Jul. 12, 2010 - Management Case Study

An AE friend writes: “Wow, have we got a little tempest in our Technology Committee teapot! Our Committee has been meeting for a year to discuss revisions to our association website. The committee wanted a change—the site needs a facelift. They considered lots of options, one of which was having an open house feature for the public. Then Spring came, the market started to rebound, and the Tech Committee lost interest in the project. The open house idea was abandoned. But last week, lo and behold, an open house feature appeared on a committee members' website. Seems he is entering the information of all the open houses being held, and using his IDX feed to populate the program with data. The Directors want to go after him for violating the IDX agreement: they are really angry. What to do?”

There are a couple of interesting questions here, aren't there?

My first thought is, what's the reason for the Directors' anger? Lost opportunity? Envy? An open house program for the association was, after all, an idea the group theoretically discarded. Should that mean it's forever buried? If an idea is thrown away by a committee, does that mean it can't be used by an individual member?

The next question: is there a conflict of loyalty? Is the committee member breaching the community trust by saying, “Y'all (it's a Southern association) didn't want to do this, but I can make it work”? Should the member just let the opportunity go by, even though he sees the possibilities?

The AE's question is, “What do I do now?” The situation has occurred, the member has a successful open house feature on his brokerage site, and it's attracting interest. Association members may even benefit: the public likes the idea of having all the open house information in one place – it's convenient and will help people organize their Saturday home tours. But the association leadership seems to be calling for blood. “Let's see if he's in violation of the rules,” they say. “Let's fine him, or pull his IDX privileges. Let's invoke a penalty!”

As Clay Shirky puts it, "Nothing says dictatorship like arresting people for eating ice cream. The problem wasn't the ice cream, it was the group."

Unfortunately, that's often the role Realtor associations play. We see ourselves as the keeper of the rules and our power is in the punishment—fines, penalties and violations.

Often, punishment is the principal form of behavior control. It's easy to impose, requires little original thought, and is a source of non-dues income. (“Keep those late fees coming, friends!”) The organization is the adversary to its members: how many times has an AE walked into a broker's office to be greeted with “What did I do wrong?” AE means Association Enforcer?

What might be a more holistic approach, particularly in this case situation? How about saying, “Thank you for showing us how well that idea would work for everyone. We'd like to grow it by putting home tours on our association website: we think we'd have even better cooperation from all the members and we can put some resources behind it to advertize and enhance the program. But we'd like to buy it from you, and publicly recognize your innovation and contribution.” In an earlier blog, I wrote about encouraging innovation in an association: certainly this example provides an opportunity to do just that.

The final area that needs comment is this whole idea of designing a web page by committee. Yikes! I know, I know -- you think you need a standing committee on technology: it's an important aspect of today's well-managed association, right?

A Technology Committee can be a bad idea.

Often, association Technology Committees are often comprised of are a couple of people who are willing to spend a lot of time feuding over the relative merits of operating systems (Mac vs. Windows), a couple of smart phone aficionados, a Facebook fiend, and the parent of a kid who's trying to start a computer repair business. They have good intentions and vigorous opinions, but not helpful knowledge. In the case study example, designing a website is not an activity for FSBOs and amateurs: an association needs professional help to articulate online objectives and engineer optimal results.

All this translates into some operational suggestions:

1. Change the vague Technology Committee to the more specific Website Work Group.

2. Hire a professional to construct a preliminary design using the Work Group's objectives

3. Incorporate the Open House idea into your site, recognizing the innovations of the member who embraced it

The key is concentrating on the solution, and not the punishment. And, of course, in constructing governance in which members must think strategically, rather than micromanaging details.

Jul. 3, 2010 - Association Management Lessons from the Public Sector

The Young Foundation released an interesting and useful report this week: the title is “Capital Ideas: how to generate innovation in the public sector.”

The title caught my eye: “public sector innovation' seems to me to be a contradiction in terms. Often the public sector is motivated by consensus building, not problem solving—and that's a problem that's common in membership associations as well. “Let's send out a survey” is a refrain often confused with doing real work. “What the members want” becomes the slogan for inaction, rather than accomplishment, and associations spend more resources on achieving group good feelings than on effecting significant progress in achieving their missions. (I'm reminded of a Realtor organization I once worked with that had a bylaws requirement that the budget required a quarterly progress report and an approval vote of the membership. That's right: QUARTERLY. Needless to say, the association had little time and resources for anything but this process.)

How can a membership organization make timely strategic decisions about its future? How can it anticipate member needs, perhaps even in advance of member awareness of these needs? How can associations encourage innovation and commit to change?

Some of the answers are described in the “Capital Ideas” report. The entire report is available by clicking on the link, but here's a summary of the key ideas:

1. Identify priority fields for innovation: This is important. Associations need to begin any program to build capacity by identifying the key issues facing the association. These are the Big Questions, the two or three huge elephants in the room. There may be only one over-riding issue, by the way, and that's fine—often it's more than enough. The point is, put the Big Question on the table, and don't get sidetracked by minor concerns.

Let's say your big question is “How do we remain sustainable when we are rapidly losing membership?” No doubt an organization might have many secondary questions, but let's say that's the main one. There's one looming guest in the room at every meeting, and that's the elephant--your central issue.

2. Open up the space for ideas: Having identified the Crucial Question, the next step is to create the space for solutions. Some thoughts: encourage contributions to the answer—from staff, from the Board of Directors, from the membership including affiliates. Look inward for your resources. Often its the front line people who have solutions. Make time in the Directors' agenda for strategic discussion, and Big Question issues at staff meetings. (Google expects its staff to spend 20% of its time in innovation and creative problem solving.) Yet another idea: establish a solution team of innovative thinkers within your organization.

3. Finance innovation: The 'Capital Ideas” report suggests that 1% of a budget be set aside to finance innovative ideas. This fund might be used to reward ideas from staff, offer incentives to members, or fund the further study and implementation research of new ideas. To continue our example of the association which is rapidly losing membership and dues income, let's assume that one of the solutions is to generate non-dues revenue. Your association embarks on a campaign to solicit ideas from members and staff. You fund your effort and offer incentives for ideas, and you also have the resources you need to implement the winning solutions.

4. Fix incentives: Too often associations reward people for dutifully doing the same old, same old things. We stick a gold-filled pin on the traditional member-of-the-year, and we thrust a plaque at the 25-year-member for just breathing and paying dues. But do we reward innovation and great new ideas? Usually not.

What associations need to be saying is, “We welcome innovation.” And it can't be just a one-time deal. The greatest incentive organizations can offer is ongoing respect for, and action on, new ideas. Saying, “Great idea! I'll take it to the committee, who will then send it to the Board of Directors, who will then include it in the budget, and we'll get it accomplished sometime next year” just isn't enough.

5. Change the culture: Innovation has to be supported from the top: the Board of Directors needs to commit to change by soliciting new ideas, understanding how to make strategic decisions which will lead the association toward its goal, and by funding and supporting creative solutions.

NAR's Game Changer program is an excellent example of how this idea can work. NAR recognized that changes were needed at the local and state association level. Who better, NAR reasoned, to understand this need than front line staff and leadership? As a result, the “Game Changer” competition was born: “Submit your best ideas,” NAR said, and we'll fund them for you. We'll then make the results available to other Realtor associations to use as they strengthen their capacity.”

That's a cultural shift for NAR. In my 30 years as an AE, I've been the recipient of a lot of Fed Ex parcels from our national association containing posters for nationwide programs like “American Home Week”, family togetherness, and shiny new membership pins. Good efforts, maybe,but all are programs conceived at the top of the leadership pyramid and bundled into packages which arrived unexpectedly in the middle of a morning where local association staff is busy collecting dues or holding a professional standards hearing.

With the Game Changers program, the flow was reversed. “You tell us” was the message. Of course there were lots of associations who were non-participants the first time. “It's just another goofy idea from NAR,” I heard someone say. “I've got too much busy work to do to be dreaming up new stuff.” Now, however, it seems that everywhere I go someone says something like, “Is NAR gonna do this again? We've got a great idea!”

The point here is than culture change takes time, and needs reinforcement and consistent effort.

6. Grow what works: That's the final step of this process. Of course, the corollary is:weed out what doesn't work. ( Sometimes that's more difficult: “You WHAT? You're eliminating million dollar sales awards? But I always get one! How could you eliminate it? I have all these plaques on my wall!!! How will I finish my collection?” )

Of course, not every innovation will work. Creative organizations must be prepared for less than perfect results. However, the ideas do work can be cultivated and enhanced, and shared or sold. One of the final steps of the Game Changer program was to package the completed programs for re-use by others—resulting in a treasure chest of new programs for other associations.

Effective associations need to become better at generating great ideas from within and from beyond their boundaries. The “Capital Ideas” report sets out a series of techniques to generate promising ideas using five themes:

• Unleashing the creative talents of association staff and members

• Setting up dedicated teams responsible for promoting innovation

• Diverting a small proportion of association budgets to harnessing innovation

• Collaborating with outsiders to help solve problems

• Looking at issues from different perspectives to notice things you wouldn’t otherwise

The full Young Foundation report is well worth reading. Association management professionals will find it filled with thoughtful strategies and useful advice.

Jun. 28, 2010 - 100% Attendance, Part 2

Part 2 of my Online Meeting discussion is a brief analysis of some of the available tools which association staff can utilize to support volunteers doing committee work and attending information sessions. These supporting technologies are increasingly user-friendly and priced so that even the smallest organizations can increase efficiency and cut costs, as well as respect and enhance the time and efforts that members donate to their associations.

