wikis + strategy = a good idea

I am attending ASAE's Technology Conference today and tomorrow and had the opportunity to hear Anthony Williams, coauthor of Wikinomics. I thought one of the ideas that was presented was particularly interesting - the idea of using a wiki to design corporate strategy.

Think about it... strategic planning is usually left up to senior staff. And that's probably for a few reasonable (though not great) reasons - the time to integrate everyone's opinion can be prohibitive, and in some cases, maybe the senior staff have an insider's view into the industry (and the correlating connections) that enables them to more quickly assess the needs of the organization and industry. You could come up with a host of reasons.

Using a wiki to develop strategy would allow you to engage the minds of staff who are engaged and enthusiastic about the mission of the organization to have a hand in the direction of the organization. Using a wiki would allow you to diversify the voices that are influencing the direction of the organization. Using a wiki... you would never stop - your strategy could continuously evolve.

I love, love, love this idea.

being thanked

Yes, we should all be giving thanks... it's probably coincidental timing though that this morning I received a thank you note from ASAE. It congratulated me on 10 years of membership and thanked me for my contributions. Yes, I joined, fresh out of college in my first association job, at the encouragement of my then-CEO Barbara Belmont.

Given that so few of us actually stick around in a job for 10 years, it was nice to know that someone noticed my longevity in the association space. This is such a great idea. And easy! Have you thanked your members lately?