(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
Happy 2006 to everyone! I really like New Year's and the chance you get to just sit back and evaluate how things are going. It's a really healthy thing, at least for me. And I've not posted for a few days--notwithstanding I've been generating content in my head.
On another note, here's an article on volunteer management from Phoenix's Arizona Republic. Interesting thing, volunteer management. Lots of people do it, but not lots of people are aware that lots of people do it...
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
Great new year's wishes from Creating Passionate Users.
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
My life's as good as an Abba song. It's as good as "Dancing Queen."
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
I picked this book up because of its title. Now, the book's subtitle is "how modern intellectuals misshape our society." It's made up of articles written in the late 1990s by Heather MacDonald--and it reads like an Ann Coulter screed. So, if that makes you shriek in horror, this is fair warning.
However, I do want to cover one chapter in particular which is called "The Billions of Dollars that Made Things Worse." In it, she chronicles the history of the foundation movement, with particular emphasis on Carnegie's approach which held that the person who amasses excess wealth should use the same acumen in furthering societal good that he/she showed in earning it. Bill Gates seems to be informed by this approach in his quest to eliminate malaria in Africa and on other health projects in the developing world. That practice is referred to as "scientific philanthropy."
The contention is made that current foundations, starting around the middle of last century and under professionalized management, began to lose sight of these goals, and they became a layer of fat cats. They then began to pay more attention to activism and reframing discussions more than solving problems faced by real individuals. MacDonald and Eggers would agree on many points. In my experience with the foundation world, and through my reading of journals and participation in local nonprofit organizations, I tend to agree with this assessment. Many foundations IMHO are not tuned in with good management processes and fund sinkholes that ought never be funded in the first place. They tend to not reward innovation, and that's why organizational turnover and organizational failure rates are so high. What a waste of money.
Eggers thinks that the United Way is a big part of the solution to the problem, and perhaps that is a step in the right direction. The on-again-off-again integrity of that organization is certainly an impediment to its success. But how about if the big-money funders worked more closely with one another and thought up better standards and imposed accountability on these little beggar organizations?
Anyway, my thoughts for the day...
By Heather MacDonald
ISBN# 1566633370
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
Have a conference call today with the ASAE scrimping group. Here's an article I found while trying to get ready.
UPDATE: Well, I screwed that one up for two reasons: 1) it wasn't with the scrimping group at all, it was the training session for icohere; and 2) it's tomorrow. As the youth say, LOL.
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
An article from the San Luis Obispo Tribune seems right on.
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
Interesting discussion of lobbying/advocacy at The Lonely Centrist.
UPDATE: More at Skeptic Eye.
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
First of all, what is the "third wave"? There's a treatment of the term and its origins here. This book which is published by the lovely people at Harvard Business School looks to be really good and really thorough. However, I don't have time to get through it as it's very technical and rich in schemata. (I like to use the latin plural, don't you?)
I did want to note this paragraph where the authors, Jeremy Hope and Tony Hope, discuss Reichheld's loyalty business model. These studies could inform a lot more discussions on association membership than I think is the case.
Based on an analysis of various service companies, Reichheld suggests that there are certain common features that determine longer-term customer profitability in the service industry. Specifically, by identifying and measuring six factors, companies can, over an appropriate time period that will vary from company to company and perhaps even customer to customer, form a clear view of the long-ter profitability of their customers. The factors are these:1. The cost of acquiring a customer
2. The base (or gross) profit from the goods or services provided to the customer
3. The profit from increased purchases arising from the additional spending of satisfied customers
4. The reduced operating costs of serving loyal customers
5. The profit from transactions with new customers who have been referred by loyal customers
6. The profit from the price premium charged to loyal customers who are less sensitive to price.
So, we know a lot of this is going on with respect to association membership, and we particularly observe the "reduced operating costs" part. But it is instructive to look at the way Reichheld and others have articulated these benefits. (I like to use the word instructive because it makes me feel very sort of professorial. Indeed.)
By Tony Hope and Jeremy Hope
ISBN # 0875848079
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
Here's some coverage on that from U.S. News. It says "government and nonprofit." I wonder what the breakdown is. If nonprofits are a significant portion of that figure, I wonder what kind of nonprofits they are.
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
Here's a post from Emily Chang who talks about two new web 2.0 thingies that are geared toward education: Nuvvo and Newsvine. We association types had better realize this phenomenon is going on.
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
From Biz Stone, we have this bit of wierdness. I'm a little slow on the uptake (the post is from New Year's Eve) but I know several people who would probably appreciate this technological innovation!
(originally published on Nick's Book Blog)
I've been thinking about lobbying lately, as has just about everyone it seems. Since I'm a member of the association community here in Washington, DC, I have more exposure to it firsthand than many. I suppose there are some high-powered types who really peddle their influence, but I am concerned that this scandal will affect all the people who push good--or at least necessary--causes and who take pride in their work. I am concerned about "lobbying reform," which in my mind amounts to a circumscription on citizens' free speech. In my view, anyone can and possibly SHOULD lobby the government. Naturally, money is part of that process, even if you're only paying for your team's food at McDonalds.
I very much agree with the point of view posed by Jan Witold Baran in today's Washington Post subtitled "Don't let one bad Abramoff spoil the whole bunch." I guess my reflection is this: the unethical/illegal activities have been spotted, and the system is cleaning itself. Isn't that a success story?
In related news, I was browsing my alma mater's website and found this free internet course that would be a good primer for association people interested in getting more of a context for government affairs.
