Everyone I run into in the meetings world seems to be stressed about sagging attendance at their meetings, or about what they expect to be sagging attendance at their meetings. I, admittedly, am quite stressed out about this too.
The thing is, when you are feeling down and out about your work (or anything in life, for that matter), where do you want to go? Who do you want to talk to? Most likely, it’s people who either are going through, or have been in, the same situation you are. You want people who understand, and who, maybe, just maybe, might have some good ideas about how you might get yourself out of whatever mess you’re in.
My theory is, if I can show my members that not only can they find some comfort, but also some hope, in coming to our meeting, that might be the ticket. Obviously, we don’t want a pity party, but by sharing the experiences of what we are all going through in a specific context of our lives, maybe we can find the hope we need to get through. Maybe, if we talk enough, listen enough and think hard enough, maybe we can even come up with something better than what we have.
I think associations have the power of community at their back. Now it is time to leverage it.
3.07.2009
2.15.2009
this economy sucks
A sentiment shared by many I'm sure. It's challenging at home too since my husband lobbies in the financial services industry. I find myself frequently pelting him with questions just to get a better handle on what and why things are happening. Recently, I asked somewhat rhetorically, "When are the people who got us into this mess going to suffer the consequences of their actions?" Maybe it was an elementary question, which is probably why I got a deer-in-headlights look back from my husband. I know the answer is never, and that the blame could be spread amongst such a vast amount of people that there's simply no logical way to dole out justice, but it just doesn't seem right.
I was talking to a friend recently who said she had to believe that there is something greater for all of us to learn from this experience. I agree. I also think there is a terrific lesson to be learned in discerning our wants from our needs. But I think it also needs to be tempered with a plan-for-the-future-but-live-like-tomorrow's-your-last-day perspective. I'm not sure how you teach that kind of balance though.
I was talking to a friend recently who said she had to believe that there is something greater for all of us to learn from this experience. I agree. I also think there is a terrific lesson to be learned in discerning our wants from our needs. But I think it also needs to be tempered with a plan-for-the-future-but-live-like-tomorrow's-your-last-day perspective. I'm not sure how you teach that kind of balance though.
new year's resolutions
I've never been one to make a list of resolutions, mostly because I'm leery of trying to tie change to a time of year. There are two things that I've been wanting to work on though, this year, that I started thinking about well before the new year.
The first item was something I've wanted to do a long time - cut soda out of my diet. There's nothing good about soda - the sugar, or artificial sweetener, citric acid, chemicals, etc. I had a health instructor in college who said, "If you wouldn't take a shower in soda, why would you shower the inside of your body with it?" Sure, you could apply that to a number of things, but that mental image has stuck with me for the last 13 years. Obviously, this has been a long time coming.
So far, I've done okay. Three times, I've succumbed to the craving - usually after watching someone consume it in my house. Once, I had one at a party - it was the only thing available. Six weeks into the new year, I'm doing pretty well.
My other resolution was to reach out to people more. I have a lot of acquaintances and new-ish friends that I really want, and need, to get to know. For those who don't know me, this is really hard. Once upon a time, I would easily come up with excuses not to do something. I started to break out of my shell when I was asked to be on a steering committee at church. The commitment thing, and the God/calling thing, kept me going as hard as it was. From there, things picked up. I met my husband, a very social person, and started beating back my fears and insecurities. I became more involved with my professional association. I forced myself to go to networking receptions, as scary and painful as they initially seemed.
So here I am today. Many of my closest friends live far away. I'd like, and I need, to build some relationships closer to home. Since New Year's Eve, I've managed to schedule and follow through on three meetups with friends/acquaintances. And the great part about it is not only how much better I feel after actually doing it, but also the good feelings that emanate simply from having connected with others. It's incredibly fulfilling and a real accomplishment for me. I'm setting a goal to do this at least once a month.
