February 2017

FOCUS

February 2017

NORTH

DRIVING INNOVATION Four Counterintuitive Principles That Will Change Your Life pg 10

Your 2017 Mini HR Audit pg 12

Published by

www.associationsnorth.com

TAKES WORK pg5

MN High Tech Association doesn’t shy away from a challenge when it comes to making Minnesota stand out on a national scale.

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Focus North is published 10 times a year by Associations North, 1970 Oakcrest Avenue, Suite 100, Roseville, MN 55113.

Phone: 651.647.6388 Fax: 651.647.6416 Website: www.associationsnorth.com Email: info@associationsnorth.com

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of Associations North.

The subscription rate for members is $25, which is included in membership dues. Editorial contributors in any area of association management are welcome.

Articles accepted for publication are subject to editing

by Associations North. Advertising is accepted on a space availability basis. Contact angela@associationsnorth.com for further advertising information.

Staff

Kathy Johnson, CAE, President Sarah Ruzek, Director of Education Angela Kisskeys, Marketing & Communications Manager Chris Villeneuve, Member Services Coordinator

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CONTENTS February 2017

Mission

FEATURES

To advance and serve the association management profession in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Innovation Leaders: 5 Driving 7 Advancing Takes Work Fuel For Forward-

Vision

Diversity & Inclusion

In principle and in practice, Associations North values and seeks diversity and inclusiveness within the association management industry. Associations North advocates for and promotes involvement, innovation, and expanded access to leadership opportunities that maximize engagement across underrepresented groups in the Associations North membership.

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Advertisements and listings in this publication are provided as a public service to readers. Associations North is not responsible for errors or omissions, and inclusion does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. All information is subject to change.

Dave Radziej, CAE (Chair-Elect) President Printing Industry Midwest Cassie Larson, CAE (Secretary/Treasurer) Executive Director MN Nursery & Landscape Association

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Advancing Meetings + Events: In The Details What associations can do about the skills gap

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Moving Forward Together

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The Association Life

14 Conversations 15 Calendar of Events 16 Brain Power 18 Signature Event 19 The North Experience 20 Et Cetera 21 Spotlight

Advancing 11 Advancing Communications: 12 The Essentials: Stay Connected

Invaluable Insights

An enlightened path to greater connection

Your 2017 mini HR audit

Most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?

Eel. I’ll try anything once. Except for bugs.

Jenny Prosser (Past -Chair) Vice President of Conferences and Sales LeadingAge Minnesota

Advancing Engagement + Recruitment: Moving Membership

Four counterintuitive principles that will change your life

Are your new hires failing to meet expectations? It might not be entirely their fault

For advertising information, call 651.647.6388.

Ann Kvaal, CAE (Chair) Owner AK Communications

Thinking

MN High Tech Association doesn’t shy away from a challenge when it comes to making Minnesota stand out on a national scale

Associations North, our members and their associations will thrive and grow.

Board of Directors

DEPARTMENTS

Raw shark (that I caught).

Hum, probably a live minnow.

Alligator.

Kathy Johnson, CAE (President) President

Associations North

Carmelo Cinqueonce, MBA Executive Director MN Dental Association

A mosquito.

Tripe.

John Francis President

The Harrington Company

Tara Owens Member Engagement Director MN Academy of Family Physicians

Glue (when I was a kid).

Cody Nuernberg Executive Director Northwestern Lumber Association

Dave Renner, CAE Director, State & Federal Legislation Minnesota Medical Association

Mark Salter, CAE, ABC Executive Director CFA Society Minnesota

Robbie Thompson Executive Director Professional Liability Underwriting Society

Beef tongue.

Some unknown cheese that smelled like dirty socks.

Boiled tree roots (It took about half an hour to chew).

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Moving Forward Together: Associations North Partners

Featured Sponsor:

Fargo-Moorhead CVB

Why we partner with Associations North…

The fantastic thing about representing Fargo-Moorhead is the opportunity to attract state meetings from both North Dakota and Minnesota. Our membership in Associations North helps us connect and build relationships with planners in Minneapolis/St. Paul and throughout the state.

Memorable moment with Associations North from Mallari Ackerman...