I've listed a few popular choices among meeting managers, and added a brief description of uses and costs for each.

Meeting Wizard: Meeting Wizard is a scheduling tool for meeting management. This program (free for basic use) will allow you to provide some alternative meeting dates, canvass the participants, and schedule a meeting when the participants are available. It will even send out reminder notices once you've scheduled a date. Easy to use—all anyone needs is email and an internet connection.

MyCommittee: MyCommittee is an online software package that is is not a meeting tool, but a meeting enhancement tool. Essentially the way it works is that you would sign up your board of directors, let's say, and you would be assigned a web page for that group. You could then set agendas (the service has templates to use) and add supporting materials. You then send these materials to committee members, along with meeting reminders. After the meeting, you can enter minutes (templates are included if you need them), mail out materials, and hold online follow-up discussions about the meeting. Pretty simple, this program might be a good starting place for getting members used to online services. The free level allows you one committee; multiple committee management is tiered, but five committees and 200 megabytes of storage is $19.00 a month.

TokBox: Tokbox is one of the simplest and most straightforward of the online meeting applications. Basically, all you need is a computer, a computer video camera ((under $20 almost anywhere if you don't have one built in to your laptop), and internet access. Tokbox is a free video chat service for up to 20 people though there are some enhanced service levels as well. You can see demos of Tokbox meeting applications on YouTube.

Yugma: In case you're wondering, 'yugma' (a pretty ugly-sounding word) is Sanskrit for 'confluence'. I couldn't envision anyone saying, “I'll yugma you this afternoon”, but I guess there's a reason for the word...At any rate, Yugma is a conferencing and desk-top sharing software, and it operates on both Windows and Mac operating systems. Yugma can be used for one-to-one communications (picture reviewing the financial report with the accountant) up to a twenty-person conference, in the free version. Of course, it's scalable—you can host a conference for up to 1000 participants, and the 'pro' version cost begins at $14.95 per month. Yugma claims to be secure and easy to use. It also comes in a Skype version, which would lower the cost of long distance calls. Watch the video to see how seamlessly Yugma and Skype work for online meetings!

GoToMeeting: GoToMeeting (along with its companion software packages GoToWebinar and GoToClass) are familiar to many of us. The software is very feature rich and user-friendly. Simply share the meeting link by email or instant message, or give participants a meeting ID to enter online. While joining, attendees choose whether to conference in via phone or using their computer's microphone and speakers. You can try GoToMeeting for free, but the cost for unlimited meetings is a flat fee of $49 per month. For associations which regularly hold online meetings, GoToMeeting is a reliable and cost-effective tool.

Fuze: Fuze markets itself as the leader in online meeting software—visit the comparison page to GoToMeeting and WebEx software to see how Fuze claims it stacks up against the competition. Certainly it's less expensive at $29 per month. It also has iPhone and Blackberry applications available. Me, I just like the breezy un-marketing approach of the company website.

Dimdim: Dimdim is another one of those unfortunate names, it seems to me. However, it is certainly an easy program to use, requiring only a web browser—no downloads! Dimdim offers the usual features: desktop sharing, instant messaging, whiteboards for collaboration, webcams, and (if you're using the Pro version) you can record meetings and revisit them later to check minutes or make the session available to those who were absent. (Professional Standards Hearings, anyone?) Comes in a free version or you can upgrade to a Pro version for $25 per month.

That's an introduction to tools for online committees and workgroups. There's lots more out there—if you're thinking of online courses, have a look at Moodle, an open source product which allows you to design your own online learning programs. And it goes without saying that there are many, many expensive and more sophisticated online meeting products out there: the ones I've named here are just starting points. The field is changing rapidly, as you might expect: one final resource is OnlineMeetingReviewSite.com—bookmark it in your browser.

The ease of use and low cost of these programs proves a point I made in the first blog in this series: an association has no excuse for failing to offer an online alternative for every group meeting it holds!

Jun. 16, 2010 - 100% Attendance, Part 1

As a consultant and a coach, I'm finding that more and more of my work is being completed on a a conference call basis. When I first hired a personal coach, I was given the choice of holding sessions in person or via telephone. I'm not a telephone lover, so I chose to make a weekly trek to my coach's office, sink into a comfy chair, try and balance a notepad on my knee while juggling my coffee cup at the same time. When the session was over, I'd rush home and jot down all the helpful items I could remember, including as my thoughts and impressions of the lessons learned.

Then I coached my first client. She was a new Realtor association exec whose board of directors wanted her to get up to speed quickly on NAR policy and other unique challenges of our organization. It was a long way between Northern Michigan and the East Coast, and we settled on weekly phone sessions and reading assignments. I was able to review the organization bylaws and help develop an operations policy and a dues billing system. I have yet to meet this AE in person, by the way—but I like to think those coaching sessions helped her transition more easily into her current successful CEO position (and her recently acquired RCE designation!)

My point is, using the telephone changed my attitude about delivery of services. As I said, I'm now finding that much of my work is delivered via telephone, on-line conferencing, and webinars. Not only are these tools much less expensive for participants, but well chosen and carefully utilized distance delivery of meetings and educational events can often be more effective than the traditional face-to-face, butt-in-seat experience.

In the next installment of this blog, I am going to comment on some specific services that association managers can add to their toolbox of information delivery and communication tools, but first let's talk about general principles.

#1: Any association can use these tools. They are not cost prohibitive: in fact, many excellent services are free. Even if you're an association of 60 members plopped down in the middle of Prairie Flats, Middle America, you can use these tools.

#2: As an association staff member, you do need to consider that in order for the tools to be effective, the use needs to be comfortable for you and your members. These days, most conferencing tools are easy to use, but you may need to do some careful evaluation and a little training before you are fully operational.

#3. My suggestions is that associations never hold a meeting without a call-in alternative. If at the last minute someone can't get to an in-person meeting, it will be clear that participation is the priority—even if it is by call-in from a cell phone from the side of the road.

#4. Meetings where there is mixed attendence (some people are in person and some are not) are not always optimally successful: the meeting facilitator will have to make sure that both forms of participation are accomodated. The chairman may have to say, “We're looking at the financial report, page 7, now” for the benefit of those not physically present. Also, in any conference call it is good to insist that speakers identify themselves when they are speaking.

#5. Make sure the call-in instructions are clear in your meeting announcements and reminders. Here's an example from a recent conference call:

A. The details—time, date, chairman, topic

B. How to log in. Note that two links are given, just in case one doesn't work.

C. The price (this call is toll free, but not all services may offer this). The call in number and a security code are standard components.

D. The protocol: use “mute” frequently to cut down on background noise. Often the conference call provider will have a code, such as *6, for mute. Remind your participants in your advance notice of this arrangement.

E. Tell participants how long the meeting is expected to last. Then, stick to it!

F. Residual information. Some conference call services allow you to record the call so it can be accessed later, and even edited and saved. If you are using slides or documents, it's always a good practice to host them somewhere (like slideshare.com) so participants can access them after the event. Many conference call services will allow you to do this, and even make the information password protected so you can maintain the security of the information. Again, I'll discuss some of these services in a later blog in this series.

This information is pretty basic, particularly if you have an association which has a high dependence on technology and a long history of using it. The take-aways here are that you always have an in-person alternative to any board or committee meeting, and that even the smallest association can afford distance meeting tools.

Also, learn to be alert for conferencing opportunities to enhance meetings: you can save your association some significant money if you ask your CPA to explain the annual audit via conference call, or the association attorney to conference in her legal opinion—or the association consultant to deliver an online update on strategic plan management.

Teleconferencing is not a tool of the future, it's an essential part of the association tool box, and is invaluable as a way to engage members and encourage participation.

May. 23, 2010 - Breaking new ground: the Virtual Employee (part 4 of the series_

In a blog post titled “Managing Virtual Employees”, Nipah Shah cites an example of an employee working as a financial analyst for a company in the United Kingdom—and she lives in Michigan. Certainly virtual employees are not a new phenomenon, particularly in congested cities where traffic makes appearance at a work site a real problem, and in jobs where workers don't have to be at the office and are free to select a 'quality of life' surroundings

For the manager, virtual employees do present some human resource challenges: they need a clear set of work product deliverables, they need consistent communication, a sense of inclusion even when they are not physically present, and a manager who is capable of trusting the employee. Work and people management in a virtual environment means that you will have to learn new techniques and respond to an often more demanding and challenging personnel environment.

On the other hand, many association jobs can be handled by virtual employees working from home: help desks, education directors, professional standards administrators, GADs, and data entry positions need not have 9-5 office hours. In fact, many of those positions don't need an office presence at all. And many qualified and competent works are more than delighted to have a job where 'casual day' is every day.

Which brings us to the economics of running virtual associations. In an article in The Executive Update, Jean Allert points out that there are no guaratees that you will cut expenses by migrating to a virtual association—at least not in the short run. Rather, she says, you may find yourself shifting dollars from one line item to another: from rent, say, and facility maintenance to an upgraded technology infrastructure and more efficient software.

By the same token, don't count on going virtual as a source of income. Just because you have space on your website for advertising from affiliate members doesn't mean they will buy in to the opportunity. And just because you set up a Facebook page and tweet your education events is no insurance that members will visit the site and be any more likely to register for events.

What pushing your association toward a virtual environment does mean is that you are encouraging the organization to think in new ways, to involve more people, to encourage collaboration. It means the organization is positioning itself to envision new opportunities for members: if Realtors are no longer keepers of secret information about real estate, what are they? And how can we best assist their business success?

