest themselves in more deeply.
Perspective: Even the most visionary executive on her very best day is still a mere inconclusive piece of a larger puzzle, despite how revealing the piece might be. A powerful idea can be an accelerated starting point but by no means a decisive end point. We must bring our pieces of the puzzle to the table as starting point for others to place their pieces of the puzzle onto the table to construct a clearer picture. Out of simplicty emerges clarity.
House of Cards: As leaders, we must never become complacent or blinded by the simple fact that our reputations and credibility are like a house of cards that require countless hours of patience, focus and concentration to build up, but only a matter of seconds to come tumbling down. Build up that leadership capital and hope you’ll never have to draw from those reserves.
The Remedy: Think with the complexity of a general, but act with the simplicity.
SM
Add comment April 9, 2009
To Love is to Create
Given my long daily commute, I spend allot of time listening to books on CD courtesy of Naperville’s wonderful public library system. Earlier today, I happened to be listening to a book by Deepak Chopra. Now I must confess that I enjoy a wide variety subjects, but after a long day I’m sometimes lucky to hear every 4th or 5th word as I navigate C-88 (“C” is for “Construction”). However, today a particular thought captured my attention and that is the notion that “to love is to create”.
When we look within ourselves, we will find that love enables us to create all that which is uniquely meaningful to us in our lives. In my mind, love is the essential ingredient to achieving true purpose and success, for love in itself is often the only natural force which enables us to overcome the adversity we must face to achieve our dreams.
It is also this principle which might just explain unhappiness and dissatisfaction in life. More specifically, should we choose to ignore our soul’s calling in creating a life which is driven by anything less than the unique love which resonates within us, then we risk living the struggle of becoming someone outside of ourselves.
Make no mistake… money is not a measure of a lasting and meaningful love. Granted, money enables us to afford experiences and opportunities, but the pursuit of money for money’s material sake in my estimation is ultimately a dead-end. Further, if the pursuit of money seperates us from our sources of love then it becomes nearly impossible to create the life of our dreams.
The hard part is we often succomb to many external pressures in our lives to go down certain paths for nothing more than the fleeting pride and validation of others. Even more, how often are we left to believe by others that the life of our purest dreams is impractical or unachieveable. Regardless, the power is within us to use love as our compass in creating the truest and most rewarding version of our life. SM
Add comment November 20, 2008
Is Web 2.0 to 2008 What Dot-Com was to 1998?
I received an email survey today from a major association who many have held for some time as the best example of professional communities of practice. Though I’m not a practitioner in their particular field, I did join this association community a year ago just to have a closer look. I must admit, the space well-designed and pretty cool by association standards.
However, in reading between the lines of this particular survey invitation, with statements like “we are looking to make these communities more valuable to you”, I can’t help but wonder if the expectations of staff and leadership might be as disappointed as Chicago Cubs fans earlier this Fall.
As aspiring association pioneers, we have been basking in the promising glow of Web 2.0 for a few years now working toward opening those magical gates for the certain masses to spill through into our mall of participation. However, is the practice and application of Web 2.0 living up to its revolutionary hype with big returns for associations?
To me, the answer to this question is affirmatively…well… pretty inconsequential here on October 28, 2008 if we all, in fact, learned the lessons of the dot-com crash in the late 1990s. However, in many ways I believe many are approaching the Web 2.0 “rush” in the same way we are charged toward dot-com mania. There are a number of intriguing parallels betwen these two interent eras, the most significant of which is the notion that the peverbial “carts” have been set far up the road ahead of the “horses”.
It takes me back to my theory of evolutionary vs. revolutionary change. The dot-com era was a time of revolutionary action where many smart people lost their long-term perspective and paid a miserable price in many cases. It’s not that dot-coms and online commerce were poor business concepts as we have learned, rather they drowned in unrealistic expectations and flawed short-term money-hungry business models in an infantile marketplace where users/consumers, aka the “horses”, had not comfortably caught up with the rest of the insider world. Put another way, it was like the ultimate get-rich quick scheme with an entirely undeveloped consumer audience which was still a couple of years away from reaching critical mass, trust and high speed connectivity.