The first item was something I've wanted to do a long time - cut soda out of my diet. There's nothing good about soda - the sugar, or artificial sweetener, citric acid, chemicals, etc. I had a health instructor in college who said, "If you wouldn't take a shower in soda, why would you shower the inside of your body with it?" Sure, you could apply that to a number of things, but that mental image has stuck with me for the last 13 years. Obviously, this has been a long time coming.
So far, I've done okay. Three times, I've succumbed to the craving - usually after watching someone consume it in my house. Once, I had one at a party - it was the only thing available. Six weeks into the new year, I'm doing pretty well.
My other resolution was to reach out to people more. I have a lot of acquaintances and new-ish friends that I really want, and need, to get to know. For those who don't know me, this is really hard. Once upon a time, I would easily come up with excuses not to do something. I started to break out of my shell when I was asked to be on a steering committee at church. The commitment thing, and the God/calling thing, kept me going as hard as it was. From there, things picked up. I met my husband, a very social person, and started beating back my fears and insecurities. I became more involved with my professional association. I forced myself to go to networking receptions, as scary and painful as they initially seemed.
So here I am today. Many of my closest friends live far away. I'd like, and I need, to build some relationships closer to home. Since New Year's Eve, I've managed to schedule and follow through on three meetups with friends/acquaintances. And the great part about it is not only how much better I feel after actually doing it, but also the good feelings that emanate simply from having connected with others. It's incredibly fulfilling and a real accomplishment for me. I'm setting a goal to do this at least once a month.
6.18.2008
some really cool blogs
Yeah, I've been delinquent. I know. But I'm gearing up again.
Wanted to share these great blogs from some of our youngest advocates on Capitol Hill. Read about their adventures as they lobby their congressmen and senators:
Cedric Walker's blog, HSC Pediatric Center, Washington, DC
Anna Ives' blog, LeBonheur Children's Medical Center, Memphis, TN (this one includes some video posts too!)
Our advocacy blogs were featured in a recent issue of Associations Now. Just a really cool project I wanted to share.
Wanted to share these great blogs from some of our youngest advocates on Capitol Hill. Read about their adventures as they lobby their congressmen and senators:
Cedric Walker's blog, HSC Pediatric Center, Washington, DC
Anna Ives' blog, LeBonheur Children's Medical Center, Memphis, TN (this one includes some video posts too!)
Our advocacy blogs were featured in a recent issue of Associations Now. Just a really cool project I wanted to share.
2.07.2008
conference content created by you
I had a general session speaker back out for a conference later this year, and have spent the last few weeks trying to figure out how I am going to fill it. Inspired by the Technology Conference, I'm considering having the attendees create the session themselves.
I am thinking about starting a wiki that would ask members and attendees to contribute their best ideas on the conference topic. Visitors to the site would rate them, and those that are rated highest would be asked to present during this general session.
The risks in doing this are: a) no one will participate in the wiki; b) no one will vote on the ideas; c) attendees won't know which ideas are going to get presented at the session, and won't stick around for it; d) there is no precedent for this in our association and it will take a lot of time to get this off the ground - more than I have; e) this will be wildly successful and we won't have created the proper infrastructure to support it.
Fortunately, of all of our conferences, I think this one has the audience that would most likely participate in this exercise. And, I have more flexibility in designing this conference than other programs. I just have to figure out how to make this work, and how to sell the idea.
I am thinking about starting a wiki that would ask members and attendees to contribute their best ideas on the conference topic. Visitors to the site would rate them, and those that are rated highest would be asked to present during this general session.
The risks in doing this are: a) no one will participate in the wiki; b) no one will vote on the ideas; c) attendees won't know which ideas are going to get presented at the session, and won't stick around for it; d) there is no precedent for this in our association and it will take a lot of time to get this off the ground - more than I have; e) this will be wildly successful and we won't have created the proper infrastructure to support it.
Fortunately, of all of our conferences, I think this one has the audience that would most likely participate in this exercise. And, I have more flexibility in designing this conference than other programs. I just have to figure out how to make this work, and how to sell the idea.
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