My favorite Clay Shirky quote is "process is an embedded reaction to prior stupidity." That is to say, what once worked for our members no longer does. And what once worked for the association has become calcified past. Moving toward a more fluid structure will breathe life and discovery and energy into our organization.

I'll end with another Shirky quote (that guy speaks in delightful quotations):"Nothing says dictatorship like arresting people for eating ice cream. The problem wasn't the ice cream, it was the group."

May. 21, 2010 - Virtual Memberships, part 3 of the series

One of the biggest challenges the Realtor organization has is the presence of the MLS. I've said it before and I'll say it again (“Aw, Lindenau, shut it!” “No, no, I gotta keep saying it.”)--Realtor associations rely on MLS services to provide a constant stream of new members, and retain existing members who stay around until real estate is no longer a viable business decision for them.

Member recruitment? We only consider it in the most primitive of ways—for the most part, Realtors must belong to our organization to receive this necessary business service.  And we as organizations become MLS dependent--for the income, certainly, but also as the main component of of membership recruitment and retention. 

Imagine operating as if your members had a choice as to whether your association were giving them a valuable return on investment, that they were free to vote for the success of your association product with their dues. What would you change? If every service you provide, every education program, were judged by the dollars the member would pay to obtain it, what would your organization do differently?

“Well, that's not the case”, you say, “So why worry about it?”

Because the captive membership trap is lurking in the shadows. “Our members don't DO technology,” one AE told me recently. Maybe not, I thought, but your members are aging and being replaced by new, younger, professional members for whom technology is an essential component of successful business. There are many potential MLS alternatives these days—better, slicker technologies and vast amounts of enhanced real estate information. Often these tools are free and readily available for buyers and sellers as well as real estate practitioners. That abundance may not topple the MLS as we know it, but it certainly presents alternatives which challenge the value proposition of the MLS to both members and consumers.

It's a 'heads up' warning. And while your association may have a difficult time getting to the 'membership is totally voluntary' frame of mind, it's time to look at each and every program and service in light of whether or not there's a return on investment for an increasingly younger membership. Ask yourself: if we floated this program/product on the open market, would our younger members buy it? Internet guru Clay Shirky offers this advice to contemporary managers:"Don't hire consultants. Hire your own 23-year-olds."

(I know, I know. I'm a consultant, and significantly older than 23. But I like to think Shirky is identifying a frame of mind, not a chronology.)

On the subject of voluntary membership, the truth is that there are many types of Realtor association membership categories in which belonging IS voluntary, and those membership areas can substantially support your association and enrich your local real estate business community.

I recently worked with an association in facilitating a strategic plan. Since this association depended on member dues for approximately 80% of its income stream, and since the economy was impacting negatively on those membership numbers, the association had real financial problems. “Non-dues income!”, I advised from my perch as the former association manager of the Bake Sale Board of Realtors. And the most likely source of income was from new membership levels, particularly if the categories were not tied to licensees and sales practitioners.

Building a virtual association of industry affiliated members is certainly one way of increasing income. Real estate associations are surrounded by businesses which consider our members their target market. Invite them in! Give them access to members through website advertising, online education programs, email forums. Make their membership a good investment, one that they will willingly pay for. Consider setting a percentage goal of your total members who are not licensed salespeople—say 25%. That income will not be dependent on the economics of the times as much as the quality and value of the benefits you offer.

Another interesting experiment along those lines is the winning Game Changers Program from the Sacramento Association of Realtors: building a virtual community of property owners through an auxilary homeowner membership program. Called “Sacramento Home Advantage”, the program allows Realtor members to offer a valuable gift basket to new homeowners, and an axillary membership which brings with it access to an informational website and quarterly updates on local real estate information. In return, SAR expands its community profile, collects a contact list of homeowners for grassroots legislation and other relevant programs, and creates a potential income stream.

As you might expect, there are caveats in building online communities and recruiting members to them. First, the online member is demanding. The information and services he wants are available everywhere on the internet, at the click of a mouse. Want to see listings of real estate for sale? A zillion opportunities exist. Want to know about closing costs or tax proratiions? You have only to Google the keywords. If you are going to attract and retain interest in your association's site and its offerings, you will have to be easier to use, more efficient, more savvy than all of your competitors.

Secondly, your virtual services must provide something the member cannot get by herself. Social media gurus refer to 'crowd-sourcing': the idea that what's attractive is the wisdom of many, as opposed to the monologues of a few. That's the concept behind the un-meeting, and the very popular RE-bar camps: it is the contributions of everyone which create value. In a simplistic way, that means the creation of conversations must take priority in your virtual association—that members are given the opportunity for dialogue and collaboration on every level of the organization. As you might guess, crowd-sourcing is more than the point-to-point two-way conversation of email or the electronic delivery of a recorded education presentation.

Again, Clay Shirky says it best: "It's not just about delivering content to members, it's about the convening power to help members discover each other."

That's the goal of the social media movement, and the ultimate deciding factor of migrating our organizations toward becoming virtual associations.

May. 19, 2010 - The Virtual Association, Part 2

Migrating an association to a more virtual identity is, in fact, a necessary part of modern organizational management. Members expect it: doing business virtually is a part of today's reality. To neglect having a website or avoid using email is to abandon essential business tools, and the members who looked to their trade association for leadership and strength will begin to turn elsewhere for business support and new ideas.

Of course, staying contemporary is always a balancing act—that's why the concept of process, or migration, is crucial. For every election held online, some members will question the electronic results as not secure, not accurate, and lacking the congeniality of a general membership meeting or coffee and doughnuts at the polling booth. For every virtual home tour, somebody will complain that the only way to really get to know a house is to smell the kittylitter box and run their fingers over the greasy kitchen wallpaper. In a world of uncertain economics and failed business ventures, there is also solace in tradition and civility—these are the comfort foods of the modern world, and a good association manager is always careful about her menu planning!

Delivering member services is the core of the association. However, many of those services can easily be moved to a virtual workforce: you don't need a live body at the organization's headquarters to deliver help desk information, for instance. As you know from experience, the customer support line for your computer may be located in Delhi, but the answers you receive are still helpful and friendly.

Better yet, an association may design a web site which answers questions before they are asked, or perhaps incorporates an “Ask Jeeves” functionality which is always ready and willing to be of service. (And as an aside, the FAQ approach to answering questions has great benefits: as social media commentator Clay Shirky says, "Once one person solves the problem once, the problem stays solved for everybody." )

Of course there are some caveats for associations which are moving toward virtualization. First, make sure that no organizational memory or value is lost because there are no human beings present. For instance, a member may use a helpdesk to find out what paperwork is necessary to transfer from one brokerage to another—that routine information can easily be stored on a website. But a member who needs to discuss whether or not to run for an association leadership positiion may need a personal conversation with the AE or a volunteer mentor.

Secondly, as associations provide more resources online and use other virtual tools, they will need to understand who the role models must be in development of those services. In a virtual world, the customers' expectations change: you can't keep shopping mall hours. Amazon.com is open 24/7/365—and association operations must be the same. When a customer logs in, Amazon.com recognizes her, calls her by name, knows her purchasing profile, and makes purchasing easy—one click, in fact. The site sends out automatic reminders (“we've shipped your order”, “thank you for your business”, “how was the quality of your transaction?”, “there's a new book out that we think you'd like...”), builds community (“write a review of this book or product”), and forgives easily (“didn't fit? Send it back.”)

The atmosphere, despite the absence of a real person, is congenial and friendly. It's designed to encourage consumer use, not discourage them by complicated logins and security measures. (Last week I visited an association website where the only way you could obtain a new member application was to log in as a member. And I tried to buy a product from a site which asked for complete financial information over and over again—I gave up and established a purchasing account elsewhere.)

Moving toward a virtual association: it's complicated. Members want to see their trade association as knowledgeable and savvy about business tools and technology, and yet they want not only information, goods, and services but also they want to be valued and respected. (A lesson learned: when you buy an HP computer and set it up, software fills in your name for you--”Valued Customer”. If you want to be someone else, you have to erase the name the company has given you and insert your own.)

No matter what the technology, association members must always remain the “Valued Customers”.

May. 17, 2010 - I'm returning your call, Patsy.

“Judith,” the email said, “I need to talk to you about Virtual Associations. When can I call?”

The communication was from one of my favorite AE's, a manager of insight and good judgment, whose small association has always been a leading-edge kind of organization. I thought I should jot down a few ideas before I talked to her—in recent blogs I've been talking about how valuable IT people were to an association (thanks for all the hugs and handshakes in DC!): now maybe it's time to talk more about why we need 'em.

So. Virtual Associations. Defining what one is, I thought, is the toughest part. So, I went online (of course) to try and find an example of a purely virtual association. And I couldn't.

Now I know there are a couple of virtual AE's among our ranks: one of my friends just assumed the responsibility of a virtual AE for the Virgin Islands (I'll leave it up to you to guess his new title...). But a virtual association? One that is focused on an enterprise-wide commitment to functioning as a virtual entity? An association that utilizes a significant portion of digital communication and tools to conduct its operations? No.

What I did find were various levels of virtual activity within organizations. Using the NAR Association Models format, let's analyze this virtual activity on the three levels of the Models tool: Administrative, Management, and Leadership.

At the Administrative Level (that's the one where elected leaders play a significant role in the day-to-day administration of the association), there is usually an insignificant commitment to virtualization tools. Internet tools may be used to support some of the business functions of the association such as organizing and transmitting membership records, email communication and online banking. The association may produce an online newsletter, and may have a rudimentary Facebook page and web site. In other words, some services may be delivered on line, though often they will be duplicated in print or in person and there may not be a coherent strategy statement regarding the use of technology.