So, with these thoughts in mind, let’s turn our attention to Web 2.0 and the social web. Here we are, perhaps partying a bit like its 1999, prematurely celebrating the next big chapter in the history of the internet before it has ripened for mass consumption. In other words, while I strongly believe the opportunity of Web 2.0 is very real for our associations, I think we are still somewhere in the early-to-mid phases of its evolution which explains what might be a slow and perhaps sluggish growth curve. But fear not, this is a long-term strategy and the early adopters and developers are beginning to make room for the masses. We must be patient in managing expectations and projected growth within our associations and throughout our leadership. Further, we must not lose our minds and move our headquarters into Second Life overnight. We must be willing to experiment and cultivate particiaption within our audiences. Finally, we must calculate and adjust our risks as we take steps toward reaching critical mass.
The day will come and let’s make sure we are all around to celebrate the richness of our interactive online worlds of participation, otherwise, we risk writing the history of the great Web 2.0 crash. SM
Add comment October 28, 2008
Contemplating the Future Impact of Cause and Effect in Associations
Parting with a proud legacy of literary tradition, I will begin this posting with the conclusion… so, in conclusion:
We cannot let the effect of our past become the cause of our future.
I would encourage you to apply this thought as much to your personal life as your association life; however, since this blog is entitled “Assocation 2020″ and not “Life 2020″, I will focus on the association implications.
As our associations ramp up for the future building upon the tradition of the past, the effect of our past can yield both good news and bad news. After all, if you are indeed ramping up for the future, it means a series of positive outcomes have likely transpired in the past which contributed to the current existence of your association. At the same time, our associations often carry allot of baggage from all that may have gone wrong in the past, which creeps into the present to influence future consideration.
Simply put, in our rapidly changing world nobody can reach the future by living a disproportionate existence in the past. Further, the conditions which existed in the past have likely changed since that time setting the stage for your association to refocus itself on the future. Ask the question, ”are we truly building a future or only working to preserve the past?”.
Well-intentioned stakeholders, staff and leaders alike, can often become comfortable within their association lives leading to an intensification of status quo. The good news is institutional history, knowledge and continuity can be a positive side effect; however, other side effects may include: regressive behavior, vision fatigue, suppresion of new ideas, blockage of fresh leaders, technology avoidance, low risk tolerance and, of course for you, bouts with sleeplessness. In rare cases, declining membership and loss of professional appetite has been reported.
Put another way, we cannot let the successes and failures of the past become the dominant focus of our association’s future. We must evolve, experiment and engage new generations of members, leaders and staff. In doing so, we can maintain our focus on the world of new possibilities which surround us these days as association executives.
Here’s a question to ask yourself: “If my association did not exist and the original founders knocked on my door today asking if I would help them build this association from scratch, what would it look like?”
Are your allowing the effect of your past to be the cause of your future? SM
Add comment October 2, 2008
Succeed in association business innovation by seperating it from “the pack” in the developmental phases
If you’ve read my previous postings, you may be starting to see a pattern in my thinking. In my mind, one of the biggest threats to innovation, in general, is not a lack of creative thinking or evolutionary ideas… it’s often the wrong composition of people involved in the decision-making process and roles of influence.
Let’s face it, some people find a greater level of comfort in tradition. While tradition helps us honor the past and the lessons learned, it often serves as the arch enemy of innovation. The question is:
Q. How can well-reasoned innovative ideas and new association business models survive the gravitational forces of tradition and marginalization?
I would argue in analagous terms that you wouldn’t plant a new tree within inches or even feet of an existing mature tree because you need adequate spacing in order for the young tree to grow and prosper. Over time, the young tree grows in size and it’s branches eventually reach toward and join together with the mature trees in concert to create a forest.
In association terms, why not create a special incubator with the right composition of people who embrace the vision and goals behind the well-reasoned innovation to do the foundational and developmental work with adequate spacing from the influence of tradition. During the incubator process, the innovation endures the rigors of research, pilot testing, stage-gate and all predicted scrutiny.
Eventually, once ready and the timing right, the innovation can be brought out of the incubator and the political journey toward institutionalization can be taken with the peripheral knowledge and validation gathered during the incubator phase.
