17 minute read
Advancing Leaders: Fuel For ForwardThinking
from May June 2020
How to Lead and Succeed in the Age of Constant Disruption
Scott Steinberg
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So much for the idea of “status quo.” While modern executives are no strangers to change and disruption, things only get more topsy-turvy for working professionals from here. In fact, according to recent surveys by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, not only will no two days on the job ever be the same again. That’s because across every region of the world, and every commercial sector, market leaders explain that the only consistent theme you can count on in coming years is unpredictability.
Think you’ve got a handle on how fast today’s business world moves? Think again. Uncertainty is now the only certain at work; the next 10 years will bring more change than the prior 10,000; and – thanks to rapid advancements in technology and communications tools – the one thing organizational leaders can count on going forward is that they’ll only be hit with more unforeseen disruptions harder, faster, and from more angles than ever before. So what’s a forwardthinking executive to do if they want to stay ahead of the curve? Simple: Change up their leadership and management style to make leadership a concept that scales; provide workers the insights that they need to facilitate more dynamic decision-making; and provide staffers will all the tools that they need to stay better attuned to signals that the marketplace is sending them, and faster adapting to these developments in turn. Bearing this in mind, and that business and cultural trends are now evolving at an unprecedented pace, it’s no surprise that business leaders around the world note that strategic priorities for any organization hoping to get ahead in coming years must also evolve. Among the concepts they say it’s now vital to champion to your staff at meetings and events are the importance of:
• Developing and maximizing a globallyaware and -influenced pool of talent • Fostering a culture of employee engagement and continuous learning • Putting productivity, not process, at the heart of your operating strategy • Routinely daring to disrupt your operations before outside forces disrupt them for you • Making a commitment to ongoing organizational improvement
But most importantly, they also note that the best way to get ahead in uncertain times is to double down and reinvest in your people – and that doing so can pay off in huge ways, because people are your most important asset today.
Taking this into account, today’s most effective leaders realize that here and now – while things are going well, and you can most afford to take chances – is the most opportune time to start making a host of smart investments in initiatives that drive constant learning and growth for their organization. And that it’s also the best time to start encouraging staffers to get behind the idea of making
more insight-driven decisions, and educating themselves through a running process of trial and error that involves constantly brainstorming and testing a variety of new strategies and solutions.
Because in uncertain times, as we discovered, the irony is that you’ve got to take more risks, not fewer if you want to get ahead – but these risks have to come in the form of small, smart, cost-effective bets designed as ongoing learning experiments that can help you quickly gain deeper insights into the shape of changing operating landscapes and make better and more informed choices as you become more informed. Likewise, to stay relevant – let alone ahead of the curve – organizations also have to start being more deliberate about putting systems and programs in place that can help staffers assume more of an ownership role in driving workplace decisions.
End-users, everyday customers, strategic partners, various internal/external stakeholders that we serve, etc. – are the #1 best, most reliable proven source where organizations get successful new ideas. Keeping this in mind, the real question you should be asking yourself as an executive leader going forward – and encouraging your coworkers to ask themselves – isn’t “do we have what it takes to compete” as your organization. It’s “are you doing everything you can to give your people all the tools and resources that they need to be listening to these insights, and promptly and intelligently responding to them in turn?”
When it comes to getting ahead despite disruption, and finding ways to successfully navigate through change, it often pays to find more ways to step back and let others take the lead. The more you look to make leadership and innovation concepts that scale, and put programs and platforms in place to rapidly transform ideas into reality, the more successful you’ll be, no matter what the future brings.
5 Ways to Use the COVID-19 Crisis to Rethink the Association Model Don Neal
Now is the time for associations to rethink their models and reinvent themselves.
Good news (and can’t we all use some!): The association’s business model — an over-reliance on membership and event revenues to keep it healthy — has been pushed to the breaking point by the current pandemic. Why is that good news? Because it will lead to a renaissance of mission-driven, membership-based organizations. And chances are, your organization has many, if not all, of the assets needed for your reinvention — a good brand, loyal members, and a team that can be mobilized to move in a new direction.