At the Managerial Level (which the Models document defines as one in which volunteer leaders determine the association's strategic vision and set the parameters for empowering staff), the virtualization effort is expanded, and many Realtor associations are establishing two levels of service, a traditional membership and one in which all service is provided virtually. The governance structure of these membership categories varies from one association to another, and often arises when there is a younger member demographic or a wide geographical area which can be best served virtually.

The Leadership Association is, according to the Models profile, is an organization which is positioned based on envisioned industry trends. It implements programs, products and services which are creative and innovative, and provide enhanced membership value. The Leadership model would suggest that an association would provide all services online including communication, education, membership recruitment and retention, collaborative (committee) work, and expos and trade shows. The association might maintain a physical location, though its commitment to bricks, mortar, and real-time employees may be increasingly minimal.

“Oh, Lindenau,” you say, “you're at it again. A real estate trade association can never be completely virtual! Look at our members—they don't understand technology. And they are in REAL ESTATE, for heavens sakes. They want buildings! Meeting rooms! They want to network and press flesh! They learn best seated in rows with a lecturer up in front! It's the Realtor Way!”

I'd like to take the next few blogs to explore virtual Realtor associations with you. And I'd like to hear your comments, your arguments, and your ideas for becoming 'virtual' associations—or not, as the case may be.

In the meantime, here's a couple of thoughts for you to ponder. First, how many of you are already running virtual associations—not well or intentionally, but what percentage of your members never physically see you, or any member of your staff or leadership? How many members never visit your building? Don't attend a meeting or party? They're 'virtual' members. How satisfactorily are you servicing them?

Secondly, if you went to the NAR meetings in Washington last week, you might have noticed a dramatic change in the profile of those meetings. And if you didn't go (and only 8000 or so of the members and association staff did go, out of over a million members) you may have noticed the change even more. Legislative briefings were held more efficiently, education sessions and other events were available on line, real-time communications took place in the form of blogs and tweets, and meeting results were available within minutes of the conclusion of the meetings. My congratulations to NAR for understanding the virtual dynamic that can make meetings more energetic, more efficient, and more fun! (I have only two suggestions, BTW: publish the Twitter hashtag along with the meeting registration materials, and get rid of the cheesy advertising name tags when Realtors head for the Hill!)

Of course no association will fit all one level of the Association Model descriptor: each association migrates between Administration, Management, and Leadership parameters. But there are reasons to push your organization toward greater levels of virtual activity, no matter how small or large your resources and membership. We'll examine these reasons in coming blogs.

May. 6, 2010 - My New Best Friend: Dialogue with an IT Guy

Matt: My industry colleague Judith recently posted brilliantly about Associations having an IT strategy outside of MLS (http://www.realtown.com/Judith2/blog/it1). I'm also hearing from more and more Associations evaluating how to distance themselves from MLS functions - some just by governance changes, others going all the way to the point of having Association dues pay for Association functions and MLS dues pay for MLS functions, with no money flowing from the MLS to the Association.

Especially with but not limited to smaller organizations, it is difficult to get all the way to that latter point, and there will be payments to the Association for use of facilities, staff time, and other resources - but just like RESPAs "no unearned fees", in this case Associations are providing specific value to the MLS and earning the money they receive from the MLS. To get back to Judith's point, whether there is full separation from the MLS or some staff are shared, this means that IT staff at the Association have time devoted to specific association activities and carrying out the Association's IT strategy. If the IT staff is shared with the MLS and 60% of their time is billed to the MLS, then they should be able to show how they spent 40% of their time working on the Association mission. But I rarely see this happening in practice.

I'll spend a little more time on the shared resource question, as it is quite common. If there is not complete Association / MLS separation, there may be some shared IT infrastructure. For example, overall network management and associated costs may be split evenly between the organizations - but if the organization's workstations and servers are 80% Association identified, then 80% of the costs of server management would be allocated to the Association. If a common billing infrastructure is used, costs for that infrastructure and its management are split between the organizations. Likewise, I know when I visit some organizations to perform an information security audit, the cost is split between the Association and MLS budgets.

Judith: You're absolutely right on! I have suggested in earlier blog posts that good financial management of any association demands careful financial tracking of activity centers - not only the ones that have had direct income and expense, but also programs where the cost is buried in the overhead. Professional Standards is a good example: running an ethics enforcement service is very costly in terms of education for members and staff, volunteer time, clerical time - even if an association only hears a very few complaints a year, the infrastructure must be in place and ready to be utilized.

Certainly associations with MLS operations should set them up as separate cost centers, and factor in staff time and other overhead costs separately for each area. It's not difficult to obtain a rough working percentage allocation of resources. Usually staff can pretty accurately estimate time spent, or a manager may want to maintain a time log for a period of time in order to substantiate the operation.

Matt: So, let's talk about how IT supports the Association's mission. As I recently blogged about on the Clareity Consulting blog, the Association mission is not homogeneous across the country (See: "Taking a Good Hard Look at the Realtor Association Mission" [http://www.realtown.com/clareity/blog/realtor-association-mission]). But, some of the more common Association strategic components include:

- Member profitability / success
- Advocate for ownership / property rights
- Support professionalism / competency
- Support ethics / integrity
- Advocate for REALTORS(R) / interests / public policy
- Provide member services / resources / education

How can the IT strategy support those mission components? I see "member profitability and success" and "professionalism / competency" as pure mission components and "member services / resources / education" as strategies for helping to achieve them. Not that the latter components need to be cut from the mission statement - it's okay to describe a bit of the "how" in a mission statement. Anyway, these days, technology supports member services, resources and education. What kinds of things would IT staff do to support them?

In your post "Part 4 of Life after MLS: Your IT Manager is Your New Best Friend" [http://www.realtown.com/Judith2/blog/it4], you referenced a NTEN survey from which one could draw the conclusion that, "In an association where the CEO makes $100,000, the IT Manager makes three quarters that much." I disagree - they are paid what they are worth, and depending on the amount of skill required and desired. The NTEN figures don't seem to be supported by real data from our industry either. Take a look at the figures from this industry survey I recently conducted (note, this is only a partial chart, for reasons of space). If the NTEN survey was accurate for our industry you would see almost all of the IT Director salaries in the yellow-highlighted area of the chart. Instead, you can see that where CEOs are lower-paid, sometimes the IT person makes as much as - or more than - the CEO does. And where CEOs are highly paid, sometimes the IT person makes less than the NTEN survey would have indicated.

Again, the salary will reflect the skills and experience required and desired by the association.

Judith: So the NTEN figure was a misleading generality. What I was trying to get at, though, was that the IT position is not only a necessity in the evolving and healthy association, but also that function should represent a significant investment in the organization's personnel cost.

I was the AE of a smallish association, but we had - as I've said - one terrific IT person. Not full time, but I was fortunate enough to find someone who was brilliant and considered flat food (like plenty of pizza and Hershey bars) a real fringe benefit. He grew in skills, we grew in capacity, and it was a good relationship all around. My point is, there are ways to build your IT capacity, no matter how small the organization or how lacking in resources it may be. You've suggested subcontracting parts of the job, and often that's all an association can afford to do. I'd go one step further, and suggest that in our current environment where everyone is examining ways to consolidate services and share resources, sharing an IT person between associations is certainly a logical way to go. Many of the basic IT tasks don't vary that much from one association to another, and it would be a natural to share an IT position between 2 or 3 similar sized Realtor associations.

The important point here is for Realtor association managers to look beyond MLS in defining what an IT position can contribute to their association's capacity to fulfill its mission. As I said before, if you're an AE, your IT manager is indeed your new best friend.

Apr. 16, 2010 - Part 4 of Life after MLS: Your IT Manager is Your New Best Friend

Close your eyes. Lean back. Imagine your MLS-free Realtor trade association. You have members who recognize your value as a support organization that does more than provide MLS. They pay dues. You have money. Now you need to hire an IT director to assist your organization in operating more efficiently, better supporting staff work, and providing real value to your members. What goes in the job description?

Obviously, there's no simple answer: by definition, the IT position has to be described in terms of the values and direction of your particular association and the business environment in which you and your members operate. But here are a few thoughts about position description components—you can select, prioritize and add to them as needed.

A Realtor Association IT Manager might be expected to:

1. Provide oversight of your association information systems solutions.

2. Be responsible for identification/integration of new technology solutions.

3. Provide high level IT services by designing feasibility studies, system analysis and user support systems

4. Provide direct supervision of IT efforts (in-house and contracted) such as database management, networks, and help desks.

5. Supervise the association office's internet solutions, including website design, ongoing content management and search engine placements

6. Be responsible for maintaining high value member support and service

7. Review emerging technology and make recommendations for acquisition and implementation

8. Participate in designing and managing the associations technology plan

9. Facilitate collaboration between association departments through file sharing, project management, other technologies

10. Keep association IT activities running effectively

11. Maintain partnerships with association suppliers, consultants, and other vendors

12. Provide enabling technologies that support members doing business with the association, placing high value on the association, and increasing association revenues

13. Provide necessary IT training and support to staff and members to ensure productive use of association technology investments

14. Keep informed about NAR technology initiatives and recommend appropriate integration with association activities.

15. Be responsible for development of IT budgets.

And what kind of skills and experience should you be looking for in hiring an IT manager?

1. She should be able to assess needs, develop requirements and estimate the costs and timeline for IT initiatives

2. She should have the ability to evaluate emerging technologies and NAR initiatives and understanding their appropriateness for your association

3. She should be able to speak in a language you can understand (ie, should be able to communicate with members and with association management and staff).

