association comments-o-matic » Acronym

Comment on "Quick clicks: Two-by-two edition"

comments-o-matic — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:30:28 +0000

Thanks for including me … and for titling the post in such a way to make me think of Two by Two, one of the best songs from the Broadway hit, The Book of Mormon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tCSRhhVO3A

- Jeffrey Cufaude

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Comment on "Are We Suffering From Teamwork Fatigue?"

comments-o-matic — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:30:26 +0000

I have a host of problems with Cain’s rambling essay in the NYT that IMHO tried to take on too much in one piece. I’m hoping her book will be better.

I think one principle that gets to your question Mark is making it a common part of the culture that individuals share works in progress (in real-time) and ideas and hunches they are pursuing. This would support Steven Johnson’s assertion (Where Good Ideas Come From) that colliding hunches and ideas are often how innovation occurs.

In that sense, it becomes a bit less about the furniture in the office and more about the mindset to make public more regularly (think Johari’s window) what you’re working on and ideas you are exploring. Doing so enables others to react, share ideas and resources, build on your ideas, and connect with you and your work. It could be as simple as posting an idea in the break room and inviting others for feedback. Or having the FB equivalent of a work status update in an internal social network that spawns the same types of comments and connections we see in FB or LinkedIn.

So while the office furniture and configurations is most definitely one tactic for facilitating collaborative conversations, it by no means is the only way, nor is it sufficient in and of itself.

- Jeffrey Cufaude

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Comment on "The Fiction Fix"

comments-o-matic — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:40:26 +0000

After reading the Kreamer post and Athitakis’s post above, I find the business case for reading novels to be reasonable. Beyond storytelling, Kreamer reinforces the power of fictional characters to reveal unique insights and emotions. Unfortunately, today’s business or association executive often has a short supply of empathy (note recent occupy movements); thus, novels can be sources for empathy development. Even Middle Passage (which I have not read) probably taps those core emotions that make us human. Emotions and empathy for those around us can form strong organizational threads. Lack thereof can weaken the business or association bonds.

- Amanda Batson

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Comment on "The Fiction Fix"

comments-o-matic — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:40:25 +0000

I think this is analogous to a liberal arts education, which doesn’t teach you a particular trade or skill, but does teach you how to think. I’m pretty sure the time I spend reading a TC Boyle or Jane Smiley novel is FAR better invested than putting that same time towards reading 99.8% of the business books out there, which are often so much trite, obvious, poorly written crap.

- Elizabeth Engel

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Comment on "When the Problem You Solve Is the Problem You Have"

comments-o-matic — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:00:16 +0000

This is an interesting post. It makes me think of a local women’s advocacy organization offers great programs and services for all kinds of people in need in my community. They say that their mission is twofold: to empower women by getting them on corporate boards and to eliminate discrimination in every form. Unfortunately, they don’t allow men on their board of directors and to me, that’s the ultimate hypocrisy, for two reasons. One, it is the very discrimination their own mission is fighting against, and two, if you look at who has the voting power on corporate boards in the world, not just the United States, it is men. It doesn’t mean they’re bad or good, it’s just it is what it is. So if you want to empower women and eliminate discrimination, you have to start with your own organization. Sometimes we get too insular at our organizations and need to seek outside perspectives to keep fresh.

- Annie Gallagher

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Comment on "Reading between the lines on conflict and inclusion"

comments-o-matic — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:00:21 +0000

Thanks Elizabeth. I think you’ve summed it up even better than I could. You’re exactly right, that healthy conflict leads to better decisions, when it’s embraced and facilitated in the right way. Researchers call healthy conflict “cognitive conflict” and the personal, political kind “affective conflict,” and Engle gets deeper into those differences in his feature article. His findings showed that the timing and environment in which conflict is sought out is vital, and that the committee or taskforce level is most effective for letting healthy conflict over a decision play out, at least in the association context. Trying to do it all at the board level, in the cases he studied and surveys he conducted, seemed to more often lead to problems and affective conflict.

- Joe Rominiecki

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Comment on "Reading between the lines on conflict and inclusion"

comments-o-matic — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:00:20 +0000

I believe most diversity & inclusion research indicates that expanding the pool of decision makers produces *more* conflict in the process of making the decision, but it’s productive conflict that ultimately produces better decisions. It seems like Engle’s research would indicate that the conflict is going to come regardless, but that deferring it to after the decision is made is just going to result in unproductive conflict (sniping and hurt feelings), rather than improving the decision itself.

- Elizabeth Engel

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Comment on "Resolved: Embrace Your Messes"

comments-o-matic — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:50:07 +0000

Cowen is a smart egg. One story I think many associations are having a hard time telling themselves/accepting is that they no longer are indispensable to members (if they ever were) and they are unlike to be able to become that way, despite it being in their vision statement.

We won’t like to tell ourselves this story for a variety of reasons: (1) it means acknowledging perceived vulnerability in that we don’t have a guaranteed hook to shackle members to the organization, (2) because we’re not sure how to answer the critical question, “Uh, so now what?” and (3) some see it as being too defeatist.

But it actually can be freeing as it now gives us the permission (and acknowledges the real need) to enter into a new relationship dynamic with each other, one based more on collaboration and co-creation. The association is more of a platform for its communities, enabling their interests, aspirations, and ideas, and amplifying their learnings and resources.

- Jeffrey Cufaude

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Comment on "Quick clicks: My favorite blog posts on association management from 2011"

comments-o-matic — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:35:21 +0000

Really honored to be on this list Joe – though you should have included one of your posts as well – I know you have a few that would be on my top for 2011!

- Lowell Aplebaum

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Comment on "Putting social commerce to work"

comments-o-matic — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:35:18 +0000

Bravo! Everyone is talking about social commerce and social media like it’s the holy grail. But it’s not unless you can use it as a smart tool. These examples are really fabulous, because these are the kinds of activities that can generate real results. A lot of people confuse volume of activity with results, when they should be asking, “Is it activity that’s leading to something, or activity or activity’s sake?” The examples shown here are perfect examples of activity that leads to results.

- Annie Gallagher

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