Three years ago, another Associations North member and I were a part of the Leadership Academy. As the only two traveling from North Dakota, we decided to carpool. Even the first of six road trips were filled with great conversations and Peanut M&M’s. To this day, we’ve kept in touch, both personally and professionally. I’m thankful for the program, I wouldn’t otherwise have a great friendship and industry partner.

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The Association Life

Featured Industry: Dental Whoever you are, whatever you do, there is an association working on your behalf.

MN Dental Association The Minnesota Dental Association is a statewide professional membership organization representing Minnesotalicensed dentists and dental students, with a membership of over 3,000 dentists.

South Dakota Dental Association It is the mission of the South Dakota Dental Association to promote the art and science of dentistry and the oral health of the public; educate the public on the benefits of quality preventive

Minneapolis District Dental Society The Minneapolis District Dental Society (MDDS) has been serving the profession of dentistry since 1925.

The MDDS exemplify’s its mission of maintaining the

and restorative dentistry as provided by the entire dental health care team; and be of service to its members regarding practice health and their general welfare.

highest standards of ethics among the members and advancing the standard of care and the art and science of dentistry and the community it serves.

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Driving Innovation Takes Work MN High Tech Association doesn’t shy away from a challenge when it comes to making Minnesota stand out on a national scale.

The Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) has some lofty goals for the coming years, and they are well on their way to achieving them. In the near future, MHTA aims to be one of the top five technology states in the country. And, in just the last year, they have moved several steps closer to that goal, increasing their rank from twelfth to seventh.

These goals are tied to a value of driving the whole state of Minnesota forward, not just their members.

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What does it mean to be on top when it comes to technology? MHTA defines its rank by a report published by the Milken Institute, which evaluates states on six measures of their technology aptitude. The measures include investments in developing the state’s workforce, facilities that foster innovation and growth, commercialization of research, job availability, and state policymakers.

MHTA believes all Minnesotans can be positively impacted by living in a top technology state. Technology means economic prosperity and innovations that can greatly improve quality of life. Technology influences all areas of our lives and economy: manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, medical sciences, business, and so much more.

So, how does MHTA drive success in Minnesota’s technology landscape? The better question might be how don’t they? Minnesotans come into contact with MHTA in several capacities: events, scholarships, internships, education, and at large conferences.

In just one year, MHTA members can connect at any of 30 to 40 regular events such as Women Leading In Technology happy hour or a workshop. Or, they can attend one of MHTA’s four large-scale annual events, including the Tekne awards. Why so many events? Margaret Anderson Kelliher, President & CEO of MHTA, explains, “Events are a way to create community. They are a place for people to come together and network and share ideas, which indirectly advances our mission of becoming a top-five technology state.”

“Being a fixture in the community is important,” adds Ted Modrich, Director of Media and Digital Communications.

“Without investing in Minnesota’s future in technology, the state’s success is not sustainable.”

While events are a major contributor to Minnesota’s success in technology right now, Anderson Kelliher says education is the foundation of what they do. Without investing in Minnesota’s future in technology, the state’s success is not sustainable.

“One of the important things that our membership tells us is that they need more well qualified people coming into

science and technology,” says Anderson Kelliher. MHTA meets this need by supporting youth in technology. The association provides approximately twenty scholarships annually to college-level students who are interested in both business science and have a focus on technology.

MHTA also fosters education in technology--and creates a talented, sustainable workforce--through an internship program. They recruit potential interns, certify job sites, and pair students with knowledge-based internships in technology. Additionally, in partnership with the State of Minnesota, MHTA subsidizes the intern’s pay, making it affordable for local businesses to support technology education.

Anderson Kelliher comments that education can extend beyond teaching the next generation of technology workers, “an important part of what we do at MHTA is helping educate teachers and trusted family members of students who might be interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) before they get to college. We teach them about what industries are growing in Minnesota and why students who have the aptitude would be interested. We provide a lot of information in real time about what is happening in the workforce.”

The second part of that is helping to educate career advisors that there are great opportunities in STEM in Minnesota. To keep growing as a state, we really need people to be pursuing these sorts of degrees, and also for companies to be attracting students to come here for a university as well as workers to come to Minnesota so we keep fueling that pipeline.”

MHTA is committed to fostering continuous innovation, not only in their members, but also in their industry. Even if it requires a whole lot of hustle and plenty of hard work, they are seeking excellence in all they do.