4. She should have proven problem solving skills.

5. She should have management skills in the area of personnel, project direction, and cost containment.

6. She should have skills in

office systems (Microsoft Office, or Open Office, etc.)

email

internet

website design, content management, and maintenance

networks

telephone systems and other telecommunications

association management software, including NRDS

How much do I pay?

Ah, that's always the issue, isn't it? The super heroes we described above don't come cheap, as you might guess. The NTEN survey reports that in medium to large associations (remember how big those budgets were?) the IT Manager's salary is third in line behind the CEO and the chief of operations. Translated, that means that in an association where the CEO makes $100,000, the IT Mananager makes ¾ that much. And in associations where the CEO tenure is 8 years, the IT Manager average is 6 years.

Remember, too, IT Managers will expect you to help them pay for the ongoing technical training and certifications which is key to their longevity with your organization. If they don’t get this assistance from you, they are likely to look somewhere else.

So: well-paid and long-lived, those IT managers--but important to the success and well-being of a modern association.

And remember, they don't know anything about MLS.

(Note: many thanks to Steve Volkodav and Kevin McQueen for their contributions to this article. JWL)

Apr. 16, 2010 - Part 3 of Life after MLS: Technology Strategic Plans

Under all is the plan....(cc)

In the last two blogs I've been discussing your IT needs as an association, particularly as a Realtor trade association, excluding any MLS technology needs you might have. For those associations with MLS operations, the mission-critical imperative to develop a solid and consistent base of technology strategy is often obscured—our members are up close and outspoken about where our resources belong.

“You WHAT? Think you need another computer in the MLS office? I don't THINK so! What we really need is some kind of program that automatically fines those MLS members who don't report listings that are under contract. And once you get that problem solved, please figure out what to do with $%^& program that doesn't find all the listings for the searches I enter.”

Too often AE's hustle about, putting out fires and managing day-to-day crises, and our own association operations are neglected. Imagine the serenity of life without an MLS—and then envision what you as association manager need to do to develop and strengthen the organizational technology infrastructure.

Your association's technology investments (sans MLS) are of fundamental importance. They allow your staff to operate efficiently, track dues and memberships and purchases, build relationships with members, communicate with each other and the association stakeholders, and practice effective financial management. It's imperative to good management that you spend time taking inventory, define your current needs, and map your future goals. It's time to build your association technology plan and a budget projection of at least three years.

Here are the components:

1. Hardware. Begin by making an inventory of each computer in your operation. Include brand, type, processor speed, memory, operating system, and peripherals. This list will be critical when you begin evaluating software upgrades for various staff members—often you'll need to upgrade hardware first. Then, use three years as a standard shelf life for your hardware and various components. Plan to replace or upgrade in segments.

2. Software. List all software used by your staff members and volunteers involved in association operations. Include membership software, financial management programs, word processing, browsers, virus protection. Make sure you have the version numbers and dates of the software, and also include any software licenses you may own for these programs. This inventory will provide you with clear priorities about how funds will need to be spend in future months and years.

3. Software maintenance and support. For many software systems, monthly or annual support fees are an important budget item, and can add up to 30% to the list price of the software. Know when these agreements expire, and exactly what each support system entails.

Tip: If you are a small budget association, these inventories can be

taken by an intern or a student geek: the important thing

is to have them and keep them updated.

4. Networks. There are as many types of networks as there are associations. Some are complex, and others are about as simple as a wire strung between a couple of desktop computers. What is important is that they work efficiently and that the network can be expanded to meet the present and future needs of your staff. An IT staff member can help or, again, you may want to contract this phase of your operations to a specialist.

5. Internet Connections. Again, there's a large variety here, from DSL to t-1 lines. Your association can make a small investment or a large one, depending on the volume of data and email to and from your operations. Many associations may be using hosted software or off-site storage, as well, and slow connections will simply not be adequate. Be sure and factor in the peripheral equipment associated with your internet operations—modems, servers, and routers. And again, anticipate your expanding needs.

6. Data Conversions. As we've learned from our MLS experience, data conversions are expensive and frequently under-estimated, as far as cost is concerned. If you're going to be moving to a new membership system, or accounting software, plan carefully. Include the cost of the system, the support, the licenses, the training, and the overhead. And again, prevention is the best medicine: don't be at the mercy of an overloaded, sick and dying accounting system.

7. Member Program Support. This category is a general one—in it I've tossed all the hardware and software associated with an association which gives education programs and has membership events. List these items: portable sound system, large screens, projectors, white boards, DVD players...inventory what you have, and what you need to acquire, as well as what you will want to replace. The three-year shelf-life rule is still a good one.

8. Staff support and training. You can buy all the glittering gizmos and seductive software available,but if you don't have a staff that knows how to run it or comfortably use it, your efforts won't mean anything. Training is an expense. Often training can be provided by your IT person, if you have one—or you may have to outsource the training. Again, there are expenses involved that need to be included in your budgeting process.

Of course, there's lots of help available to you. One of the first things you might consider is to hire a consultant. I can think of two memorable times in my association management career when I hired consultants to assist the Board of Directors in moving us ahead with a technology plan. In both instances, the results were energizing to all of our association programs, not just our technology activities.

One online source that's very helpful to organizations is TechSoup. If you don't know the site, I encourage you to visit there—many helpful articles on all phases of organization technology! In addition, NAR staff member Carolyn Schwaar 's overview of “Technology Strategy Plans” will give you a good general knowledge. For a more 'techy' view of managing your IT activities, read “Are your IT and Strategic Plans Aligned?” by Joanne Rang. Finally, if you want a generic association technology strategy outline contact me and I'll send you a copy of the Minnesota Management Assistance Program (MAP) generic technology plan for organizations, which you might use as a guide.

Apr. 15, 2010 - Part 2 of Life after MLS: Information Technology Best Practices of Nonprofit Organizations

Continue, if you will, thinking of your organization as an MLS-less association. In your mind's eye, erase the 80% or so of your budget and staff time that go toward supporting that program, and concentrate on evaluating the effectiveness of the remainder-in particular, your Information Technology activities.

In the last blog you probably said you were a medium sized or small association, based on your budget. And you may well have put yourself in the category of "Average", or even "Lagging Behind" in your IT programs. It doesn't matter-the real learning experience comes from looking at the NTEN survey and finding out what the "Leader" associations are doing.

Here are some insights:

Location of the IT Department within the Organization: Well, OK, do you even HAVE an IT Department? Only 11% of the nonprofits surveyed by NTEN had no one whose job it was to oversee IT programs. Even the smallest had someone. Do you?

Of those 89% who have an IT manager, almost 75% have a person who reports directly to the CEO or to the operations manager of the association. IT managers are not buried deep in the management structure-they have the full attention of top management. And the CEOs and COOs express high levels (averaging around 75%) of satisfaction with their it managers in the following areas: hardware and software available for association operations, support for both staff and client (member) needs, and website effectiveness.

The associations who were categorized as leaders in technology said that in hiring IT personnel they looked for the following characteristics (in order of importance): past experience with technology, fit within the organizational culture, attitude and personality, past training and certifications, and prior work in similar settings. Last on their list was a degree or formal education. (It's worth noting that the associations which characterized themselves as "In Trouble" rated formal degrees and experience in similar settings far more highly than did the leading edge organizations).

Associations generally employed one IT person for every eleven staff members. However, many smaller associations also outsourced many, if not all, of the IT functions. Those areas of contracted responsibility included web site hosting, development and design; security and backup; staff training; programming and custom software development; telephone services; email hosting and maintenance; network administration and support; hardware maintenance and website maintenance.

The leading edge associations also were quite likely to outsource social networking, help desks, and website content-smaller operations tended to keep these activities in-house and often assigned to staff with other job functions.

Of the associations surveyed, 42% reported that they had a specific technology plan and that a technology plan was a part of the consistent, formal approach to the future. Of the associations categorized as technology leaders, that percentage jumped to 65%. In addition, the leader associations did calculate the Return on Investment for their technology investments and considered this activity a sound benchmark for their IT activities. ("WHAT??" "Well, figure out how much money you saved by having expert advice helping you install Open Office instead of some other expensive software. Stuff like that...").

What about costs?

Technology isn't cheap. Increasingly, nonprofit associations report that they are anticipating growing expenditures in the following areas: Website design (38 percent),Software (28 percent), andIT consulting costs (27 percent).

The point to which I'm leading is this: as an association manager, you need to have an IT budget, one that is separate from your MLS activities. It's important to have a long range IT plan, and to allocate resources to it. How much? Well, obviously the smaller association will allocate a larger percentage of its total budget to IT: the NTEN survey finds that percentage to be 14%, as compared to 3% for those large associations with budgets of over 10 million dollars. It's also likely that Realtor trade associations will have even higher percentages than the NTEN study reports due to the fact that technology development and support plays such a large part in the professional services offered to our members.

But regardless of your association size and scope, what's clear from reading this study is that as a manager of an association, you will find increasingly important challenges in the field of association information technology-in financial management, technology planning, personnel, and understanding of the rapid developments in hardware and software.

And NTEN's final statement is the most heartening-and challenging-- of all: "Finally, we see some consistent evidence of the notion that organizations of all sizes can be technology leaders."

To download your own copy of the NTEN report, click here.

Apr. 13, 2010 - Life beyond MLS: Information Technology

OK, so I've got a soapbox. Well, yes, actually—more than one. You're not surprised?

The current issue at hand, however, is my perception that Realtor associations have been made significantly less effective as non-profit organizations because of one factor: we run MLS operations.

