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TMA Resources has begun a new series of weekly educational videos on their website called "Association Tech News." In this week's installment, there is a brief interview segment with me. Association Tech News can be found here. The complete interview with me can be found ...

I've written often about "managing to the exception," the idea that all of our business rules have to apply to every case (i.e., the exceptional cases), instead of just the most common types of cases. One of my favorite examples of managing to the rule rather than the exception is the Dulles ...

Effective change requires leadership. Leadership from the top. Compare these two situations (true stories, clients of mine from the past): Association 1 has never had a centralized data management system. However, the CEO as well as key senior leadership understand the need for a centralized ...

When it comes to managing our organization's data, we too often allow our staff some short-term gains which create long-term pain. Let me provide some examples (all of these are actual cases of clients of mine): Managing the list of board members in Outlook because that's easier than managing ...

I've worked with well over 100 associations in my years as a consultant. In my experience, those of my clients that are most successful are those that don't just talk about doing things, but actually do things. I know this may sound obvious, but stick with me a minute. When I work with my ...

I once met with an association executive director to discuss the challenges she and her association were having with their data management systems. As we discussed what was possible with newer technology, she was especially excited to hear how a new AMS would allow her to capture interactions ...

According to a recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, "two reports...show a disconnect between what nonprofits provide to their workers and what employees say is essential to their job satisfaction." The article goes on to state that "70% of workers in two surveys said their jobs were ...

One of the most significant changes in association management software over the past decade is the change in functionality focus from staff to customer. That is, prior to the internet (and even early on in the internet years), AMSes were designed to help staff process data more efficiently. As the ...

How do you know if you're being successful with your existing data management system? For most organizations, the primary metric is "lack of complaints." That is, if no one is really complaining, then the system must be working. Right? Not necessarily. What I often see when I work with my ...

A recent article at destinationCRM.com discusses research from AMI-Partners that suggests that the software-as-a-service (SaaS) CRM market is set to undergo double-digit year-over-year growth in the next five years. The research cites four reasons for this: Greater availability of broadband ...