Have a story to tell? Help Associations North inspire others. Associations make the difference everyday! Email angela@associationsnorth.com.

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Advancing Leaders: Fuel for Forward-Thinking with hiring people in your own image is you institutionalize your weaknesses and blind spots. Which in turn, will reduce your team’s successes.

Four Counterintuitive Principles That Will Change Your Life It’s not easy to be counterintuitive and go against the old paradigms.

Yet history teaches us that most breakthrough successes have come from running counter to the prevailing paradigms.

Where would we be today if in 1981, Bill Gates of Microsoft had believed his own pronouncement, “640K of memory ought to be enough for anybody,” and stopped pushing the limits of what computers could do?

You wouldn’t know the innovations brought to you if they had gone along with the conventional thinking, the paradigms of the day. In fact, most of the innovations that are part of your life exist because courageous people challenged the existing paradigms and went in a different direction.

If it Ain’t Broke, Break It Purposefully!

Conventional wisdom says that if something works well, don’t try to fix it. That’s ok until it runs its lifecycle, which most things inevitably do. Recognize the warning signs of diminishing returns – doing more and more of the same, only harder, and watching your results dwindle. A car manufacturer can only ride a model for so long before it has to change models or totally redesign it.

The key is not to break things for the sake of breaking them, but to do purposefully at the right time and in an orderly way. Look for the moment when you begin to experience 7 diminishing returns, which is your

early warning to get planning for the next generation.

Let Go of Control to Gain Control How much control do you maintain over how an objective is accomplished? You gain more control and a high-quality outcome by describing the expected results in detail and letting your staff develop the approaches they’ll use to accomplish the objective. This is a fundamental principle of what the world’s best managers do.

Let’s suppose you work with a team of six relatively experienced people that are generally familiar with a particular objective. Clearly articulate your specific expectations for the objective and then ask the group (or each individual) to develop a plan to accomplish the objective. By doing this you unleash the creativity of each person, and because it is his or her own plan, you’ve gained each team member’s buy-in to achieving the objective. Monitor progress, offer encouragement, and watch how the team meets the objectives because you gave them control for how it was to be done.

Don’t Hire in Your Own Image If you have hiring responsibilities, then you’ve been successful. So it is natural to look for people who are just like you when you need to add to staff. You may be successful but you aren’t perfect – you have weaknesses and blind spots, like every other person on the planet. The problem

A team’s strength is found in its diversity. If a baseball team manager only had first basemen on the team, the team is weaker in every other position. You need diversity on the team so that you place the best players at each position. Hiring people with diverse skills, perspectives, and behaviors means that the team won’t be paralyzed by groupthink.

Go Slow to Go Fast We live in a world where we are obsessed with speed. We let the need for speed direct our thinking whenever we are faced with a new assignment - we think, “What’s the fastest way to get this done?” Masters of the Go Slow to Go Fast Principle have learned that the only way they can ever successfully sustain speed and quality in executing their job is through intentionally instituting “go slow time.”

In order for a physician to move with speed to save someone’s life, she or he must have first put in countless “slow hours” of study and practice. That “let go to get control” manager had to build trust with staff over “go slow” time in order to let go with confidence.

Bottom Line I’m not advocating you wholly abandon conventional thinking in favor of replacing everything you do with a counter-intuitive approach.

What I am suggesting is that becoming a slave to conventional thinking will hold you back in life, whenever you should have zigged when convention says, “zag.”

Hank Boyer, Boyer Management Group works with employers, organizations, and job seekers alike to help them become more successful. To find out more, visit boyermanagement.com, email us at info@boyermanagement.com, or call us at 215-942-0982.

Advancing Engagement + Recruitment: Moving Membership

Are Your New Hires Failing to Meet Expectations?

It Might Not Be Entirely Their Fault Hiring people is exhausting. You have to write the ad, screen out all the crazies, conduct a bunch of interviews, realize in the process that you weren’t 100% at screening out all the crazies, collect a few hilarious interview stories for your friends (“Really? He actually sang his qualifications to you?”) – and then, after all that, you finally make your choice and revel in the knowledge that you’ve found the best person for the job.