(Well, yes, there's more than one factor affecting our ability to perform our missions—but we won't get into parent organizations right now...)

Why is the MLS often detrimental to our organizational strength? Well, there are the obvious answers—like the fact that MLS services uses approximately 80% of our capacity to provide member support. But it's more than that: the presence of an MLS also negates our need to proactively recruit and retain members and, by extension, to evaluate our service effectiveness in other areas as well. Realtor associations just aren't run like other non-profit membership organizations. Because of that, we AE's often neglect developing capacity in some important areas of good association management.

So, for purposes of this blog series, I'd like for you to imagine that you don't have an MLS operation as a part of your association. As we discuss the matter of Information Technology in your association, this perspective will be an important part of evaluating your association's effectiveness: all too often, Realtor associations equate 'technology' with MLS. Now remember: you ain't got one! You are MLS-free.

So, let's talk about your IT program, sans an MLS. There are some real pointers to be found in a recent survey conducted by NTEN, the Nonprofit Technology Network, and I want to spend the next couple of blogs examining that study and applying its findings specifically to Realtor associations of all sizes and levels of sophistication.

Beginning with the fourth quarter of 2009, NTEN conducted a survey of over one thousand nonprofit organizations represented over 25 sectors from the arts to human services and health care. The size categories were:

Small: a budget under $500,000 (excluding, of course, MLS)

Medium: $500,000 to 3 million

Large: 3 to 10 million

Very Large: over 10 million

My first question to you is, where would your association fit, if you excluded the MLS portion of your expenses (including salaries and overhead)? You should know that answer anyway—good financial management includes tracking income and expense centers.

The second thing NTEN asked the survey respondents was to categorize their level of satisfaction with their association's Information Technology adoption. Again, exclude your MLS operation technology.

(“WHAT??” you screech. “Without the MLS stuff we haven't GOT any Information Technology! What is 'IT' anyway??” Put yourself in the first response category: In Trouble.)

The categories of responses in the NTEN study were as follows:

In Trouble

Lagging Behind

Fast Follower

Leading Edge/Early Adopter

So where would you put your non-MLS association IT performance?

Now in case you are clueless about how to rate your association, NTEN suggests you consider the following questions:

1. What is the quality of IT training provided to staff, and what is the comfort level of staff with technology?

2. How well is information technology integrated into your organization's strategic plan? (Ain't got one of those? Stop here and call for help!)

3. Availability of IT assistance for staff needs?

4. Availability of IT to respond to member needs?

5. Quality of hardware and software being used in your association?

6. Quality of your organization's website?

7. Amount of total budget allocated to (non-MLS) IT?

And finally, how would you rate your satisfaction with your association's current level of staffing (whether you staff your IT activities internally or use out-sourcing)?

What I'm getting at here is to ask you to think like a non-profit (or even a good for-profit) without an MLS. Information Technology is an important part of the infrastructure of any organization or association these days and as association managers we need to evaluate it and increase its capacity to meet our needs and help us achieve our mission. Too often, though, in an MLS environment we lose sight of the IT support we so badly need.

Apr. 5, 2010 - As the Castle Crumbles...

In 1988, Joseph Tainter wrote a chilling book called The Collapse of Complex Societies. And on April 1, 2010 Clay Shirky wrote a derivative article, “The Collapse of Complex Business Models”. The process described in both writings can, I think, help identify the problems many Realtor trade associations are currently facing.

The scenario is something like this:

1. A group finds itself with a surplus of resources. In our trade organization that surplus was heralded with the refrain, “More than a Million Members Strong.” That meant we had member—lots of them. And dues money! Life was good.

2. Managing the surplus created complexity. 'Boy, golly, it sure is hard to track and train all these new members! We'd better create some systems: mandatory ethics classes, online courses, financial management systems, new education, more specialties, branch offices, more intricate governance structures to make sure everybody is represented.'

3. Early on, those complexities were beneficial—and even paid for themselves. Or at least they were self-sustaining. Various segments of our association built new buildings, leased new space, invested in equipment and software and additional staff—all funded by the increased membership.

4. But as the operations expanded and became more intricate, two things began to happen: first, the margin of value is reduced as complexities become additional expense, and often our elaborate structures become pure cost with very little return on our investment. They exist only because they are there, not because they provide a useful function. I'll bet you can think of a couple of examples in your own association—I recently worked with one group that had developed a tracking program to support an honor-the-volunteer program. “Nobody cares about it,” said the membership staff person. “It's just a nightmare to track everybody, even with this computer program we've developed.” And she adds, “We'd love to drop it, but the people who get the awards would howl bloody murder.”

5. Secondly, abundance doesn't last forever: the resources diminish and the circumstances are reduced. Our million-member association is dropping members, well on the way to a predicted level of six hundred and fifty thousand. Further, economists tell us that if we're sitting around waiting for a real estate boom that will equal our most recent one, we're in for a long wait.

   Ooops. The income! What happened to our dues income?

The pattern is predictable, Tainter and Shirky tell us. Growth, surplus, building complexity to manage surplus, and then elaborate enhancements which become self-perpetuating liabilities.

At this juncture, a turning point must occur. Our associations have grown in resources , and managing the resources has caused us to grow in complexity—often to the point of diminishing return, even when times are good. The question is, what do we now do when times are not so good?

The obvious answer is, of course, to downsize and simplify. But as both Tainter and Shirky point out, we are victims of the very complexities we have created. A few of those downsizing questions are now regularly being asked in the Realtor association: are there too many MLSs? Does NAR need 850 Directors? Is our annual convention or current meeting format the best way to accomplish or organizational mission? Is a real estate license an important membership requirement? And there are many others. Shirky says that in a bureaucracy, it’s easier to make a process more complex than to make it simpler, and easier to create a new burden than kill an old one.

In other words, rather than eliminate our past constructs, our tendency is to build on top of existing structures, resulting in—more complexity! To use Shirky's metaphor, our Realtor association ecosystem is changing—our members are doing different things professionally, have a changed demographic profile, are embracing different values. And as the trade association ecosystem evolves, if our institutions are inflexible, associations will undergo the same fate as other civilizations, other business models: our organizations too will collapse.

It's a complicated world view, but one that is—unfortunately--substantiated by examples from history, and from the present.

Realtor associations as we have known them are crumbling even as we speak. What is certain to become the new measure of success is that which is simple, a streamlined route to our common organizational objective of enabling our members' professional success. That direct route doesn't take us past a lot of the collapsing landmarks of the past.

I am reminded of my encounter with the iPad last Saturday. I sat in the Apple store with the gleaming, streamlined gadget in hand—and with a line of people behind me, waiting for a similar experience. The device sure was a joy to us gadget lovers—intuitive and aesthetically pleasing, and well-marketed, too.

“You gonna get one, Lindenau?” asked my friend Don, the computer geek, who is standing beside me.

“Nah. I don't think so. Sure is pretty. But it's scary and I'm not sure I trust it: it's almost too simple.”

“In what way? Because there's no mouse?”

“Yes,” I say. “No mouse. And no USB port. I mean, how can you have a computer without a USB port and a mouse? And no keyboard, either!”

“Well, why would you NEED a USB port? There's Bluetooth. And why would you need a mouse or a keyboard? Look at that great touch screen. Everything's there that needs to be.”

“Oh,” I say.

“I've ordered one,” he says.

Mar. 7, 2010 - International Programs for Real Estate Associations

In 2007, over one-third of NAR members nation-wide reported they participated in a global business transaction. In 2009, many NAR members reported that a healthy segment real estate market came from foreign real estate investors. Economist Lawrence Yun predicts “Just as international trade has been consistently outpacing domestic economic growth,however,there’s no doubt that cross-border commercial real estate investment will also pick up at a faster percentage rate than that which is based solely within domestic borders.

That's a real endorsement for both large and small associations to move ahead with international real estate programming.

One of my current consulting assignments is the writing of business plans or three year strategies for Realtor associations interested in capacity-building support for their members' global business activities. I've written six of these plans--it's an interesting project because each association is so very different. I'm finding the distinctions fall in the following areas:

1. The level of international business in the association's geographical location. Coastal regions, resort areas, and locations attractive to multinational corporations foster many global real estate opportunities.

2. The interest of the members and staff in supporting an international program. In some locales a narrow definition of 'international real estate' exists: others understand that global business involves immigrants and second generation citizens as well as foreign investors.

3. The ability of the association itself to invest in additional member services. In all actuality, supporting a global real estate program for your members can be fun and affordable, and can be integrated with your organization's other programs in diversity training, community relations, networking events, affilite member recruitment, and education.

In considering an international program for your association, one of the big assets you'll find is the support from NAR. Over the years NAR's International division, now called Global Business, has developed a wealth of support services for local associations and their members.

But that asset can also be a part of the problem: how can a busy AE take time out to understand and evaluate these programs?

1. Take the AE CIPS Administration Course (next offered in Quebec City)

2. Download or purchase the NAR Global Business Guide

3. Do a little background research on the international business climate in your area by contacting your local economic developent corporation and chamber of commerce. Find out if there is current or anticipated investment activity. Also profile any ethnic communities—do you have a significant population of South Americans or Eastern Europeans? Immigrants are avid homebuyers, and also attract others from their countries. And check out NAR's state-by-state International Business Reports.

4. Conduct a member survey to find out how many of your members are involved in real estate transactions with buyers from other countries, and how many would like to know more about global real estate. Ask brokers about their desire to conduct more international real estate transactions, and inwhat areas they might value additional support. A sample member needs survey can be found on Realtor.org.