There are five central reasons why innovation has typically lagged at associations and systems and technology haven’t been updated. But there is one fundamental root cause: There hasn’t been a sufficient catalyst. No pain, no change. Let’s use this crisis as an opportunity to address the five core drivers of change that are necessary for associations to thrive in the future.
1. Your business model. A business model is the rationale and structure of how an organization creates, captures, and delivers value. Your business model is built upon a nonprofit chassis and was established long ago. Strategic plans are meant to update your strategy but don’t get down to the roots of your model. A new model that is less of a walled garden and more of an open-architecture structure is required — for example, an annual subscription pricing plan based on consumption of value vs. a fixed membership fee. Expand your audience by unpacking what you offer and let the marketplace decide what it needs. The Business Model Canvas, a strategic management and lean startup template, is a good place to start to learn what’s required to initiate this process.
2. Risk tolerance. Risk taking is like a muscle. It gets stronger when you use it and atrophies when you don’t. Most of us don’t take risk unless we have to. Associations’ No. 1 success factor going forward will be based the degree to which they take calculated risks. Start by testing. Test and see if new, younger cohorts will join if you modernize the look of your
website and messaging. Test and see if new crowd-sourced user groups will self-organize, hosted by thought leaders working at your association. Test the risk of modernizing your annual event — now is the perfect time to break the pattern of better sameness and make it just plain better.
3. Governance. Many associations have bloated boards, committees, and volunteer groups that are well-intentioned but kill creativity, and the flexibility to quickly pivot and take decisive action. Your staff may fear that a member of the board won’t like this or that change. Change the rules so you get the best engagement but less of the bureaucracy. The average board of a public company is nine people — and they have a fiduciary role and must live with the consequences of their decisions. How does your bureaucracy support your business?
4. Investment. During this crisis, many associations are taking loans to mitigate the need to use reserves for operating costs. That’s a good start, however the practice of using outside capital shouldn’t end when this crisis is over. Investment spending in new CRM technology, member research, event reinvention, and new product and service development will be essential to compete. Consider partnering with a third-party trade-show organizer or take on an investor as part of a for-profit LLC subsidiary in exchange for the ability to accelerate your growth.
5. Value creation. This is the most important factor in the renaissance I’m describing. It’s not enough to simply outsource value “capture” to your members, volunteers, and event sponsors. Being the landlord of a trade show or submitting a call for content will still be viable options for your organization, but going forward, that’s not enough. Value creation must come from within your organization. Original research, thought leadership, and in-house experts on your industry that are leading your members will become increasing more important. Convening authority has always been your X-factor. Now simply add association-driven insight and industry leadership and you’ll be amazed at the impact.
It may take time to develop but start now. As the saying goes, never let a good crisis go to waste.
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Monetizing Your Virtual Conference When Competing with Free
Dave Lutz
If your inbox is anything like mine, you could spend a good portion of your day consuming webinars, virtual events and networking in Zoom or Facebook Messenger Happy Hours. We’re on content overload and it’s only going to get noisier as the pandemic lingers.
The dynamics that we’re seeing impact conferences and their business models are very similar to the Freemium movement we experienced way back in 2009. I’ll never forget a blog post, entitled “Malcolm is Wrong,” which Seth Godin penned back then on Chris Anderson’s book Free: The Future of a Radical Price.
In his book, Anderson makes a case that in many instances businesses can profit more from giving things away than charging for them. It’s the essence of content marketing and is being taken to new extremes in this crisis.
Hopefully the author and the title of the blog piqued your curiosity. Go ahead and read Seth’s post and then come back for the linkage to conference monetization.
and digital economy have never been lower, cheaper and more accessible. Whether you charge a fee or not, the competition for share of wallet and attention just got a whole lot higher. To best compete:
• Premium conferences must choose quality over quantity. • You can no longer do a call for sessions six, nine or 12 months out and expect to be fast, first or unique. Lead and focus on emerging or late-breaking issues. • As you select speakers or session leaders, you’ll want to get their commitment that the topic they are addressing at your conference hasn’t been presented elsewhere. You want to be first. • Your speakers must shift from deliverers of information to learning facilitators who deliver on the engagement needed to bring participants closer to their tribe. Engagement must be designed into every session experience.