I will confess, this is less a theory and more a case study from earlier in my career. Based on well-reasoned analysis, a small team I was leading developed a truly innovative concept which would transform the structure of relationships and activity within and between our components. You might be surprised to learn this is not a Board story. As a matter of fact, our Board approved the initiative in the strategic plan.
The struggle came with our internal stakeholders as we began building the foundation of the project. Very early on, during stakeholder meetings, we realized that not everyone was enthusiastically on board and some simply struggled to understand the practical application of the concept.
We were very understanding of these potentially sabotaging concerns/challenges and consciously avoided judgement realizing that some simply were not ready. As a result, rather than “drag” the entire stakeholder group through what may have been both a failure-inducing marginalizing process, we chose to break the development process into phases.
Phase 1 was our incubator which included both my early team who envisioned the concept as well as supporter stakeholders who could see how the concept would benefit their area. As a result, the right environment was established to cultivate the innovative concept in tact and we were able to achieve some early success providing greater concept clarity which enabled us to win over our previously skeptical stakeholders… and everyone lived happily ever after…. okay, well we know it’s not always “happily ever after” in the association world as new challenges inevitably arise. However, I believe this approach can help anyone maximize the potential for successful innovation. Finally, regardless of how brilliant the innovation seems, never forget to do your homework at each step in the process! SM
Add comment September 11, 2008
The Great Web 2.0 Evolution Within the Web Me.0 World
Over the past couple of years, the term Web 2.0 has become a household buzz word within our associations and the larger world. As in the early dot.com days, the promise and potential of Web 2.0 has become the well-hyped social media darling of the online world. Yet, there continues to be struggle over how to flip the peverbial switch in leveraging and mainstreaming these social technologies for the rest of the world. At the same time, users of ”sit forward” online technology are still somewhat skiddish in terms of pledging online trust and so many still prefer the comfortable confines of anonymity.
On the other side of the aisle, the expectations that the ”harvest” of web 2.0 potential will somehow be reaped overnight has led to premature impatience and skepticism.
Based on learning and observation to present day, my belief is Web 2.0 and the social web, in general, is still in its infancy and is far from reaching full maturity in terms of value and engagement… not just for the association world, but also for the for-profit world as well. However, in my mind that is the natural evolution of any technology.
We’ve been feverishly constructing Web 2.0 and 3.0 worlds, when all along what we’ve needed to focus on is the Web Me.0 world. The same basic public relations principle of “so what, who cares, what’s in it for me” is highly applicable to the evolutionary change process occurring in the true Web Me.0 world.
One thing I’ve learned about change, in general, is there is often considerable lag time between visualization and realization. Measure it however you want, whether it be radio-to-tv or dial-up-to-dsl… we must accept the fact that even the most ground-breaking innovations take time to find status quo critical mass within the mainstream. Patience and progression are essential virtues of the day.
Why does it take time? Well, since we are heading out of summer, I’ll use a vacation analogy. Visualize the last time you sat on a semi-crowded beach in front of the ocean during off-season. The sun is shining, the waves crashing, yet most people remain on the beach. For those who venture into the water, they typically take quite a bit of time to slowly adjust to the temperature while at the same time mentally assessing how far they are willing to venture out into greater depths. However, there is always the courageous few who will see the ocean’s allure and sprint full stride toward the water, splashing wildly as the water begins to obstruct motion and diving face forward toward that first set of small crashing waves for the decisive plunge into the cool depths.
Over time, as the months go by and the season change, the heat of summer eventually returns, the water temperatures rise, the beaches become more crowded and eventually most people take to the water… why? because the conditions are ideal, peer pressure is moving the crowd toward the water and, ultimately, the transition is far more comfortable and relaxed.
The translation is we must realize that the summer season for the social web is on the way and we all must begin by testing the waters. Further, we must be careful to pace rather than drown ourselves in the mad rush out into the water.
More importantly, while we might be able to invent all sorts of clever whiz-bang social web applications, widgets and worlds, we must never forget the mainstream Web Me.0 world whose measure will always be real world relational value based upon the age-old principle of “so what, who cares, what’s in it for me”.
The good news is I believe a killer set of waves are forming off-shore and setting a course toward our association shore. SM
Add comment September 3, 2008