In preparation for writing global business plans for associations, I ask AE's to consider the actions I've outlined above.The end result is simply being able to better match your member needs with the many tools availablee to you, and moving ahead with a program which has the maximum level of return on investment for your members.

Feb. 23, 2010 - Simplify

“You're adding THIS project into the work plan for next year? And how much money were you thinking of allocating to make this happen? “

Answers: Yes. None.

“That's it,” you think. “I quit. I think I will get a job in the private sector where they will understand me.” Sigh. And then: deeper sigh.

You look at the stacks of papers on your desk: web page redesign, dues collection, vendor contract renewal, political action committee fund raiser—all waiting to be completed, all important projects. Why, you think, can I never get anything accomplished? If only I had (a) more staff, (b) more money, (c)more hours in the day, (d) a more understanding and supportive board? Can't I just finish ONE project?

It's not easy, managing multiple projects. Especially in an organization, projects tend to get more and more complicated: committee members add ideas and ideas become new tasks. New tasks become more work—the manager as to oversee the volunteers or staff performing the tasks, or (sigh) do it herself. Soon what started as a simple idea (let's have an education program) snowballs into registration forms, news releases, fliers, speakers andd refreshments.

Here are some thoughts about project management which may help you be more successful at getting things done.

1. Keep it simple. I am currently working with an organization which is planning a public relations project which will assist military veterans. It's a great project, and has attracted lots of support. The problem is focusing on the mission of the project, because everyone has enthusiastic, exciting ideas to add. My client is overwhelmed with ideas about the work that could be done. No, I tell them, if it's getting to complicated, narrow the scope. That's what will help you complete your goal.

2. Don't try to be perfect. Perfectionism is the enemy of completion. Sometimes, “good enough” will do. Another association manager I know is fond of project planning software. She'll spend absolutely hours devising Ghantt charts and workflow diagrams. Each planning detail must be elaborate and each result executed without flaws. In music, we tune our instruments and say, “Good enough for bluegrass”: practice being 'good enough'. Not everything has to be perfect.

3. Eliminate extras. Again, keeping your mission in mind, think about what you DON'T need. When time and resources grow short, start throwing some items overboard. Understand theC difference between what is necessary for survival of the project, and what would 'be nice'. If you're stuck on an island in the ocean, you'll need drinking water. But you can do away with stemmed glassware.

4. Go public quickly. Remember, you are working with a simple mission, core features, and 'good enough'. Going public early in the project will motivate you to complete the work, and to make the enhancements to it quickly.

Simplification—that's what this is all about. Understand that you have a finite supply of resources for any project, and the trick is to use those resources in the most productive and efficient means possible.

Value your own time and energy and that of those around you, and eliminate what drains it away.

Feb. 5, 2010 - Public Relations Disaster Plans

It' 6 AM, and Alice the AE's telephone is ringing. She rolls over, groping blindly in the direction of the offending noise.

“Lo,” she mutters.

“Alice, this is your President speaking! Have you seen the morning news? Have you SEEN what they're saying?”

“It's terrible,” she screeches. “They've arrested John. JOHN!! The vice president! OUR vice president! He's being accused of fraud. FRAUD! Misrepresenting listings! Buying distressed properties. Bilking sellers of bazillions of dollars! He's in JAIL!”

And so Alice's day begins.

***

John's arrest quickly becomes known to everyone in town: John is a prominent civic leader as well as incoming president of the Realtor association. And in a community which is experiencing economic hardship,job loss, and falling property values, the rumor that a well-known businessman is being accused of theft and unethical business practices is soon the subject of discussion in every coffee shop and service club meeting.

Worse yet, people are pointing angry fingers...and not just at John. One reason our home values have fallen, they accuse, is because Realtors are using their knowledge for personal gain. They're unscrupulously making personal profit from all of this.

Alice and the Board of Directors convene in closed session: it's crisis management time.

Here's the question: How can a crisis management plan be implemented in an age of social media? In a time when Susan Boyle can be an overnight hit, and “Pants on the Ground” a worldwide refrain in 24 hours, the opposite can also be true—as Toyota has just discovered with the world-wide recall of its defective gas pedals and obstructive floor mats.

A self-serving media release just won't cut it, quite frankly. As Newsweek journalist Matthew Phillips points out, “Managing a public relations disaster isn't what it used to be. Back in 1982, even as Chicago people were dying of cyanide poisoning from tampered Tylenol bottles, ...Johnson & Johnson didn't have to worry about Internet message boards inciting panic or fueling rumors and fear mongering. The strategy of corporate crisis management hasn't necessarily changed, but in the Google, Twitter, and Facebook, era the execution has.”

So what's the answer? How can associations prepare a public relations crisis management plan that for our current social media environment? Here are some thoughts:

1. Plan an immediate response plan. Not just fast, but instantaneous. If you need to have cooperation from your board or executive committee, you must be able to reach them at a moment's notice. Don't wait for a meeting, or even to set up a conference call. Don't trip over your association's clumsy governance structures. Establish an emergency response protocol that everyone on your team understands.

2. Send a uniform response message to everyone involved, not just the media. In an association, you'll need to give the members your position and talking points: make sure they understand the association's public statements and can respond to important questions. Members will voice their opinions, so help them give a consistent message.

3. Keep your media statements simple and direct, and don't send mixed messages. We live in a world of 30 second sound bites and 140-character tweets. Be quotable.

4. Monitor negative rumors. Know what is being said, and don't fool yourself by glossing over it. Toyota had to perform Google searches on phrases like “Toyota sucks”: people aren't going to be saying nice things about you. Look for your critics and understand their concerns.

5. Set up a public response, probably on your website, and aggressively direct the public to your association position. Don't depend on the media to make your statements for you—they are not always known for being fair. As I watched the Toyota situation unfold on Miami news, I noticed that the source for most stories were the frail little old ladies who had been waiting fearfully at the dealership for hours, afraid to drive home in their monstrous cars with treacherous sticking gas pedals and attack floor mats. Imagine a TV special of a reporter interviewing one of John's past clients who lost the family home and are now living in a cardboard box in the town park. Same idea.

6. Once you've established your public position, aggressively direct people to your website. Respond with your own Twitter campaign, or a Facebook fan website, or an online forum where people can ask your organization direct questions and get straight answers. Use this opportunity to position your association in a positive light. Alice the AE might, for instance, set up a consumer assistance website for folks who need housing help.

That's it: an association public relations crisis plan must be structured to be fast, to have a simple but consistent message, and to be proactive. To do that requires careful planning and an ongoing familiarity with the technology available to your critics—and to your organization.

Jan. 28, 2010 - Scarlet Letters of Association Management

Blogger Mike Masnick spends a lot of thoughtful energy on the issue of creativity—how to protect it, encourage it, share its results, and market creative projects (either artists themselves, or their works). Mike has developed an interesting theory about value and his ideas have significant relevance to associations.

Masnick asks the question, “In a digital world where so much of what a consumer can access is 'free', what creates a reason to buy?” In a world where music is shared on the internet and news is available on your cell phone or iPad, why buy a CD or subscribe to a newspaper or magazine? Or, to bring it closer to home in the Realtor association, when the consumer can access all the housing information, why purchase the services of a sales representative?

Associations need to be asking these questions too. What makes your association valuable to its target market—the members? What's the reason to buy the association product? Isn't your biggest competitor the economy of “free”--particularly in our current downturn?

“Value,” you answer, “we offer value. Why, every week we have an education session for only $5!”

Wrong answer, Bucko. Rule Number One of marketing a product is that there's a world of difference between value and price—and that distinction is even more clear when the product offered is abundantly available. The information you present in your weekly $5 education bargain basement is undoubtedly available on any number of websites, or perhaps offered by an affiliate member in an evening session with cocktails, or in an online tutorial from a commercial source.

So what makes your offering 'valuable'? What's the reason to buy?

The first reason is access. Internet shopping is increasingly popular because the consumer doesn't have to GO anywhere—busy people will pay extra for the convenience being at home in their p.j.s, working in their own schedule parameters. And, of course, 'access' means more than just internet availability: online consumers will be comparing your offering with the very best marketers in the business: Amazon knows your name and your buying preferences, eBay will notify you when something you're looking for becomes available, and L.L. Bean knows your size and when you're going to need a new winter jacket.

Members expect the same treatment, of course. They want to be greeted by name and presented with the information they need. They want to be able to use PayPal and credit cards and have automatic reminders in their desktop calendars. (It always amazed me that for years one national association had a very elaborate online calendar program for its huge annual convention—but never any way to download it to a desktop or PDA. You had to print it out at the last minute, and then pencil in any changes made at a later date.)

Consumers pay for access and convenience, for saving time even when free options are available. Members do the same. That means that access and delivery are as important as content, maybe even more so. That's something to think about in planning your education program.

Another reason for a consumer to buy is 'attention'. Masnick points out that attention is a remarkably scarce commodity in our multi-tasking world. Once you've got someone's attention, he reminds us, you can do a lot with it. For example, as I get ready to attend a national Realtors' meeting, I am always interested in what will be the 'crisis du jour', the Important Action that attendees will rally around in order to better understand the significance of the association, and the message they will then carry back home to other members. Cynical, you say. No, I respond. It's a good marketing technique. My advice is to make use of your consumers' attention any time you have a meeting or gathering, use it to emphasize your value.

A third reason to buy the product/join the organization is 'authenticity'. That's closely allied with trust, of course—and in the world of hype, authenticity can be a scarce commodity. Will a deodorant get you a job? Will getting rid of gray hair attract a trophy wife (or husband)? Will empty self-serving association promotions attract new members and retain old ones? Will falsely optimistic market statistics attract new buyers?

