Agentis StrateGist

Whenever I get a call that begins “I talked to (insert board president’s name) who said it would be okay if I (insert an activity that will require my association to deviate from an established practice, policy or procedure),” I know that I’m going to be in for a long day. Yep, when the big dogs roll over, the rest of the pack is left scrambling like puppies on wet linoleum. So how do you keep your organization out of the doghouse when a board member makes a promise out of turn–without biting the hand that feeds you? Here are a few things that work for me:

• Don’t Growl — if the request is not illegal and if it will not undermine the integrity of your association, suck it up and keep the promise or commitment made on your behalf by the board member. Be firm about any unbreakable rules, but always be positive, gracious and pleasant to the person making the request. In the event that you are unable to accommodate the request, attempt to find a better, more legitimate solution.
• Mark your territory—educate the entire board regarding their fiduciary duties as board members and/or board officers. Make sure that they understand the potential consequences of making off-line promises that result in rule exceptions. Each board member should have a clear understanding of where her responsibilities and authority starts and stops.

• Fetch—Make sure that your association’s staff is accessible and responsive to member requests. Members who receive courteous, timely and consistent responses from staff members will be less likely to go around.

Establishing and consistently enforcing your board’s “leash” laws is critical for the cohesiveness and integrity of the association—and it can also be one of the more challenging aspects of a CEO’s job. Like the saying goes though, “if you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.”

As association marketers, we sometimes get caught in creative and strategic ruts when it comes to engaging key stakeholders–especially if we serve organizations with “tried and true” programs. Sometimes it’s not that we don’t look for new ideas–it’s just that we don’t look in new places.

Exploring the corporate landscape can be a good approach when trying to venture outside of the box. Unique and cost-effective marketing strategies can be inspired by small-to-mid-sized for-profits, especially by companies that take a fearless and funny approach. For example, Big Ass Fans, manufacturer of industrial (six- to 24-foot diameter) ceiling fans has also manufactured a tremendous marketing program with proven results, since the company’s formation in 1999.

Big Ass Fans does five marketing things right—things that can all be applied to the organizations we serve (even if more conservatively).

1. Make a quality product—and follow-it up with high-touch service. Big Ass Fans has won numerous awards for product quality— its Research & Development Department is led by a world-renowned architect and scientist, and staffed by seven engineers. What’s more, the company is also BIG into service after the sale (tremendous customer support, lunch-n-learn opportunities and extensive invitations for feedback and dialogue).

2. Make a connection—one trip to the Big Ass Fan website (www.bigassfan.com) and you have a fantastic picture of the corporate culture. Check out the company profile (including photos) and the Longhopes Donkey Shelter page—both ingenious ways to connect with potential customers.

3. Make a statement with creative branding— When it comes to brands, quirky is good, outrageous is better, and over the top is out of this world. Love it or hate it (and for most people it is one or the other), the Big Ass Fan brand concept is unforgettable.

4. Make a joke—laughing at yourself and laughing all the way to the bank are not mutually exclusive. (see the Big Ass Fan press release page, Hee-haw, Hee-haw)

5. Make the most of your marketing budget—use an integrated approach. Big Ass Fans reinforces the same themes and messages (high quality product, stellar service, sense of humor) in every marketing strategy that they employ. From the product and the price to the promotional components including branding, public relations, sales, to their choice of strategic partnerships and charitable donations, you know a Big Ass Fan communication when you see it.

Quality guru W. Edwards Deming once said, “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”

Mandatory or not, survival is a top priority for most organizations. Progressive change is essential—not only for innovation, but for sustainability.

Incremental improvements to a well-crafted business model will generally lead to positive outcomes, as will thoughtful responses to external factors. Excellence can also be derived from the radical, crisis-prompted changes that often follow near-death (or near-bankrupt) experiences and accompany the most inspirational association turn-arounds.

However, too much or the wrong kind of change can be toxic, and change for the sake of change is inefficient and ineffective. Both change mongers and change evaders can wreak havoc on organizations striving for continuous improvement. And unfortunately, we have fooled ourselves into believing that change is something that we can systematically direct and manipulate.

Things change, times change, people change. Change is something that you live through, live with, learn from and maybe even appreciate, but not something that you can completely control. Change is reality. Change management is a myth.

The truth is that you can instigate it, fear it, embrace it, drive it, and react to it. But you can’t manage change (or your adaptation to it) like a process with defined steps and a starting and ending point.

Why not? Because change is a constant, ambiguous being. Change cannot be managed any more than a sunrise can.

Deming emphasized that, “A leader of transformation, and managers involved, need to learn the psychology of individual, the psychology of a group, the psychology of society, and the psychology of change.”

To be successful (or even sustainable), we need to stop trying to manage change as a process, and begin to manage the knowledge and the relationships that will help us anticipate and navigate it.