Three Emerging Models
In conversations with our clients, we’re seeing three business models for fall 2020 virtual replacement events:
1. Goodwill – Some associations have healthy reserves and are realizing that this is the year they need to invest them back into their profession. They’re playing the long-game and offering free or significantly discounted conference offerings. More often than not, these associations are already viewed as a trusted resource to their members and are using this crisis to continue to grow and nurture that.
2. Make the CFO Happy – Some associations don’t think they can afford the revenue hit, so they develop a model that keeps the finance folks happy. For most, this means offering fewer CE’s and cutting the cost back proportionately. The most common we’re seeing is charging 30% to 50% for virtual vs. the face-to-face rates.
3. Industry Supported – We’re going to keep saying this until someone proves us wrong, but we have never seen or heard of a successful virtual expo. We don’t believe the exhibit booth model transfers well to a virtual or digital experience. Sponsorship, however, can be significantly leveraged as long as you are able to attract a good audience. As a general rule, build your model with fewer, but bigger sponsors, not microinvestors.
What plans or expectations do you have for your fall conference’s business model?
Keeping Equity a Priority During the COVID-19 Crisis
Mary-Margaret Zindren, CAE
Now is the time for firms and employers to apply the knowledge gained about inequities to be open to new understanding about how these inequities affect employees and project teams, and to take action to ensure equity remains at the forefront during the acute impact of the pandemic and over the longer term of economic upheaval.
The pandemic crisis and its impacts on health and the economy are extraordinarily wide-ranging and, in many ways, have yet to play out. The prompts that follow are intended as a starting point in identifying concerns related to the pandemic that have direct implications for equity in the profession of architecture. The hope is to spark more conversation, analysis and action; to spur better questions and answers in the weeks and months to come.
Who might be more vulnerable to indirect pandemic impacts? • Women in the U.S. – across all income groups, races and ethnicities – carry a greater share of caregiving and household responsibilities. With children now needing to be schooled from home and elderly loved ones at increased health risk, women in architecture face unprecedented challenges in integrating work and life responsibilities. • Women who are pregnant are also at risk of not being able to get the medical assistance they need if they become ill, due to impacts of COVID-19 on the medical system overall. • People of Asian descent have been experiencing an exponential increase in harassment and discrimination during the COVID-19 crisis, ranging from more passive forms, such as extreme social distancing, to more aggressive verbal and physical harassment and violent crime. Thousands of bias-driven incidents have already been documented across the nation. Whether an employee has directly experienced harassment or discrimination, or they are feeling increased concern about going out in public, their mental and physical health could be impacted. • Economically-impacted people of color and Native Americans are less likely to have accumulated generational wealth, due to discriminatory policies and practices, and as a result have fewer financial resources to draw upon during times of crisis. Being able to weather the economic ups and downs of the architecture profession sometimes requires 11 1
turning to relatives for economic support or leveraging homeownership to get a loan. These options are more available to white people than to people of color and Native Americans. • People who struggle with anxiety, depression, addiction, or other mental illnesses are many – one in five Americans already had mental health conditions heading into the pandemic – and the supports they usually rely upon to stay healthy may be less accessible during social distancing or due to financial impact. The nature of the pandemic is also significant societal change, which can trigger episodes and cause people in recovery to relapse. • Lower income and highly debt-burdened people within the profession and who work in other capacities in architecture firms or other organizations may be less able to connect to highspeed internet or to have multiple laptops at home. This can affect remote homeschooling and regular connection to fellow employees. These individuals also face more significant financial uncertainty and stress. • People who are LGBTQ+ have been targeted by some evangelical Christian leaders who blame COVID-19 on broader societal changes that have benefited the LGBTQ+ community. This has the potential to grow homophobia, hate speech, and hate crimes. Also, a history of discrimination and mistrust between people who are LGBTQ+ and the medical community can cause hesitation in seeking medical treatment, and therefore heighten the health impacts from COVID-19. ARTICLE CONTINUED ONLINE, SEE BELOW.
>> To read this article in its entirety including how to respond, what support you can provide, hiring mentoring and long-term effects visit: associationsnorth.com/diversity
THE DAY WILL COME WHEN WE MEET AGAIN. Count on us to be ready.
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