Or are the association's decisions genuinely made in the best interests of the members? And is the decision-making focus bottom-up rather than top-down? I can only think that the National Association of Realtors recent “Game Changers” program represents a huge step forward in this regard: go to the local associations and ask for their best revolutionary ideas in membership programs. Then fund these ideas, get them working, and make them available for other locals to use if they wish. How better to move a national association forward than to start where the action is, at the local level? How better to move a local or regional association forward than to consistently base your decisions on what the members want (and then respond to their answers)?

That's it, the A-list of membership attraction and retention: Access, Attention, and Authenticity.

Build these attributes into your association business plan: you'll gain a good foundation for strengthening your organization's position in today's competitive environment.

Jan. 25, 2010 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Agents: Here to Stay?

Real estate blogger and St. Paul broker Teresa Boardman recently published an article in Inman News, “Bad Agents are Here to Stay”. Boardman says:

“I have never heard anyone say that the bar is set too high and that it is too hard to become a Realtor. Take a few classes, pass a test, get a license, pay your dues to the National Association of Realtors and you are a Realtor. It all takes two to six weeks, depending upon which state issues the real estate license.”

She observes that the only measure of industry success is whether or not an agent makes money by selling houses. The “how”, or the quality of a salesperson's performance isn't an issue, and neither is skill or ethics. She concludes by saying, “The economy and the housing market are changing the way agents do their jobs, but I don't see any evidence that "bad agents" will be weeded out, and the bar for entry is still low. As real estate companies struggle for head count, any licensee who can fog a mirror is in.”

Sad, Teresa, but true. And it's not a new complaint: in the thirty years I was an association exec, quality control was always the central issue in the association. Members always rated “Enforcement of the Code of Ethics” as a close second to “MLS Service” in their response to the ever-present “rate the association services” questionnaire—sometimes “Code of Ethics” even came first in member priority.

Of course, what I always knew was that the enforcement process was designed for somebody else, not the complainants. And what I also knew was that most of the dissatisfaction lay not in unethical behavior in the larger sense of the word—the 'ethics' complaints were often just plain lack of professional respect for others and sloppy and unskilled performance. In her article, Boardman cites Bad Agent behavior as “rude” and irresponsible. These characteristics are not really unethical in the larger sense of the word, and they are certainly not things which any association can control through enforcement of the Realtor Code of Ethics. In fact, most of the ethics complaints I heard about association members from other association members had to do with lack of communication, insufficient education, and thoughtless, rude and predatory sales behavior.

There's no real way to enforce these kinds of behaviors. Just as there will always be doctors with poor a poor bedside manner, or lawyers who chase ambulances, so to will there always be Bad Agents: Boardman is right. The thing is, we as real estate trade associations don't have to turn our backs on efforts to mitigate the problem. We can provide some solutions. Here are a few that have surfaced and deserve some consideration:

1. Quit reinforcing dollar volume as the measure of success. Many associations have gotten rid of the “Million Dollar Award” celebration, especially since “Million Dollars in Sales” really doesn't mean the sales person made a million dollars—quite the opposite. But sales awards do substantiate the public perception that our members are all very rich—and very greedy. It seems more to the point of professionalism to identify the qualities which need to be encouraged in members—like professional courtesy and respect, and dedication to the good of the industry—and reward those instead.

2. Develop some other method for identifying and encourage professional behavior besides fines and punishment. One of the things that has always amazed me is that real estate associations seldom tell members what professional behavior IS. Of course they teach the Code of Ethics in some fairly uninspiring ways, like boring case studies of Realtor A and Realtor B. But our members aren't lawyers and don't learn well from case studies, and the Code of Ethics really doesn't address the daily irritants of unprofessional behavior, like not returning phone calls or turning in Under Contract listings.

   “What other ways can we encourage professional behavior”, you ask. “We have designations, but most members don't get them, and the public doesn't know about them so all those letters after one's name really don't mean much.”

Wow, that's true, isn't it? In order for it to be valuable to the designee, the public needs to understand the designation, and care about it. And does the public know, or care about the letters after one's name? Not really. Even lawyers, medical doctors, and Ph.Ds seldom us their professional designations anymore. So what's the answer?

First, let's try and identify professional behavior. AEs might try something as simple as asking the members: “What are the three things that cause you to know a real estate professional when you see one?” Then, compile a list, aka David Letterman, of the most popular responses. Tell the members—in orientation, publications, whatever. Give them a clue!

Secondly, devise a 'body of knowledge' with some benchmarks. It's interesting: if you go to Realtor.org and search on 'body of knowledge', the only responses which are returned are for the valuable document, the AE Body of Knowledge. Our members don't seem to have any such guide—and if we are depending on individual state licensing requirements or individual brokerages to be that guide, we are subject to a great delusion. You've heard the comment, “He's completed his first year in real estate —seventeen times.” Maybe we need to identify and articulate what the expectations are for the second year in real estate...and the third.

Third, associations need to provide the consumer public with a way of articulating values. What constitutes a successful transaction experience? With a few exceptions, the industry has not supported consumer ratings or satisfaction survey. It's interesting that consumers can more easily rate an $80 a night hotel room, but not a real estate brokerage to which they may have paid thousands of dollars. Certainly the consumer is not likely to use an agent's sales volume as a measure of success.

One of the biggest problems Realtors have as a trade association is the antitrust issues that cooperative business practices, particularly with an MLS, bring to them. An an association, Realtors bend to accommodate every applicant for membership in order to give them access to the MLS as a business tool, and seldom deny membership to anyone except for non-payment of dues. Certainly, none of this structure ever will promote competency and skill. It's probably easier to get disbarred or have a medical license revoked than it is to be denied MLS access. There are a lot of legal reasons for this, of course, but the pure fact of the matter is that when the MLS ceases to become a member service, the silver lining may be that real estate will be able to be more proactive about professionalism.

Until that time, Realtor associations can encourage professionalism by devaluing the perception that real estate success is measured in terms of dollars, and by articulating and honoring the characteristics which are indicative of a true professional.

Jan. 20, 2010 - Projects and Management

One of my current clients is working on a large project, a community service program which has the enviable characteristics of being not only helpful to the public it intends to serve, but also very appealing to the members who will be sponsoring the effort. As a result, this organization is besieged by offers of assistance. The project itself seems to be taking on giant proportions, outgrowing its original clothing at a dizzying rate.

It's a happy phenomenon, of course—but also one that is dreaded by association managers: suddenly a bright idea becomes a fast-burning wildfire which is sweeping the forest and threatening your carefully tended garden of planned activities and programmed resources.

That's the case with my client. And the question we are working through basically involves imposing the discipline of careful project management. There's no secret to good project management, by the way, but there are some learned control techniques, and these are applicable to every project, from the smallest committee meeting to a high-impact event of magnificent proportions.

The first step is to carefully define the project. That sounds simple, but in reality this is the first point of major failure in any given program. All participants come to a project design meeting with a different vision in their heads: the Christmas party is a five-course dinner, a cocktail party, a potluck. My advice to the manager: start with a blank slate, and then write a contract for what the project will be. I'd suggest you go through the actual physical exercise of writing down everything that would appear in a contract between you and your employers/directors: specific results you and your team will be expected to produce—how many you will serve, location, food, parking, invited guests, results (attendees will have fun, raise funds for charity, install officers and get enthused about the coming year, and so on). You really can't begin to plan the strategies until you have clearly defined--and agreed upon—the outcome.

In the case of my current client and her project, that's our first problem. There's no real definition that everyone can embrace.

Take time with this step: again, most of the failures in a project result from lack of care in articulating the expectations and making sure that key stakeholders share the vision.

Once the project has been defined, then the operational structure can be built. A clearly identified project will suggest the right action plan. In the case of the Christmas party example, the work areas might include publicity, logistics, entertainment—you know the drill. Design a breakdown structure for your project, a series of activities. Make the action steps small enough to be benchmarked and managed.

The third step is to allocate the tasks to your team members and order the actions so they can be performed in a sensible sequence. With more complicated projects this can be a complex task, and there are software programs designed to assist you. Again: keep the results in mind, and the outcome on target.

On method of staying on track is to establish controls early in the planning. One control will be allocation of resources: staff and volunteer time, and money. Another milestone will be the time sequence, a clear definition of when recognizable tasks will have been completed (“the Christmas party invitations will be sent out on November 15th”).

And finally (and most importantly and often most ignored) is the communication structure you will use to make sure that all members of the team are fully informed of progress. Even for the most limited projects, the reporting is important: it encourages enthusiasm, responsibility and a sense of progress, and it identifies the times when your milestones may have become millstones. Be clear on your project communication structure (“we'll have a report on your progress every Monday at 9 AM”).

Of course we all know managers who are so intrigued by the process that they overburden everyone with meetings to check on the progress, so be mindful of the balance between reporting and action.

And finally, plan for failure. One of Judith's first laws of association management is “Always have a Plan B.” What will we do if there's an ice storm and no-one comes to the party? Or if the guest speaker is snowed in and can't install the officers? Or, as in the case of my current client, the funding doesn't come through from the major sponsor? How will we cope and what will we do?

Behind every successful project—no matter how large or small-- is good, solid project management, and at the heart of every management structure is the careful definition of the expectations everyone has for the results.

“Ok,” I say to my client. “Let's go through this once again. How many people do you intend to serve with this your public service project? And over what period of time? And your three-year budget for the program will be? And...”