Are You Providing Sufficient Training? Learning takes time, and time is money. Unfortunately, that means a lot of us tend to focus on how much money we’re wasting by allowing people to learn things. I haven’t actually checked recently, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t offering degrees in Payroll Processing and Oil Drilling and Account Executive-ing at any of your local universities.

Except not always. Because just like every other hiring manager in the world, you have enjoyed the special torture of green-lighting a new employee only to find out that your new hire is not at all what you were expecting to get. In fact, a recent article suggests that 20% of new employees either quit or are terminally disenchanted after only 45 days on the job.

Research suggests that each new employee you hire actually costs twice as much as the salary you pay them.

Sometimes it’s all them. Sometimes a chronically lazy and incompetent person can trick you all the way into getting hired; it’s happened to all of us. But it’s also possible that some of your failed hires would have actually done a bang-up job if they’d been given the right opportunities. So if you’re wondering what you might do better to increase the likelihood that your new hires turn out to be the kind of employees you want them to be, here are a few questions you should ask yourself: Are We Giving Our New Employees Only the Most Thankless Assignments? We all know new employees are hired specifically to do the things we don’t want to do anymore. But if all of the work you’re assigning to your new employees is menial and monotonous, it won’t take long for them to lose whatever enthusiasm they had coming into the position. I’ve actually heard one story (totally, completely not making this up) of a new employee who was asked to fire an older employee on his manager’s behalf. Seriously. And what an opening-day message! “Welcome to the team, son! Now go make the team smaller. Oh, and by the way, you probably shouldn’t worry too much about the next time I hire someone. Glad you’re here!”

And what about sending them to an upcoming conference?

Yes, we all know that they’re going to get drunk at one of the vendor-sponsored parties, but they might also see your industry as an exciting one they want to work to become a bigger part of.

Are You Inadvertently Forcing Them to Showcase Their Ignorance? Almost by definition, new employees don’t know as much as your more experienced team members.

So make sure you’re not accidentally expecting them to immediately perform at the same level as everyone else. One innovative solution I’ve heard to make new employees feel confident and excited is to provide them an opportunity to present on a topic they know a lot about; it shows your older employees that your new hires actually do know something useful, and it shows your new hires that you appreciate their knowledge and experience.

Research suggests that each new employee you hire actually costs twice as much as the salary you pay them.

You’re more than welcome to spend all that extra money on a never-ending stream of new, permanently disengaged employees. But personally, I’d rather have a boat.

Jeff Havens is a professional development expert who addresses leadership, generational issues, and other areas of professional development through a unique blend of content and entertainment. He has been a regular guest on Fox Business News and featured in CNBC, BusinessWeek, and Bloomberg News. To learn more about Jeff’s keynote presentations and corporate training, visit www.JeffHavens.com.

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Advancing Meetings + Events: In The Details

What Associations Can Do About the Skills Gap Associations have a vital role to play in helping to mitigate challenges currently being experienced in the education to employment system. This is a large problem and sometimes it can be hard for association leaders to know where to start. Here are some suggestions for you to consider as you think about a more active role in education on behalf of your industry.

Direct connection to employers.

Because we represent professions and industries, associations already have deep connections with both the people doing the hiring and the people trying to acquire the skills and credentials they need.

Experience with certification and credentialing. Solid data supports the idea that a college education will lead to higher earnings over a lifetime. We don’t dispute that, but we question if that’s caused by the degree itself or by the skills people develop in pursuit of that degree. As a study from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce demonstrates, depending on the occupation, licenses and certifications sometimes outperform BOTH Associates’ and

How we work and how we learn are both going to look radically different in the not-so distant future.

Bachelors’ degrees in lifetime earnings.

Speed and flexibility. As slow as we think we are, we are still faster than other institutions that are adapting even more slowly. Associations, composed of employers and employees who see changes in the workplace faster than the educational system, can move more quickly than the formal educational system.

Market opportunity and nonprofit status. Adult education is one of the hottest current investment markets. Postsecondary institutions, government agencies, and employers spend $1.1 trillion annually on formal and informal higher education and training in the United States alone, $47 billion of which is related to certification. Distrust of for-profit educational institutions is at an alltime high and our non-profit status is something we should celebrate.

