Happy Friday from all of us at MemberClicks! What are you doing this weekend? (Personally, I’m all about the NFL playoffs!) Whatever your plans, I hope there’s adequate relaxation and recharging!

As usual, we’re sharing some of our fave association blog posts from the community today. What were your favorite blog posts this week?

1. Aaron Wolowiec asked fellow association professionals and/or consultants how they prepare their speakers and educators at meetings. If associations are supposed to be curators, they should take an active role in shaping speakers to be successful at their particular event or conference.

2. Is your small-staff association purpose-driven? Jeffrey Cufaude shares several reasons why now, more than ever, associations and their leaders need to be purpose-driven, not fear-driven.

3. Tony Rossell shares some great information about membership marketing benchmarks and setting up expectations. All “good” results are relative – he shares the example that 72 degrees is a good temperature if you want to go for a walk but not if you want to have a cook-out. Be sure to take context into consideration when determining whether a benchmark for your association is good or not.

4. Facebook has come a long way from a social network exclusively for college kids and is now a mainstream part of our culture. Jeff Hurt shares some great ways to increase engagement on your association’s Facebook page – and a lot of these things are easy to do! One big one: post daily. Posting once a day is a great way to keep your association out there but not create fatigue among its Facebook fans.

5. Is your association in tune with what is going on with its membership? Shelly Alcorn shares a few dismaying stories from her community to remind everyone to foster a zero-tolerance atmosphere in your association. This is quite a thoughtful topic that probably doesn’t get as much attention as it should.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday to all! Who has big plans for the first (full) weekend of 2012?

There have been so many awesome association blog posts in the community this week! We’re loving the energy everyone has been bringing to 2012 so far, and we’re excited to see where the rest of the year takes us. With that said, below is a quick round-up of five of our fave posts from the community.

1. Jeff Hurt succinctly sums up four macrotrends that will affect your organization this year: volatility, multiplicity, versatility and mobility. I think the final two are key, as business practices become both more versatile and mobile. How has this affected your organization?

2. Are outcomes truly defined by an association’s leader? Cindy Butts writes that, if a leader says a task should take two days, it will take two days. If a leader says it will take a year, the task will take a year. How much time should you allocate for tasks and projects?

3. Many people use the new year as a time to improve their productivity and habits. Elizabeth Engel shares several great articles with ideas and tips for increasing productivity and focus at the office. What’s your favorite tip?

4. At the Acronym blog, Mark Athitakis shares some unconventional words of wisdom for the new year: embrace your messes. Resolutions and goals are great but unless they have a clear focus, they likely won’t be accomplished. Watch the video and definitely check out the comments here.

5. Aaron Wolowiec shares how he’s going to change his world this year by shifting gears and consulting. He (rightly) points out that, at the end of the day, what really matters at a conference is learning and Aaron shares his dedication to his consulting practice in this great post.

From everyone at MemberClicks, have a wonderful weekend!

Good morning and happy Friday! All of a sudden it’s feeling like winter here and I’m not gonna lie – I kind of miss those 50-degree days in December. Regardless, it’s feeling a bit more like the holiday season. (I can’t believe 2011 is almost over!)

Anyway, let’s get down to business with five of our fave association blog posts this week. There was some great content out there thanks to the Technology Conference!

1. Erik Lanke, who writes a lot about generational dynamics, and this post asks: which battle are you fighting? There are some great concepts and ideas here.

2. Are your virtual presentations exciting? Free or low-cost webinar services are plentiful, making it easy to present to people from afar. But are people really paying attention? Jeff Hurt explains how to make your virtual presentations relevant and exciting.

3. David Nour presented at this week’s Technology Conference, and Mark Athitakis sums up three great takeaways. My favorite? Why are you thinking of social media as little more than a customer service tool? Yes, it’s great for customer service but there are so many more uses.

4. Cindy Butts shares a few great ways to avoid the dreaded burnout that can come with association management. My favorites? Add something life-changing to your life and “feeling good and looking good.” If you feel good, you’ll more than likely do your job better.

5. Are you thinking about big vision in a big way? Shelly Alcorn pushes back on the notion that big vision is old-fashioned and out of date. Does your association have a duty to be critically thinking about the world and make people in your profession stop and think? Great ideas.

Happy Friday! One more weekend until (American) Thanksgiving … what are everyone’s plans besides being full of turkey and gratitude? Does your family have a special tradition?

Before you head out for the weekend, be sure to check out our favorite blog posts from the association community!

1. Jeff Hurt shares six important connections to be aware of when planning your association’s conference. The most important one (to me, at least)? Connecting participants to outcomes. Your conferences should always arm people to succeed once they get back to the office – and not every new idea has to be big and flashy.

2. Do your staff members sit on the association’s board? David M. Patt discusses why this isn’t a good idea. Staff members and board members have different goals and roles, and they could sometimes conflict.

3. Do you know what your strengths and weaknesses are? (I know my weakness – I tend to work too quickly and make little stupid mistakes.) Aaron Wolowiec shares why it’s important to know your personality, how you work and what you need to work on with regards to your style.

4. Tony Rossell shares five steps to creating a marketing recruitment program: the who, what, where, how and why. I think this is a great article for small staffers to read since duties can overlap and no matter what your title, there’s a chance you’ll be doing some marketing. There are some great comments on this post, so be sure to check it out!

5. Elizabeth Engel shared some great takeaways from a PRSA meeting, including info on Google+ (still made up mostly of early adopters) and LinkedIn (likely the future of business social networking).

Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! I’m gearing up for another weekend of travel, which of course means things in the office are even crazier than usual today! What are you doing this weekend?

Before I head off to Boston (for the first time ever!), here are five of our favorite association management blog posts from this week.

1. I love when bloggers tie current events into their posts, which Deidre Reid did earlier this week when she discussed Herman Cain and association management. Although Cain remained in the news this week, Deidre’s post does not discuss political ramifications but focused instead on association management and crisis management. Definitely take a look at the comments on this one, too.

2. Aaron Wolowiec shares some tips on vetting conference speakers. There are lots of reasons a speaker could “strike out” – he or she isn’t a content expert or lacks charisma – and lots of ways to make sure a speaker doesn’t strike out. Research, research, research! Meet with your speaker(s) and make sure she/he understand your audience to a tee. Finally – demand customization. Great tips.

3. Joe Rominiecki discusses openness and inclusivity on the Acronym blog this week, and it’s a great article. Joe writes that although some associations may struggle with openness, there are several reasons to pursue it in your association. I’m sure this is less of a problem for small staff associations, but we’d love to hear if your association has experienced struggles!

4. Jeffrey Cufaude has been traveling and attending conferences a lot in recent weeks, and he shares some awesome insights from thought leaders such as Charlene Li and Jane McGonigal. The big lesson here? Never forget that social media is about relationships. You can put money into it and get big numbers, but it’s all about engagement.

5. Do you manage to the rule or to the exception? Wes Trochlil writes that, although, most businesses rules should apply to all business cases, sometimes there are exceptions.