Associations in the Age of the Long Tail
Co-authored with Jeff De Cagna, this article explores the application of Chris Anderson's "Long Tail" concept to the world of associations. Beyond X and Boom: Developing Generational Renewal Strategies for Your Association
Published in Executive IdeaLink (an e-newsletter from ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership), this article explores how associations can position themselves to succeed in what will eventually become a continually shifting demographic landscape. Building Strategic Capacity by Design
Jeff De Cagna and I wrote this article for the May 2005 issue of Executive Update. It challenges the current model for strategic planning typically used by associations and offers an alternative: building strategic capacity by design. This includes articulating core strategic principles, designing unique strategic processes, and building a culture of strategic execution. Conflict and Trust: Expressions of Culture and Keys to Organizational Success
Published by ASAE's Center for Association Leadership in the Journal of Association Leadership, this article argues that two of the most fundamental issues affecting any relationship or group interaction--conflict and trust--must be addressed in organizations in order to build cultures that support increased performance. Generational Diversity in the Workplace
Dealing with differences is critical for team and organizational performance. But have you considered how different generations working together may impact productivity? Why are Baby Boomers having such a difficult time supervising Generation X? This paper lays out some of the basic characteristics and key values for each generation in the workplace today, along with some suggestions on how to maximize effectiveness in a generationally diverse context. Get Into the Action
Published in Executive Update (the monthly magazine for the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives), this article is part of a special section on learning and knowledge in the July 2003 issue. The article explores the basics of action learning and cites examples of how organizations use action learning to achieve business results in association, nonprofit, and for-profit contexts. Leadership: Going Against the Grain to Get Results
Published in Executive Update (the monthly magazine for the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives), this brief article points out how leadership teams must often adopt counter-intuitive behaviors and norms to reach higher levels of effectiveness. Published in the December 2002 issue. Making It Stick at the Top
This article is published in Executive IdeaLink, an electronic newsletter put out for the Executive Management section of the American Society of Association Executives. It discusses the power of changing the culture of a leadership team and, more importantly, how to ensure that the culture change takes hold after everyone returns from the off-site. You can download the PDF by clicking the link above, or click the link below to read the online version of the article immediately. Manage Generational Diversity
This article was published in the Cooperative Housing Bulletin, a newsletter published by the National Association of Housing Cooperatives. It draws heavily from the e-book on generations that I wrote, but it is obviously much shorter and it is customized to address issues relevant to those who run housing cooperatives. Reinventing Staff Meetings
This article was written to be included as a resource in the Association Forum of Chicagoland's "CEOnly" section of their website. It talks about why people nearly universally hate staff meetings and provides some process and structure suggestions to help make staff meetings more engaging and more effective, including real-world examples. The Link Between Culture and Change
Published in Executive Update (the monthly magazine for the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives), this short article explores how an organization's culture can impact even the most shrewd management advice. If you want to improve your organization's performance, make sure you understand its culture first. It was published in the December 2003 issue. The Truth as a Tool for Organizational Effectiveness
Published in Executive IdeaLink, an online newsletter of the American Society of Association Executives, this article explores the meaning and implications of how we approach the "truth" in organizations. It offers a more complex understanding of truth in organizations and identifies key skills one can use to more fully explore the truth so that it can be used to make organizations more effective. Three Frames for Understanding Conflict Resolution
This paper looks at conflict resolution from three different perspectives: one focusing on negotiation and reaching agreement, the other focusing on the process of resolving conflict and having difficult conversations, and the third focusing on deeper issues of transformation and relationship. "Conflict" is too broad a term to be helpful for managers. This paper helps managers truly understand what they are facing when they see "conflict" in the workplace. Too Much Plan and Not Enough Strategy
Published in Executive Update (the monthly magazine for the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives ), this short article explores how to get the most out of the strategic planning process by focusing more on strategy and less on the plan. Published in the August 2003 issue. Who's In Charge?
Published in Associations Now in November 2007, this article explores the consequences of avoiding the difficult conversations where associations, their staffs, and their boards actually figure out how to make things happen (and provides some tips on how to handle those conversations more effectively). Why Does Everyone Hate Conflict?
Maybe conflict gets a bad rap. This brief article explores our assumptions about what is "wrong" about conflict and posits that there are deeper issues that prevent us from doing what we need to do that are not necessarily related to our skill level around conflict. Why Generations Matter and Why They Don't
These are the handouts from Jamie Notter's keynote presentation to this year's Financial Management Symposium, put on by ASAE and The Center for Association Leadership. The document explains the basic differences among generations but stresses that building the discipline of conversation in your organization is more important than gathering knowledge about the differences. | 