Experience with Non-Traditional Students. Unlike traditional postsecondary education, association professional development programs have been designed from the beginning to be completed by people who are working full time and who have significant other responsibilities.

Another key advantage is the fact that re-tooling and re-emphasizing professional development programming is something we can do almost immediately. However, we need to change how we approach it from an “event-based” perspective, which typically means maximizing

attendance with “hot topics” to fill seats (webinar, luncheon, annual conference), to a “skills delivery” perspective which is relentlessly focused on providing high-quality, affordable education that is directly related to systematically increasing skills along a well-defined career pathway. Some ways to start include: • Adopting a strategic approach that includes prioritization of analyzing the links between skills acquisition and employment with a global focus.

• Conduct on-going in-depth workforce analysis and get beyond “member surveys.”

• Clearly define actual skills, hard and soft, needed in your industry or profession.

• Clearly define career pathways and provide guidance to those learning how to navigate into employment in your sphere.

• Consider alternative delivery methods and new learning technologies.

• Professionalize content development and delivery by ensuring your volunteers, many of whom lead sessions, are properly trained in how to deliver effective learning experiences.

• Provide quality certification programs and redefine eligibility requirements.

• Create effective alliances and ensure you are considered a player in this arena.

There are many competing ideas on how to adjust to the coming changes, stabilize the employment sphere, and improve overall educational outcomes, but one thing is becoming crystal clear: How we work and how we learn are both going to look radically different in the not-so distant future. The importance of affordable, high-quality education to the health and well-being of our global community cannot be overstated. Let’s get to work.

By Shelly Alcorn, CAE, Principal, Alcorn Associates. Download your free copy of The Association Role in the New Education Paradigm at http://bit.ly/29CIquL.

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Advancing Communications: Stay Connected

An Enlightened Path to Greater Connection Carr Hagerman

“I would give a thousand furlongs at sea for an acre of barren ground” The Tempest In the opening scene from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, a merchant ship is being ravaged by a storm at sea. With the ship in peril, Gonzalo, an advisor to King Alonso, declares he would exchange life at sea for an acre of barren ground.

As I read this scene, it made me think of how similar communication in our modern workplace can be to that of a ship caught in a raging storm. Tossed about by the never-ending demands on our time and attention, we may find ourselves longing for our version of “an acre of barren ground” so we can reclaim some clarity and spaciousness to think.

The challenge of communication is that it oft must happen when we’re standing on deck, to continue the metaphor, amid a swirling sea demands. We find ourselves hastily creating newsletters, web posts, and other collateral because we don’t have as much time to focus on unfolding the details as we’d like. We may love to write and create but rarely enjoy can indulge that luxury because there simply isn’t enough bandwidth to get it all done.

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that is has taken place.”

- George Bernard Shaw 11

As we think about what our communications must accomplish we know that to be successful it must incite the imagination of the reader. Template style communication and the use of language that fails to fully engage our audience, handicaps our purpose and can turn our work into little more than visual noise. To transcend the challenges of distraction, we must create devices that not only inform but also touch, move and inspire our readers.

Here are a few things to consider when you contemplate your communication strategy.

1.) How do you want your audience to feel? We want to not only create calls to action and to inform, but also make an emotional connection. Language matters, so write lyrically, maybe even poetically. Whatever you do, make sure in those few moments when you have their attention, you make them feel something.

2.) Does the language, look, and structure of your communication not only represent your organization but the future you want to create? Attractive collateral is useless if it’s not leading to and building on a vision for the future.

Every element of our communication should represent the future we seek to create.

3.) Is it necessary? We may forget that we’re not alone in reaching out to our constituents, they’re already getting more than they want. Give them something new and different and adhere to a philosophy of less is more!

4.) Can it be playful? Corporate communication can become stuck in a flatland of predictability, inert professionalism, and rigid competency. Look for ways to make it more playful and unpredictable, and seduce your audience with something uniquely human.

There is no escaping information overload and the overburdened channels of communication. Taking time to think about, play with, and encourage creative folly with at least some of our communications is not only a more enlightened path towards greater connection, it’s also more effective.

Advancing The Essentials: Invaluable Insights

Your 2017 Mini HR Audit Here is a list of important HR tips to help you succeed in 2017.

New I-9 Form: A new version was introduced in November 2016 and all employers were required to start using the form by January 22, 2017. So, if you’re not using the new form yet, download the latest, greatest form at https://www.uscis.gov/i-9.

New FLSA Rule On-Hold: It’s unlikely that this change will occur at all. On December 1, 2016, companies were required to start paying overtime to any employee earning less than $47,476 per year. But a federal judge in Texas put the law on hold. So, there’s nothing for employers to do at this time.

If your employee handbook hasn’t been updated in 2 or more years, chances are it’s out of date.

However, how you classify your employees as exempt or non-exempt is still an important compliance issue. If you’re in doubt whether an employee is exempt (not eligible for overtime) or non-exempt (eligible for overtime for any hours worked over 40 in a given work week), it’s always safer

to categorize them as non-exempt.

Remember, you cannot categorize all your employees as exempt just because it’s easier to pay them on a salary basis or because they want to be exempt and not track their time. Nonexempt employees are still eligible for overtime for any hours worked over 40, even if they are paid a weekly salary.

Also, if someone works 44 hours in one week, you can’t change next week’s schedule to 36 hours to avoid overtime. Overtime is always based on the current work week.

Paid Leave Laws Effective July 1, 2017: If your business is located in Minneapolis or St. Paul, these cities have enacted new paid sick and safe time leave requirements. On the surface the required accrual of 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked looks the same for both cities.

However, how you administer these accruals (including required carryover) differ. I recommend that you look deeper into the applicable law and check with your payroll provider to see whether they’re creating an automated accrual method that mirrors these laws.

It’s important to note that while a PTO plan or your current sick plan may be more generous than these requirements, your administrative process may not track unused sick day carryover as required. Also, most of us track time off accruals by length of service rather than the new hours worked model. So, run some scenarios to see whether your plan fulfills the

requirements or needs some tweaking.

Your Employee Handbook: If your employee handbook hasn’t been updated in 2 or more years, chances are it’s out-of-date on some regulations or common practices.

I recently read an employee handbook that was written by an attorney. It was done perfectly from a legal perspective. However, it was missing the practical everyday HR administrative perspective. So, I’m taking the organization’s core document and adding a few things under such areas as rules of conduct, PTO, leave of absence, holidays, conflicts of interest, pay handling and more. So, to kick off the year, read through your handbook to see if it addresses policies you need and complies with the newest laws.

Arlene Vernon is owner of HRx, Inc. providing practical, insightful executive advisory, consulting and training services.

Contact Arlene at 952.996.0975 or Arlene@ ArleneVernon.com to learn more about her consulting, 2017 management training series, and advisory services.

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Conversations: In Focus

Different view points. Different solutions.

What is Your Best Membership Recruitment or Retention Tactic, Campaign or Idea?

Sometimes I come right out and ask them, what can we do for you today? Then I just listen. Inevitably they will come up with something they are dealing with and we go to work on a solution. This helps build a relationship which opens the door to discussing membership.

Trish Stevens Membership Director Hospitality Minnesota

Tom Getzke Executive Director Minnesota Builders Exchange

Mary Dunn, CEM Membership Director MN Nursery & Landscape Association

Jaimee Lucke Hendrikson Vice President of Membership

Involvment + Filling Needs = Membership Success. This simple formula guides everything from member recruitment to member retention to member satisfaction. Remember that an organization’s programs and services must fill exact needs of its members. You keep every member that realizes they can’t get along without your organization. Your job is to identify what your members need…and relentlessly work to fill those needs. Your website is your best membership tool. Make sure it clearly communicates how your organization will fill the needs of its members.

The best membership retention tactic that we use is making personal visits to the members during the summer months. We get to learn more about how their businesses operate, meet the staff, and often times get a tour of their facility. We then print the photos in our monthly publication.

It has now gotten to the point that members are requesting a staff visit. It has become a “thing.”

Visit Saint Paul produces an Insider’s Guide each year and we put a significant amount of effort into outreach leading up to the final draft.

As part of the campaign, we mail a copy of the Guide to prospective businesses with a personal invitation including information about the benefits of membership and how to get involved. The Guide continues to be an impactful way to invite businesses to become involved in our work of showcasing Saint Paul as an exciting destination.

Visit Saint Paul

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For more details and to register, visit: www.associationsnorth.com/calendar

Calendar Of Events: Mark It + Make It

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Thursday FEBRUARY

Legal & Financial Hot Topics Minnesota Humanities Center 8:00 am - 12:30 pm Find out what new legal and financial hot topics you need to be aware of to protect your association including: FASB, initiatives, employment law changes with impact of new administration, cyber security and ways to avoid being sued.

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THURSDAY MARCH

Marketing & Sales Symposium Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West 8:00 am - 3:00 pm A must-attend conference for marketing, communications, membership and sales professionals who want to get your message heard, engage your members more and provide outstanding service!

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FRIDAY APRIL

Freebie Day! Your desk 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Associations North wants to thank our members for making a difference each and every day!

On April 7, check your email and choose one complimentary freebie from a collection of great items. Enjoy a freebie on us because you’ve earned it!

Upcoming Events February

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Webinar: Emerging Practices for Optimal Content and

Speaker Selection

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Young Professionals Networking Group

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Associations North Board Meeting

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CEO Networking Group

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Membership Networking Group

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Webinar: Making the First Year Memorable

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Legal & Financial Hot Topics

April 5

Webinar: How to Become a High-Performance

Association Executive

7

Freebie Day

11

CEO Networking Group

18

Associations North Board Meeting

18

Webinar: Refreshing Your Exhibit Hall

12

Meeting Management Networking Group

21

Communications Networking Group

March

May

9

Webinar: The Fine Art of Cultivating Member Relationships

3

Webinar: Board and Committee Orientation and Motivation

One Conversation at a Time

16

Webinar: Creating Impactful Credentialing Programs

10

Allied Networking Group

17

Annual Meeting & Expo - US Bank Stadium

23

Marketing & Sales Symposium

23

Membership Networking Group

23

Webinar: Social Media Analytics

Brain Power

Doubling Your Association Membership Scott Schwefel, Discover Yourself

use it on a daily basis, in some cases, for over 20 years!

Why it works is a blend of complexity and simplicity, or “complicity”, as we call it. The Jungian psychology that underpins the model reaches down into the depths of how people gather information, and make decisions.

Namely, it defines a person’s Psychological Type.

Doubling your association membership sounds both amazing, and to some, also impossible. But what if you were able to empower your existing members with the tools and knowledge so that each one of them could recruit and enlist just one new member? Just like that, your association membership has doubled. Sounds like a magic wand, and while that may not be a realistic solution, there is one that you can try and use, and we call it Communicating in Full Color. What this means is that every person has a unique communication style, and we are far more likely to influence others when we speak to them in their style, rather than ours.

Fiery Red and Sunshine Yellow colors represent extroversion, and Earth Green and Cool Blue represent introversion. The top colors, Fiery Red and Cool Blue represent decision making based on logic and tasks, and the bottom colors, Earth Green and Sunshine Yellow represent decision making based on people and relationships. If you can determine which of the four colors a person leads with, then you can begin to communicate with them in their unique style, both in person, and especially using email, in newsletters and in all your phone conversations and voicemail messages.

There are myriad systems that could help, but most people forget them shortly after learning them, so they don’t really add practical value. The one that does seem to stick, is a four color, four quadrant model, and people who learn it have embraced it, and continue to

Here are some of the best ways that you can begin to tailor your communications first to your members, and then help your members to use these same concepts to recruit and influence just one new member each. Make using these concepts a habit, and just like that, your association membership has doubled.

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What some call obsession, we call service.

Event planning is about vision and detail; in fact, it seems there’s no end to the details that can make or break an important meeting. That’s why we’re proudly obsessive, with an experienced team committed to flawless service. Room options? We’ve got you covered. AV support? No worries there. Menus?

Nothing short of spectacular, created by chefs who know how to dazzle – even on a budget. We may be obsessed, but you’ll love our service.

Visit EarleBrown.com or call (800) 524-0239

Every year there are 800,000 golf tournaments.

You, and many of your members will host or have “professionally planned” at least one.

CertiFresh Cigar is the nation’s leading cigar supplier to golf courses. We serve the finest private country clubs, daily fee and resort facilities in the country.

Golf tournaments are important fundraising activities, and recruiting successful sponsorships are crucial. Cigar sponsors will line up to promote their business to your golfers. Beautifully customized packaging with the world’s top-rated cigars delivers not only an incredible impact, but a solid ROI. CertiFresh Cigar Event Program “gives back” to associations with every cigar purchased by their cigar sponsor. Contact us to learn the details.

CertiFresh Cigar is built on Guarantees Guaranteed Fresh One Year Guaranteed Top-Rated Cigars Guaranteed - talk of the tournament.

CONTACT - MICHELE MAHMOOD michele@certifreshcigar.com certifreshcigar.com

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800-375-2373

Legal & Financial Hot Topics - What’s New | February 23

Protect Your Association.

Legal & Financial Hot Topics - What’s New?

FEBRUARY 23, 2017 8 AM - 2 PM | Minnesota Humanities Center Find out what new legal and financial hot topics you need to be aware of to protect your association including: FASB, initiatives, employment law changes with impact of new administration, cyber security and ways to avoid being sued.

Details & Register: associationsnorth.com/calendar

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Annual Meeting & Expo | May 17

GO BIG, OR GO HOME.

ANNUAL MEETING & EXPO WEDNESDAY, MAY 17

US BANK STADIUM | MINNEAPOLIS, MN associationsnorth.com/expo 19 19

Et Cetera: Association Extras

NEW MEMBERS Ana Powers

Assn Development Services

Murphy Picket

Ewald Consulting

David Riddle

Park Point Marina Inn

Julia Renner

Ewald Consulting

Robyn Pokorny

Sheraton Duluth Hotel

Sara Schumacher

Ewald Consulting

Arzu Alimohd

Ewald Consulting

Noe Symonanis

Ewald Consulting

Rachel Dicks

Ewald Consulting

Erin Wickens

Ewald Consulting

Ralph Gervasi

Ewald Consulting

Joseph Herst

Sheraton Sioux Falls

Mohammad Gulam

Ewald Consulting

Yvonne Christiansen

Sheraton Minneapolis W Hotel

Kris Haskin

Ewald Consulting

Annie Ketcham

AMO

Cherin Jaradat

Ewald Consulting

David Carnes

AMO

Tiffany Krueger

Ewald Consulting

Kelly Tolzmann

Midwest ENERGY Association

Dominika Kuzlak-Swanson Ewald Consulting

Tom Halek

Midwest ENERGY Association

Erica Mutch

Ewald Consulting

Maryanne Cimono

Nexstar Network

Tiffany Patterson

Ewald Consulting

JOIN ASSOCIATIONS NORTH BOARD OF DIRECTORS Help shape the Midwest association community with your knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm on the Associations North Board of Directors. Members welcome to apply! Details at: associationsnorth.com/board.

NEW CAE’S Congratulations to the following new Certified Association Executives (CAE): • Amanda Becker, CAE, Senior Director, Policy and Practice Innovation, American Academy of Neurology • Christi Kokaisel, MBA, CAE, Director, Membership, American Academy of Neurology • Tyler Verry, CAE, Account Executive, The Harrington Company For more information on the May 5, 2017 CAE exam, visit: associationsnorth.com/cae.

2017 COMPENSATION & BENEFITS STUDY Associations North is conducting the 2017 Compensation & Benefits Study and your participation is essential.

In order to get accurate and reflective results, we need your help. Watch your email for survey link and instructions. Final publication will be available early summer. For more information on Associations North Compentation & Benefits Study, visit: associationsnorth.com/salary.

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Spotlight: Member In Motion

Get to know industry movers and shakers.

Gary Botzek Executive Director MN Concrete & Masonry Contractors Association

What’s your favorite type of cuisine?

What store would you like to max out your credit card?

Chinese.

Starbucks.

My personality is...

What’s your dream car?

Warm, Smiley, Friendly, Kind.

1957 Chevy

Favorite joke or brain teaser...

Love Blond jokes— they get me every time!

One amenity you would add to the workplace...

My favorite toy as a kid was...

Baseball glove from my dad.

Couch and bigger TV.

My motto is...

Be nice to people and they may be nice to you!

Best Halloween costume?

A clown!

First live concert?

Fifth Dimension in college at SCSU. ☺

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One short-term goal...

Live long and prosper!

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